2007 Pulitzer Prize Winner!
Orange County Premiere!
Rabbit Hole
by David Lindsay-Abaire
directed by Oanh Nguyen
- 05/11/08 ARTICLE: Anaheim Bulletin
- 05/12/08 REVIEW: What The Butler Saw
- 05/14/08 REVIEW: Back Stage West
Critic's Pick - 05/16/08 REVIEW: EDGE Los Angeles
- 05/16/08 REVIEW: Orange County Register
- 05/18/08 REVIEW: StageSceneLA.com
- 05/20/08 REVIEW: Fullerton Observer
- 05/22/08 REVIEW: OC Weekly
- 05/27/08 ARTICLE: OCRegister.com
- 06/03/08 REVIEW: StageHappenings.com
THEATER ARTICLE
Theatergoers to head down 'Rabbit Hole'
Broadway play, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, makes its O.C. debut today
Anaheim Bulletin
May 11, 2008
The Chance Theater is staging the Orange County premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole."
The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama debuts today and runs through June 8 at the Anaheim Hills theater.
The play, directed by Artistic Director, Oanh Nguyen, is about the Corbett family being turned upside down by a tragic event.
Filled with heartbreak, compassion, wit and honesty, "Rabbit Hole" explains family relationships. Having won or been nominated for almost every major playwriting award in the country, the play is widely regarded as one of the best plays written in the past 25 years.
"Simply put, each character in 'Rabbit Hole' is trying to find their own way to cope with a tragic event, but they find that life keeps moving forward whether they are ready or not," Nguyen said. "It's about finding answers and trying to make sense of the world and life."
"Rabbit Hole" opened on Broadway on Feb. 2, 2006, at the Biltmore Theatre and was an instant hit. Critics applauded the production. A New York Times review called the play an "anatomy of grief (that) doesn't so much jerk tears as tap them, from a reservoir of feelings common to anyone who has experienced the landscape-shifting vacuum left by a death in the family."
The cast features Chance Theater Resident Company Members Alex Bueno ("The Eight: Reindeer Monologues"), Jennifer Ruckman ("Frozen"), Jonathon Lamer ("Sunday in the Park with George") and Karen Webster ("Variations on a Theme: The Best"). They are joined by Kevin Johnston, who makes his Chance Theater debut.
"Rabbit Hole" is the fourth production of The Chance Theater's 10th anniversary season.
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THEATER REVIEW
Rabbit Hole
by James Scarborough, What The Butler Saw
May 12, 2008
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Given its Orange County premiere at The Chance Theater, David Lindsay-Abaire's 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning Rabbit Hole, flawlessly directed by Oanh Nguyen, is both Alice in Wonderland enchanting and mine shaft disorienting.
In this deeply moving story of loss and redemption, Nguyen articulates various depths of grief. Each character burrows down into themself; each character finds it hard to pull back and consider things in context.
Though moments of lightheartedness punctuate the sadness (if we fell any faster we'd get the bends), it's a sensitive and moving story about attempts to gain emotional purchase against sensations of somersaulting down what appears to be a bottomless pit.
It's a story of coping.
Becca and Howie Corbett (Jennifer Ruckman and Jonathan Lamer) can't. They try without success to come to terms with the sudden death of their four-year old son. Each manages their individual grief but can't quite resolve the tragedy's long-term implications on their relationship.
The wayward sister Izzy (Alex Bueno) does, though at first she can't even get her own act together. She steps up big time.
And their mother Nat (Karen Webster) does as well, though it took years to do so after the tragic death of her own son.
In poignant spirals of despair, the unraveling of grief is best expressed in Becca's refusal to let go. Everything reminds her of what she lost. She's emotionally hamstrung.
Initially Howie handles things better than her but, on the scale of grief, it's all relative. By the end he's about to erupt.
The marriage totters on the brink of God-knows-what until Becca comes around after a visit from a surprise guest, good guy teenager Jason (Kevin Johnston).
