‘Tennessee Wet Rub’ @ The Core Theatre
Photos by Amanda Rebholz
—Carol M. Rice
The Core Theatre really is a hidden gem of the North Texas theatre scene. Tucked away in a tiny Richardson shopping center, it’s even next door to another small production company: Richardson Theatre Centre. But while the latter tends to do well-known crowd-pleasers (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially since they do them well!), The Core’s artistic director James Hansen Prince tends to lean towards newer, often thought-provoking works.
Such is the case with Tennessee Wet Rub. This captivating, award-winning drama by Kim E. Ruyle takes place during one of the worst winter storms in Tennessee history, in January of 1951. Around here, we understand exactly the kind of weather they’re talking about: howling winds, and a solid sheet of ice followed by snow. No sane person is driving in this kind of weather.
Unless they’re trying to get away.
Hank and Bertha have settled in for a long night listening to the pounding storm…when the power inevitably goes out. They’ve got their wood-burning stove for warmth and kerosene lamps for light in Bertha’s Barbeque (the restaurant that also serves as their home), and they sure aren’t expecting visitors. Enter Arleta, a teenaged girl, and her fiancé Dunk, a young Black man. Their car has slid off the road. It being 1951 in the South, Hank and Bertha naturally expect the worst, but it quickly becomes apparent that everything’s on the up and up: Arleta is actually in love with her polite and caring companion, and Dunk eventually wins over the wary couple.
Of course it’s not quite that simple, but I’m not going to give away any more of the plot. Suffice it to say there’s a lot more to come, and you need to see it for yourself.
The first thing you’ll notice is Prince’s incredible, realistic set: a good old-fashioned barbeque restaurant that’ll make your mouth start watering even before a word is uttered. And once Hank and Dunk start comparing wet rub recipes? Forget about it! All I know is I wish I’d planned a different dinner menu after I saw the matinee, because I was craving some saucy ribs!
In addition to designing the perfect set, Prince is also the director of the piece. He’s put together a perfect cast for Tennessee Wet Rub, and expertly directs this amazing ensemble of five actors.
Ivy Opdyke plays Bertha with just the right amount of levels. At first, she comes across as simply a Bible-thumping, subservient wife to Hank, but there’s more to her. She also boldly stands up for herself and others, whether facing off with her husband or the deputy sheriff. Bertha’s a woman confident in her abilities and unafraid to tell someone – even a man – that he’s wrong. One of her speeches late in the play received applause, and completely deserved it. She’s warm and caring and, more importantly, willing to admit when she’s been wrong. Opdyke gives a powerful, unforgettable performance.
As Bertha’s husband Hank, Matt Gunther keeps up with Opdyke at every turn. He knows he’s in charge but understands she’s his partner, not his property. And while they aren’t completely equal (it is the early 1950s, after all), they do better than most at establishing a comfortable, loving marriage. Gunther does a fine job playing both the suspicious curmudgeon and the protector of innocence, and he and Opdyke have fabulous chemistry.
Arianna Hope plays the hapless and almost always teary Arleta, but she doesn’t create a one-note character, instead finding different ways to cry based on what she’s crying about. This isn’t easy to do. She’s also able to make us believe she’s just sixteen without making her performance a caricature, and her doe-eyed attraction to Dunk is completely convincing.
Justice Williams brings a quiet dignity to Dunk. He is obviously used to the treatment a “colored man” in the South receives, but Williams doesn’t make him either resigned to it or belligerent; instead, he gives Dunk the courage to reason with people and try to change their views. Fortunately, playwright Ruyle doesn’t beat us over the head with this, but in the wrong hands, Dunk could have been intolerable. Instead, Williams ensures that he is reasonable, educated, and level-headed, and the messages in the play come across as they should.
Rounding out the cast is Joseph Figueiras as Vern, the deputy sheriff who also seeks refuge at Bertha’s Barbeque when his car ends up in a ditch. Vern is hot-headed and quick to judge, and Figueiras plays this up beautifully as he flails around yelling at everyone and waving his gun. Fortunately, cooler heads prevail, and while Vern’s character doesn’t really change, we at least see the wheels turning in Figueiras’ head as he tries to grapple with some ideas that are new to him.
If you aren’t familiar with The Core Theatre, you should be. Tennessee Wet Rub is the best production I’ve ever seen at The Core and one of the better ones I’ve seen in DFW this season. The cast and directing are top-notch, the set is stunning, and trust me when I tell you that you should plan on having barbeque afterwards.
WHEN: August 7-30, 2026
WHERE: 518 W. Arapaho Road, Suite 115, Richardson TX
WEB: thecoretheatre.org
