The Rescued

Reviewed by Julia Stier
The Road Theatre Company
Through November 11

RECOMMENDED

Now playing at The Road on Magnolia, Julie Marie Myatt’s The Rescued is a touching tale about the journey to peace. Under the direction of Marya Mazor, a small yet spectacular cast takes on the personas of rescue animals and tells their startlingly relatable stories.

Six lonely, neglected animals have found a new home. Their tales — where they came from, how they cope with their pasts, and how they’ve learned to move forward — are surprisingly human. This motley crew is made up of the volatile Jason (Patrick Joseph Rieger), Harold (J.D. Hall), the “oldie but goody,” the temperamental Buster (Leandro Cano), the elegant Candice (Meeghan Holaway), Darrell (Rahul Rai), the lovable and neurotic ball of energy, and finally, Lola (Kacie Rogers), the newbie.

All of the actors infuse their characters with distinct personalities and work together beautifully to play off those differences. Hall shines as Harold, the unofficial grandfather of the group. His smooth, deep voice captures the nostalgia he feels for certain moments of his tumultuous past, and brings the audience into the story right from the start. Holaway is marvelous as the cool and controlled Candice. The story’s happiest and saddest moments rest with Rai, who plays Darrell with a sense of earnestness (I caught myself saying “aw” aloud quite a few times). His is the character you fall in love with. While some of the others get bogged down by the treacheries of their past, Darrell forges ahead. His little quirks come off as endearing rather than annoying, and Rai’s attention to details in terms of gestures and timing are true testaments to his talent.

The musical interludes are the one aspect of this show that still need some work. While they serve as a great transitional tool between scenes, they nonetheless feel a bit out of place, and at times can even be jarring. They are the one blemish in an otherwise flawless production.

This show invites us to look at ourselves and try to recognize how we deal with our own troubled pasts. Do we let unfortunate events turn us bitter, like Jason? Or drive us to hide ourselves away from the world, like Lola? Or do we eventually learn to come to terms with it all, like Harold? This cleverly written story encourages us to ask ourselves some very interesting questions.

The Road on Magnolia, 10747 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through Nov. 11. https://roadtheatre.org/event/the-rescued/. Running time: 85 minutes with no intermission.