To purge his own grief (he drove the car that struck the boy who chased the dog into the street; in all the chaos we didn't even think about him) he wrote a science fiction (i.e., alternative reality) story dedicated to the memory of the son based on his theory of parallel universes. Once grieving Becca realized that there could be a happy Becca in a parallel universe, she could approach her as yet uncharted future.
Each actor brought dignity to grief. They built up the suspense by extending the emotional and psychological free fall of their characters.
We didn't know if the marriage would end, if Howie would have an affair, how Becca would continue to act out. What would happen to Izzy and her child.
But then hope appeared and salvation seemed possible.
Tech efforts excelled (kudos to KC Wilkerson and Mosaku Tobaru). When Jason read his story, it appeared behind him projected on the wall. His catharsis was the first and the most memorable.
Any company that can simultaneously (and seamlessly) stage a sci-fi musical spoof and something like this is one special company. It's further evidence that there is nothing accidental much less aleatory about the Chance's success.
Performances are 8pm Thursday, 7pm Sunday. The show runs until June 8. Tickets are $22-25. The Theater is located at 5552 E. La Palma Avenue, Anaheim Hills. For more information call (714) 777-3033 or visit www.chancetheater.com.
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THEATER REVIEW
Rabbit Hole
by Eric Marchese, Back Stage West
Critic's Pick
May 14, 2008
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Skillful writing, acting of utter conviction, and directorial restraint converge in the Orange County premiere staging of David Lindsay-Abaire's 2006 drama. We're plunged into seemingly harmless everyday scenes of a lighthearted tone, skillfully disarming us. Bit by bit, we learn what's been eating away for the past eight months at 20-something sisters Becca (Jennifer Ruckman) and Izzy (Alex Bueno); Becca's husband, Howie (Jonathon Lamer); and the girls' mom, Nat (Karen Webster). Once the tragic backstory has been brought to light, it's impossible not to feel like a fly on the wall of moments so painful and so private, we feel guilty for hearing and witnessing them. Thus we can only empathize when the play's fifth character, a high school senior named Jason (Kevin Johnston), enters this circle as an outsider. The difference is that he is both a perpetrator and a victim, having been at the proverbial wrong place at the wrong time, causing a dreadful accident, the ripples of which affect him profoundly.
Backed by his creative team's subtle technical proficiency, Oanh Nguyen's superlative cast pulls off the script's dual demands, demonstrating effortless comic timing and dramatic chops of equal ease yet of considerable emotional impact. Though their personalities differ, one can see how the girls sprang from their mom. Bueno is like a younger version of Webster, who in turn is a talkative, opinionated older woman. Ruckman shows the strain that wears on the ever-practical Becca, intent on being the perfect wife, mother, sister, daughter, hostess, what have you. Her scenes with Lamer underscore the story's basic tension: a couple taking opposite approaches to processing grief. Johnston's Jason is a typical teen, as tentative and uncertain as the adults. Were that we could all climb through one of his "rabbit holes" to a parallel universe, leaving loss behind.
Presented by and at the Chance Theater,
5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim.
Thu. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. May 11-Jun. 8.
(714) 777-3033.
www.chancetheater.com.
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THEATER REVIEW
Rabbit Hole
by Obed Medina, EDGE Los Angeles
May 16, 2008
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David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole has come full circle to its place of origin in Orange County after a successful award-winning run on Broadway. It was originally commissioned by the South Coast Repertory for Pacific Playwrights Horizon here in Southern California, and then went on to be nominated for five Tony Awards (it won for Best Actress) on Broadway. In 2007, it was the winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Now, nearly three years later, The Chance Theatre has given it (to borrow directly from director, Oanh Nguyen) an "amazing" production.
Eight months after the accidental death of their four year old son, Becca (Jennifer Ruckman) and Howie (Jonathon Lamer) are struggling to put their lives back together and move on. Their relationship is strained and, to complicate matters even more, Becca's irresponsible younger sister, Izzy (Alex Bueno), has just announced that she is pregnant. The play examines the delicate and complicated nature of family relationships, and how each member deals with loss in their own way.
