Jon Paul Burkhart, Marjorie “MJ Scott, and Chris Durmick (Photo by Sean Dube)
Reviewed by Asa Fris
Skypilot Theatre Company at LACAE Theatre
Thru Aug 30
RECOMMENDED
Dylan Bowers, Kelsey Dougherty, Shelly Snellman, Marie Pettit (Photo by Sean Dube)
There’s something exciting going on in North Hollywood right now, and I don’t mean the early emergence of Halloween decorations, though what I’m talking about is something spooky. It’s Grave Mistakes, an exciting new piece by Ben Abbott, previously developed at Hollin’s Playwrights Lab in 2023, and now being produced by SkyPilot Theatre Company (which produced Abbott’s play Buddies last year). Despite a few hiccups, director Jonathan Fahn and company mount a solid staging of Abbott’s script, allowing it to emerge as the real star of the night.
Grave Mistakes is set in the attic of an allegedly haunted house, intricately designed by Tudi Roche. At the top, we’re introduced to two groups. The first consists of Molly (Shelly Snellman), her sister Jessica (Kelsey Dougherty), and Eloise (Majorie “MJ” Scott). The second is made up of Ray (Dylan Bowers) and his father Bob (Chris Durmick). Both sisters are writers, and Ray is Molly’s editor. That’s not all though. Molly and Ray are madly in love with each other, yet they also refuse to confess to it, despite Jess’s insistence. So even though Ray now lets Molly live in the attic of his rental home, and they’re a perfect nerdy pair, they remain ‘love-terrified’.
And as for Eloise and Bob? They’re dead.
At first you don’t know that for sure until they literally run into each other, and are shocked that they’re able to interact. Eloise is a veteran at this ghost thing. She used to live in the house back in the 1930s until she mysteriously died. Now she remains in the attic, the exact location of her death, haunting it. Bob is fresh off the block. He just died a few weeks ago in a fishing trip accident. But he died before he could convey an important message to Ray, and he’s not going anywhere until he gets that message to cross back over.
Eloise’s haunting hasn’t gone unnoticed, which is good news for Ray because it lowers the value of the house, which he plans on purchasing. The bad news is that the bulldozer of a landlord, Lori (Marie Petit), discovers the website “Haunted Hostings”, and now believes she can make a fortune on the house, and tells Ray to get lost. It’s also bad news for Eloise, who’s come to like Molly as a tenant, and fears the unruly masses that would disturb her haunting grounds. The only catch is, Lori needs to get a paranormal investigator, Guy (Jon Paul Burkhart), to certify the house as haunted. His arrival sparks a slew of plotting and scheming from all parties involved in order to get what they want.
Abbott’s script shines on two fronts. The first is in its various plot resolutions, which are indulgently feel-good. The second is found in the dialogue, which beautifully interweaves the conversations of the living and dead. This works well because Abbott has crafted action that doesn’t leave characters waiting for one party to finish before they can speak. (Even if this does still happen due to some dropped lines, the sort of glitch which should improve over the course of the run.)
Fahn‘s staging is most effective when he brings simple clarity to Abbott’s engaging scenario. Clarity isn’t always achieved, especially at the top where a light and energetic debate about how to kill off a character has been staged as slow philosophical musings, causing quite the hurdle for the cast to overcome. And Fahn’s handling of comedy is too heavy-handed for many of the light, toss-away jokes found in the script. But the overall result is still quite funny, and the cast certainly overcome that early hurdle. You’ll especially find yourself cackling at Snellman, Durmick, Burkhart, and one of Dougherty’s bluffs as Jess in Act II.
A few developmental plot questions remain — namely what Jess is really doing in Act I. Still, it’s incredibly exciting to witness what is otherwise solid and thoughtful new work in theater, right here in Los Angeles.
Fair warning: dress lightly; the night I attended, the theater was entirely too hot. Hopefully something can be done to change that.
Skypilot Theatre Company, LACAE Theatre, 11031 Camarillo St., N. Hollywood. Thurs. -Sat. 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm; thru Aug. 30. http://www.onstage411.com/gravemistakes Running time approximately 1 hour 45 minutes, with intermission
