Rabbit Hole
Reviewed by Dana Martin
2Cents Theatre Group
Through March 10
Rabbit Hole plunges into uncharted and truly terrifying terrain; losing a child. David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner examines a family struggling to comes to terms with their loss with nuanced compassion. While 2cents Theatre Group’s site-specific approach has moments of brilliance, the dramatic action needs time to find its footing.
Becca (Perry Daniel) and Howie (Mark McClain Wilson) are attempting to move on while falling apart. Their 4-year-old son Danny was killed by a car while chasing a dog into the street 8 months prior. The couple is coping poorly, unable to face the totality of their loss. The weight of suppressed grief has borne down on the couple’s marriage, as well as on all close family ties. Danny’s life — and his death — are an unspoken and overwhelming presence. Becca boxes up Danny’s belongings with an almost clinical detachment and admonishes her mother Nat for any outward expressions of grief. She rebuffs Howie’s attempts at intimacy. When her sister Izzy reveals an accidental pregnancy, she is stoic but clearly shaken, the enormity of her pain hidden in plain sight. No one around her quite knows how to cope or what to say.
The play explores familial relationships with little revelation: overbearing mother, needy sister, alienated, possibly cheating husband. It is all somewhat predictable. The story takes an interesting turn when Jason, the high school boy who killed Danny, suddenly appears, which leads to the evening’s most poignant and cathartic moments.
Perry Daniel finds a measured performance as Becca. She’s largely responsible for navigating the play’s peaks and valleys and handles it efficiently. Mark McClain Wilson finds moments of explosive catharsis as grieving Dad Howie. He first appears to be taking the loss in stride — but he’s really good at masking his pain. His best moments are the private ones. Jessica J’aime takes some time to settle into attention-seeking, tender-hearted Izzy. She’s feisty, loud and loyal. Laurie O’Brien is wise and broken as Becca’s supportive-if-overbearing mother Nat. Danny Helms’ Jason is earnest and straightforward. He quietly, generously absorbs innumerable emotional blows.
Director Kristen Boulé sets the play within a group therapy session (complete with cozy blankets) that members of the audience are attending. The chairs are arranged in a circle with playing space in the center. The conceit lends itself well to the story and creates a sense of shared intimacy between the actors and the audience. Boulé’s direction is at its best when the action is driven. Several of the slower, quieter moments are under-vocalized and therefore under-energized. Set design by Aaron Francis is comprised of large building blocks containing various compartments from which the actors pull Danny’s belongings. The furniture itself is too small for the actors, and they’re too often crouching over the blocks, sending energy downward. The smallness of the set coupled with too many props clutters the action and creates too many unnecessary hurdles for the actors. Cricket S. Myers’ sound design is interesting — sometimes sharp but mostly ambient. Matthew Richter’s lighting design is ambitious and effective.
2Cents Theatre Group’s current incarnation of Rabbit Hole is decent, with the potential to be exceptional. Grief is a primal sensation — an expression we collectively recognize and hope never to face, yet it is an inevitable by-product of love. Rabbit Hole offers a glimpse into a parallel universe ruled by profound loss so we can better understand our own.
Lake Street Community Center, 227 N. Lake Street, Westlake; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Mar. 10. (800) 838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4066312. Running time: two hours with one 10-minute intermission.