In the hands of a less capable director, "Rabbit Hole" can come off like an overly melodramatic movie of the week. On the flip side, there is also the danger of an all too polished performance that can wipe away the human aspect of the play. If that happens, the tonality of the play is lost and the point of the play is missed completely. That is definitely not the case with this production. It is very evident that Nguyen and the rest of the company involved took to heart the very essence of Lindsay-Abaire's examination of the grief process. I'm not going to take away from the rest of the cast--they all did an excellent job -- but Ruckman's restrained performance touches upon so many levels of subtext and human drama that it's hard not to empathize with Becca on an emotional level.
Not that she ever gives into fits of histrionics. The play never goes for the cheap emotions. Instead, some of the most poignant scenes are often the quiet and comedic beats found in the play. When Becca and her mother, Nat (Karen Webster) are clearing out Danny's room, the grief is seen briefly in the moment when grandmother clutches her grandson's shoe and Becca swiftly and mercilessly snatches it away and puts it in the goodwill box. That scene lasts but a mere second or two, but the implications reach deep into these women's souls. Nat's grief is two-fold, and the effect on Becca is a double blow. To break tension, Bueno has skillfully handled Izzy in a comedic manner that does not insult the grief, but, instead, is used as a way of coping. Her subtle transformation from careless party girl to maturing mother-to-be is a refreshing beacon of hope.
These small moments are repeated again and again, building up to a sort of resolution that, thankfully, mirrors reality. For Becca, release and healing can come from the very source of the pain, in this case, in the form of seventeen year old Jason (Kevin Johnston, in an equally moving performance), while this same young man can still be the source of anger and resentment for Howie.
Propelling the play in practicality is the wonderful work seen on stage by Lighting Designer, KC Wilkerson, Sound Designer (Mitchell Kohen*), and Costume Designer (Erika C. Miller). The transitions between scenes with characters briefly overlapping space and time are as much a part of the play as the text itself. This production at The Chance Theater of Rabbit Hole is one not to be missed.
Rabbit Hole runs through June 8 at The Chance Theater. For schedule, ticket prices and more information visit The Chance Theater website.
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THEATER REVIEW
Pervasive loss fills 'Rabbit Hole' in Anaheim Hills
Review: The Chance Theater gives the powerful 2006 drama about the death of a child its due in O.C. premiere.
by Eric Marchese, Orange County Register
May 16, 2008
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When playwright David Lindsay-Abaire extrapolated his worst nightmare on paper - the fear of losing his young son - the drama "Rabbit Hole" was born.
At first a staged reading at South Coast Repertory in 2005, the play reached Broadway the following year and in 2007 won the Pulitzer Prize for best drama. With its Orange County premiere at the Chance Theater, "Rabbit Hole" comes home again in a staging bound to give pause to all who see it.
The script itself is a marvel of subtle emotion, making a sturdy foundation for Oanh Nguyen's precise yet restrained direction and for a quintet of compelling performances. What at first seems a studied domestic comedy gradually evolves into a portrait of a family in crisis - or, more accurately, one dealing with a crisis' aftermath.
We see 30-something Becca (Jennifer Ruckman) in her comfortable Larchmont, N.Y., home with younger sister Izzy (Alex Bueno). The opening scenes depict the sisters' interaction and that of Becca and her husband, Howie (Jonathon Lamer).
With clenched jaw and stiff neck, Becca is the classic, responsible "good girl," her excessive practicality played for laughs as well as to create tension. It's clear, too, that her soft-spoken husband Howie is stewing in something, and that eventually, he and Becca are going to have to hash things out.
The less worldly, less well-educated Izzy is at first used for comic relief, but as the story deepens, her role within the family changes. The girls' gabby, bluntly candid mom, Nat (Karen Webster), unwittingly adds to the dysfunction.
