Jeff LeBeau and Tim Cummings (Photo by John Perrin Flynn)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Ruskin Group Theater
Through July 10
RECOMMENDED
Tim Cummings and Jeff LeBeau (Photo by John Perrin Flynn)
Samuel D. Hunter’s modestly scaled, emotionally devastating play is based on a simple premise, namely, how difficult it is to escape the lingering trauma of an abusive childhood.
For Arnold (Tim Cummings) that abuse extended not only to his father and his alcoholic mother but also to his older half-brother, Jerry (Jeff LeBeau), a bully who made Arnold’s life a living hell until he escaped from his hometown of Grangeville, Idaho, to a new life in Holland.
Jerry, who has recently backed away from a suicide attempt, is now in therapy and coping with the breakup of his marriage. After their mother suffers two strokes and lingers, unresponsive, in the hospital, Jerry reaches out to Arnold for the first time in years.
The long-distance calls between Grangeville and Holland initially are discussions about how to make sense of their mother’s crushing medical bills. But as Jerry sifts through the detritus of his troubled past, he tries to make amends to Arnold, who simply isn’t having it.
The action takes place on Stephanie Kerley Schwartz’s bleak set, which later unfolds for a clever, late-in-play surprise. Yet the cleverest conceit is that each of the two actors play dual roles. In addition to Arnold, Cummings also portrays Stacey, Jerry’s wife, while LeBeau, cast as Jerry, doubles as Bram, Arnold’s husband.
Once their youngest son gets out of high school Stacey wants to escape Grangeville and forge a new life — a plan that doesn’t sit well with Jerry. Meanwhile, Arnold’s husband Bram, a Dutch museum executive poised for a big promotion, does his best to cheer up the indefatigably morose Arnold, a once promising artist whose career has collapsed into obscurity. We sense their marriage is also on the skids.
Since the actors never change costume or alter their appearance, it sometimes takes a moment to adjust when they shift character. But both actors assume their dual personas without a hitch. Cummings portrays Stacey with the most subtle feminine mannerisms — a mildly fluttering hand, a slight intake of breath — while LeBeau’s Bram, complete with a thoroughly convincing Dutch accent, is beautifully underplayed. Amid the wreckage of their marriages, they emerge as caring and sympathetic individuals trapped in unsympathetic situations.
Yet the story’s real dramatic heft lies in the complex relationship between Jerry and Arnold, whose path to forgiveness is a rocky one. It is interesting to note that Jerry, who has never left their hometown, emerges as the sympathetic heart of the play, whereas the brittle and resentful Arnold, who fled Idaho some 30 years ago and has been exposed to all the cosmopolitan influences Europe has to offer, has never managed to outstrip his painful past.
An actor’s dream, Grangeville, now in its West Coast premiere at the Ruskin Group Theater, provides a tour-de-force opportunity for Cummings and LeBeau. Under the astute, unshowy guidance of veteran director John Perrin Flynn, they turn in two of the most layered and heart-rending performances you are likely to see this season.
Although he currently lives in New York, Hunter sets most of his plays in his native Idaho, the source of inspiration for his dramatic explorations of fractured families struggling to find forgiveness. In Grangeville, he illuminates the inner dynamics of those family members who, linked only by blood, have little in common but anguished memories.
Ruskin Group Theater Arts Center, 2800 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru July 19. http://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com 90 minutes with no intermission.
