[NEohioPAL]Berko review: RABBIT HOLE

[Roy Berko]

Realistic ‘RABBIT HOLE’ opens the season at CPH

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

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‘RABBIT HOLE,’ which is now in production at the
Cleveland Play House, is, as one reviewer of the New
York production stated, “almost unbearable to watch at
times due to its insistence on presenting a tragedy
and its consequences with utter candor, and without
sentimentality.”   This comment is a tribute to the
play.  In addition, it is generally true of the CPH
production.

The story involves a 4-year-old boy whom we never
meet, and a car that swerves in the wrong direction at
the wrong time.  What we share is the fall out.  

David Lindsay-Abaire has created an emotional play. 
But, unlike many plays broaching the topic of death,
he does it with humor, pathos and a strong
psychological understanding of the situation.  It
isn’t a morbid play.  It is a realistic look at how
not only the family, but the teenager who was driving
the car are affected by a momentary incident. 

I must admit, I had difficult sitting comfortably in
my seat during the production.  Having lost a
grandson, my mind keep shooting off-stage to my life
and that of our family and our reactions then and the
legacy the experience has left.  Though the incident
was not the same, the same raw emotions are.  In
addition, I counsel people who are survivors of
trauma.  So be aware that I can’t be unbiased in my
thoughts and feelings about the play.

Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could
want.  The accidental death of their son turns their
world upside down.  They are left adrift in their
feelings and thoughts, floating further and further
away from each other as one turns to a support group
and the other turns inward.  Each finds that their
method of coping doesn’t work. 

I found the CPH production, under the guidance of
Artistic Director Michael Bloom, to be basically on
target.  This is a difficult play to stage.  With the
wrong approach it could be a maudlin experience, or if
overdone, a melodrama.  Neither of these outcomes is
the intent of the author.  Bloom and his cast stay
true to the script’s intent by allowing the humor to
come through, the pathos to be present, and the
melodrama nonexistent.  

As Becca, the woman who gave up her career to become a
mother, only to suffer a catastrophic loss, Angela
Reed nicely walks the thin line between emotional
control and hysteria.  Her contained emotion parallels
many trauma sufferers, who believe that “being strong”
entails having no feelings.  And, finally, when her
body screams loudly enough so that she cannot hold the
emotional angst in any longer, her primal scream is
heard and felt by her and the audience.  This is a
fine performance.

Danton Stone is not quite as successful as Becca’s
husband, Howie.  At times, especially at the beginning
of the production, he acts rather than reacts to the
lines and their intent and comes across as
disingenuous.   He seemed to grow into the part as the
evening progressed.

Troy Deutsch is right on target as the teenage driver
of the death car.  His nervous inappropriate giggle on
his first entrance, his awkward stance and facial
expressions, his halting speech were typical of being
over-stressed and confused as he attempts to state the
feelings and thoughts which can’t be said with
clarity.

Much of the comic relief in the play comes from
Becca's encounters with her less than perfect mother
and sister, who keep dropping by to keep her company. 
 Both sense her unspoken disapproval of them, but they
love her too much to let that get in the way of being
there.  These parts, which wavered between being
overly self-absorbed and empathetic, were well played
by Kat Skinner (Nat) and Genevieve Elam (Izzy) 

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  I found the ‘RABBIT HOLE’
experience absorbing, at times humorous, but, most
importantly, realistic.  It is a snapshot of our
family and all the other people who have gone through
similar experiences.  It’s a production worth seeing.

‘RABBIT HOLE’ runs through October 8 at the CPH.  Call
216-795-7000 or go on-line to
www.clevelandplayhouse.com for tickets.



Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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