Late in the play, an outsider enters the family circle - Jason (Kevin Johnston), the teen whose presence in the wrong place at the wrong time had dreadful consequences for them all, himself included.
Teen-aged Jason is unfocused and inarticulate - but, hoping to explore writing as a career, he struggles to express his remorse to people nearly twice his age who may not care to listen.
Like the parallel universes described by Jason, the script reflects a sharp sense of humor and an equal one of horror, each covering over a pervasive sense of loss. Notably in the opening scenes, carefully placed laughs keep us from seeing what's roiling underneath. A thoughtful craftsman, Lindsay-Abaire delivers the blows to Becca's neatly and carefully ordered home and life gradually, in short flurries - at first a few, then more, with harsher impact.
As the story unfolds, Becca and Howie undergo many more than standard five stages of grief - remorse, emptiness, wistful nostalgia, guarded hope and utter hopelessness. Without pedantry or preachiness, "Rabbit Hole" raises issues of religious faith. Don't look away, the playwright is saying - this is real life.
At its crux, "Rabbit Hole" depicts two young marrieds suffering the most crushing loss imaginable, yet unable to comfort each other. Torn up inside, Howie is at his wit's end. Becca soldiers on, keeping a lid on her emotions. Obviously, something must give.
Nguyen's superb cast handles the script's dual styles, comedic and dramatic, with equal ease and with no visible shift. Ruckman shows that Stepford-Wife Becca's hard outer shell is a protective covering. Once the veneer begins to crack, she figuratively removes a Band-Aid in one rapid, painful move.
Howie is a self-contained guy who makes no secret of his wish to feel his son's continued presence. Lamer projects Howie as precise, reasonable and accommodating, giving Becca space to process things, and shows that Howie's daily motions are, like Becca's, a façade. Together, he and Ruckman paint a couple uncertain of the next logical step.
In looks and mannerisms, Ruckman, Bueno and Webster seem like a nuclear family. Bueno's uncomplicated Izzy is instantly likable. While wholly feminine, Bueno shows Izzy's tomboyish, impish side. Webster's opinionated Nat is resigned to the reality that losing family members is a fact of life. By mirroring one anothers' vocal patterns and gestures, Webster and and Bueno enhance the plausibility of a family connection.
With his slight build, diffidence and bored stare, Johnston makes Jason, who is basically a good kid, all the more vulnerable, his tense, high-pitched voice reflecting the teen's basic uncertainty. His desperation to make good is matched only by his naïveté as to how to do so.
The technical aspects are flawlessly handled. Masako Tobaru's spotless white set bespeaks sophistication, with its chic but low-key furnishings and lighting fixtures, paintings, houseplants and scores of books neatly arranged in wall units.
Tobaru's projections onto the white walls remove us to other locales. KC Wilkerson's lighting is realistic and unshowy, and Mitchell Kohen's sound design uses reflective music to underscore the melancholy subject.
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THEATER REVIEW
"Rabbit Hole"
by Joyce Rosenthal, Fullerton Observer
May 20, 2008
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Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire deals with the ultimate tragedy parents can face, the loss of a child. It is a powerful and gripping play and offers a very realistic view of a couple who are still trying to cope with their loss. As in real life, there are humorous moments interspersed with the sad proceedings throughout the play and it is easy to relate to these people.
Becca and Howie lost their four year old son eight months ago when he was hit by a car in front of their house. Howie seems ready to move forward but Becca does not. Howie calls his friends and sees them, Becca is waiting for her friends to call her. Overtly, neither blames the other for what happened yet there is an increasing tension and coldness between them.
Little by little Becca is removing all traces of their son. She has taken down all pictures of him, and is giving away his toys, clothing and books which upsets Howie. His greatest solace is watching a video of his son over and over.
