Two New York City sanitation workers are assigned to work together on a route. Danny, a blue collar divorced father, has been driving garbage trucks for years. Marlowe is an African-American woman, with a Master’s from Columbia University who we are not certain as to why she has taken such a job. He jabbers on and on while she remains quiet, clearly avoiding expressing anything about her life- polar opposites. Will they find common ground as they ride in the cab of the truck and pile trash into the back of it? That is the story behind “The Garbologist,” by Lindsay Joelle, now running at Montgomery Theater in Souderton.
Initially, we listen to Danny rant about everything as they ride in the truck. In the second scene, we see them collecting the garbage. He keeps telling her the way to pick up the bags and how to toss them. Though it is humorous to us, Marlowe is not amused. She doesn’t want his help in any way. She wants to do the job alone and let him just drive. It does become interesting as he tells her about what he has learned from people’s garbage. We learn the word “mongo” from Danny. It is the art of discovering treasures in people’s trash. And Marlowe creates the word “garbologist,” a person who studies or is an expert in garbage.
He tells her about how his ex-wife pulled their son away from him, as if it is the worst thing in the world until she blurts out that her 4-year-old son is dead.
As expected, they do start to relate to each other. And Marlowe is thrilled when Danny gives her a book that he found in the trash and that she recognizes as an artifact of great value that she can sell. She is heavily in debt. She even agrees to have a drink with him. But when he discovers the value of the book, he wants a piece of the selling price.
It’s a good story and Matt Pfeiffer and Noelle Diane Johnson give outstanding performances in the play. But while “The Garbologist” is interesting, somehow it is also rather formulaic and lacks the emotional subtext thats needed to make me care more deeply about the characters. If this were the play’s premiere, I would hope that playwright, Joelle, would work on it further to give it more depth. But alas, it has been around for three years. Her play is good. I wanted it to be better.
“The Garbologists” by Lindsay Joelle at Montgomery Theater, 124 Main Street, Souderton, PA 18964. 215-723-9984 montgomerytheater.org thru March 8, 2026
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 