In a story written by New Hampshire native John Pollono, three old friends in Manchester, NH reunite for the first time since a falling out, lured to a reconciliation through tall tales told by one of the three. In a small garage run by one of the men, it is discovered that they were brought together for a specific purpose, one that may end up costing all of them, and others, more than they bargained for. A long-simmering resentment and a surprise guest ignite a dangerous flame in this tight, often funny, dark tale.
This play, suggested specifically for a Players' Ring production with VIPA by Brad Fleischer, Rajiv Joseph and others, was described as "...raw, funny and well-tooled.... SMALL ENGINE REPAIR zips along with crackling comic dialogue steeped in the tang of male aggression and rivalry.... Mr. Pollono's dialogue has some of the same brazen vulgarity and acrid humor of Mr. Mamet at his best. And when SMALL ENGINE REPAIR takes a sudden turn for the violent, the play gives off a whiff or two of Irish peat, courtesy of Martin McDonough. But while Mr. Pollono has clearly absorbed influences from his peers and forebears, he folds them into a clever plot that could have been cooked up only in the social networking era, putting a new engine in a classic dramatic plot: a man's hunger for retribution.... written in bold colors and crisply individualized.... a slivery, funny revenge comedy." -- NY Times
This is Veterans in Performing Arts' (VIPA) fourth show in four seasons at The Players' Ring.