Complicating matters is Becca's sister Izzy who is single and announces that she is pregnant and intends to have and keep the baby. Another complication is Becca's mother, Nat who constantly refers to the son (Becca's brother) that she lost several years ago implying that the situations are the same and so she understands fully what Becca is going through. Finally, Jason, who was involved in the accident contacts them and wants to visit.
... The Set Design by Masako Tobaru provided a beautiful background for the play without being intrusive. Director Oanh Nguyen put his cast through their paces and all of them were outstanding; Jennifer Ruckman (Becca), Alex Bueno (Izzy), Jonathon Lamer (Howie), Karen Webster (Nat) and Kevin Johnston (Jason)
Rabbit Hole plays through June 8, 2008 at Chance Theater.
Helpful Hint: Take tissues with you---you will need them.
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THEATER REVIEW
Rabbit Hole
by Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA
May 18, 2008
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David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is making its Orange County debut in an absolutely brilliant production by the award-winning Chance Theater. Spoilers abound in this review, so if you know nothing about Rabbit Hole's plot, read no further. Simply pick up the phone or go online and make a reservation to see it. Rabbit Hole is the kind of play where the less you know about it, the more it will affect you, and affect you it will . deeply.
Rabbit Hole is about grief, and the different ways that people deal with it. More specifically, it's about perhaps the most terrible grief any human being can face, the irreparable loss of a small child.
What makes Lindsay-Abaire's play a Pulitzer Prize winner and not a Lifetime Movie For Women is its unsentimental, un-clichéd, unpredictable script, and the humor which Lindsay-Abaire finds even in the heart of tragedy. What makes this production such a memorable one, and superior even to the Geffen Playhouse's excellent West Coast Premiere, is the intimacy of its setting, the superb direction by Oanh Nguyen, and the inspired performances of its cast of five.
Rabbit Hole's opening scene is deceptively benign. Becca (Jennifer Ruckman), a 30ish wife and mother, is folding the laundry, clothes which appear to be those of a four-year-old, and chatting with her spirited sister Izzy (Alex Bueno). Baby Sis has gotten herself into a barroom brawl, and in telling of it, lets slip that she's pregnant. Little by little, it dawns on us that the clothes Becca is folding belong to a child who is no more, a little boy named Danny who not so long ago chased the family dog out into the street and was struck by a car and killed. What makes Danny's death even more senseless is that the car was not speeding; its teenage driver could have done nothing to avoid hitting the boy, who must simply have materialized between parked cars. It just happened, in an instant, and no one's life will ever be the same.
Becca's husband Howie (Jonathon Lamer) deals with his grief by attending group therapy sessions and by endlessly watching videos of his son's brief life. Becca copes, or attempts to cope, by making sure that nothing in her home reminds her of Danny. She has removed all pictures of him from the living room, is donating his clothes to charity, and has placed his beloved dog in the care of her mother Nat (Karen Webster). Becca's husband clings to the familiar; Becca just wants to sell the house and move away.
It's not merely Izzy's pregnancy that prevents Becca from moving on. She has received a letter from the teenage driver Jason (Kevin Johnston), who has written a short story which he wants to dedicate to Danny, and has asked if it would be possible to meet Becca and Howie.
No way, says Howie. Becca is not so sure, and goes so far as to read Jason's story, a tale of alternate universes which sets Becca's mind to wondering, is there an alternate Becca whose life is happy, and could she possibly go down the rabbit hole and become that alternate version of herself?
The words "directed by Oanh Nguyen" are a virtual guarantee of a theatrical event. Never has this been more true than with Rabbit Hole. His understanding of the five characters has led to deeply moving performances. Several magical Nguyen touches and even his blocking are truly inspired.
In the role that won Cynthia Nixon a Tony, Jennifer Ruckman proves herself a young Meryl Streep. Ruckman understands that Becca's grief must never be far from the surface, and seeing her deal with even mundane situations, one is aware that this is a woman struggling to preserve her sanity. When Becca finally breaks down during her scene with Jason, the tears come naturally, because they have always been there just under the surface. Ruckman's performance is absolutely riveting . and devastating.
