Rabbit Hole
The first show of The Players 101st Season is the Rhode Island area
premiere of "Rabbit Hole", a play by David Lindsay-Abaire which
won him the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for drama in 2007. The
play is a comic drama that focuses on a couple, Becca and Howie,
trying to cope with the death of their only child, a four-year-old, in an
auto accident, while Becca's well-meaning mom and off-kilter sister
attempt to lift their spirits and deal with their own problems, each
in her own inimitable way. The couple's lives are further complicated when
Jason, the young driver who killed their son contacts them seeking
closure as well. A conversation between Becca and Jason includes a brief
discussion of the theory of quantum immortality as described in a story
he has written about a place where "rabbit holes" lead to parallel
universes. However, the theme of the play is the way people handle grief,
the death of the child, the suicide of a family member and not the
theory or search for quantum immortality. Director Ed Rondeau casts the
best 5 people for each of these roles. The internal despair of each
character is always visible to the audience but Ed brings the pathos
and humor out in each scene of this electrifying show.
Ed not only directs this powerful show but created the beautiful
set for it. It is a unit set with a sunken living room, the kitchen area
and the upstairs complete with a stairway contains a child's
bedroom with a toy box. He brings out deep seated
emotions from his talented cast. It shows how to find hope even in
the darkest of moments and how to find a path to the light of day
again. His hard working stage manager Shelley Tragar keeps things
moving beautifully backstage and onstage all night long. There is a lot of
truth, accuracy and humor in the details of this story. The lighting is by
Ruth Fagan with sound by Jo Biz. All the costumes are by Sue Bergeron
including an excellent leopard blouse for Nat and the multitude of
props including many toys and food items (creme caramel, lemon
squares, a birthday cake and a torte, are handled by Joni Blomstedt,
Eva-Maria Coffey and Shirley Harrison. Sharon Charpentier plays Becca
who tries to stay busy to keep her mind off the family tragedy. The
show opens with her folding the clothes of her four year old son, Danny
and you gradually learn what has happened during her conversation with her
younger sister, Izzy. Her controlled anger and grief simmer beneath the
surface at times. Sharon handles this amazing role beautifully.
Becca explodes at a mother who ignores her 5 year old in the market
because the child wants a fruit roll up and slaps her face.
She finally breaks down crying in a scene with Jason when they
are discussing his prom finally finding closure.She can
also handle comic roles, having recently reviewed her as Veta
Louise Simmons in "Harvey" at 2nd Story Theatre this past
summer. Mark Gentsch plays her husband, Howie
terrifically. He tries to get Becca to come around by trying to
rekindle their physical relationship and when she doesn't want to,
he deals with his grief by watching a videotape of
Danny. Howie becomes outraged at one of Becca's actions when she
accidentally erases the videotape with footage of a tornado from the
weather channel. Mark's best moment comes when he breaks down in tears
during their argument scene at the end of Act 1 when Howie feels Becca is
trying to erase Danny's memory from their lives which brings tears to
your eyes and a lump to your throat. I have reviewed Mark before in
"Twelfth Night" and "It's Only a Play" but this role surpasses them
all.
Krista Weller Burns, a pretty brunette, is hilarious as
Izzy who constantly eats throughout the show and in the birthday scene is
puzzled at the bathroom set Becca and Howie bought her. Izzy tries to
cheer Becca up while wanting to be the center of attention
by discussing a fight she had in a bar with a fat woman and how she
is moving in with her boyfriend. Her own personal crises doesn't
cheer Becca up at all. Krista has dramatic moments in the
show with her best scene being an excellent argument with
Mark about how her waitress friend saw him after a support group
meeting with another woman. She and Trish look like mother and
daughter in real life. Trish McManus has a gem of a role as Nat, the
mother who is a lot like Izzy. She likes to drink and sometimes says
inappropriate things. Trish has a comic
highlight about the "Kennedy curse", how people want things to make
sense but also about rich people acting stupid. This scene erupts
into a dramatic one where Nat shares her past grief with
them. She explains to Becca its key symptom is an isolating, heavy
feeling that may change in time but never really goes away. Krista
and Trish handle most of the much needed humor as part of their characters
with dramatic moments along the way. They both do topnotch work in
this show. I have reviewed Krista in "Fiddler on the Roof" and Trish
in many shows with the last one being "Pygmalion" last
winter. Chris Ferraria plays Jason, the teenaged driver of the car.
He shows his remorse by writing a letter to Becca and
later speaking to her about writing a story about how the little
boy will live on in a parallel universe in his science fiction
story. Jason explains how he didn't see the boy when the dog darted
out in front of his car and how he might have been going 32 or 33 miles an
hour not 30. Chris handles Jason's awkwardness at facing them wonderfully.
The character helps Becca move out of being isolated from the world by his
visit. I also reviewed Chris in "The Laramie Project" where he played the
awful killer Aaron McKinney.So for a terrific look at a contemporary play
that audiences can readily relate to, be sure to catch the gut wrenching
play "Rabbit Hole" before it is too late. Tell them Tony sent
you. Be sure to call Lydia to become a member of this century old
theatre club.
RABBIT HOLE (9 to 18 October, 2009)
The Players, Barker Playhouse, 400 Benefit Street,
Providence,RI
1(401) 273 0590 or www.playersri.org