Jonathon Lamer does equally fine work as Howie. Standout moments include simply the look on Lamer's face as he watches the last video taken of Danny, the mixture of disbelief, anger and sheer agony which accompanies his realization that Becca has taped over the only copy, and the explosion of barely controlled rage that greets Jason's uninvited visit.
As Becca's deceptively ditzy younger sister, Alex Bueno does her finest work yet. Bueno's performance is totally natural and absolutely real, as is Karen Webster's as Nat. Webster tends to get the "older women" roles at the Chance, and no one could play them better. Here she is the voice of reason, and her speech to Becca about how her own loss has stayed with her despite the passing of years is particularly heartfelt.
Finally, making his Chance debut is the deeply moving Kevin Johnston as Jason. Lindsay-Abaire could easily write a second play about Jason's grief and guilt, and the scene in which he confesses to Becca his fear that he may have been driving two or three miles above the limit is heartbreaking, all the more so because Johnston underplays it so perfectly.
Now, about those Oanh Nguyen touches. There are surely more, but here are three that come to mind.
- When Jason appears on stage to read aloud the letter at the same time as Becca is reading it silently, we see Jason's letter projected on the walls behind him and read his words with them.
- As Howie watches the video of Danny in the park, the living room walls become covered with a projection of grass and flowers. Howie has literally gone back in time and space.
- When Jason enters the living room through the open front door, Nguyen make sure that the four family members are on the opposite side of the stage. When they turn to confront him, it is almost as if Jason were facing an enemy firing squad, and since the other four actors are taller than Johnston, the effect is particularly powerful.
Major kudos to Masako Tobaru for the beautifully conceived and realized living room set and projections. (I'd wondered how the one scene not in the living room would be handled. Tobaru does it beautifully with a simple projection across the living room walls.) KC Wilkerson's lighting is particularly effective in that scene and in the scene changes, which Nguyen's direction allows to flow with particular smoothness. Mitchell Kohen's sound design enhances Rabbit Hole's shifting moods, and Erika C. Miller's costumes are just right for each character.
Since Rabbit Hole is playing only twice weekly and for a limited run, make your reservations early. I predict many sold out houses for this must-see production, yet another jewel in the Chance Theater's already diamond studded crown.
Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave. Anaheim Hills. Through June 8. Thursdays at 8:00, Sundays at 7:00. Reservations: (714) 777-3033 or www.chancetheater.com
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THEATER REVIEW
The Chance Theater's 'Rabbit Hole' Is a Liberating Dose of Reality
by Joel Beers, OC Weekly
May 22, 2008
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First, what Rabbit Hole, David Lindsay-Abaire's 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning play receiving its Orange County premiere at the Chance Theater, isn't:
Epic. Adventurous. Inventive. Revelatory. Timely. Or particularly witty, deep, smartly written, even original.
What it is: a profoundly moving, emotionally arresting play that, in the highly capable hands of director Oanh Nguyen and his five-person cast, ranks among the most riveting pieces of theater to grace a local stage in years.
And what's astonishing is how unappealing it comes off at first. It's a two-hour-and-15-minute kitchen-sink reality play about a couple painfully trying to grapple with the death of their 5-year-old son.
Grand Theft Auto 4 it ain't.
Equally remarkable is that it sprang from the fingertips of Lindsay-Abaire. The New York-based playwright has been on the national theater radar for a decade. But his two biggest plays, Fuddy Meers and Kimberly Akimbo, both of which have received Orange County productions, felt disjointed. Though each featured characters in serious mental and physical crises, any potential resonance was diluted by a pervasive strain of Christopher Durang-like looniness.
Though entertaining, the oddball eccentricities made each play difficult to take seriously, almost as if Lindsay-Abaire didn't think it was hip to write a serious play, so he had to pepper the proceedings with quirky misfits, such as the viciously caustic hand puppet wielded by the misfit in Fuddy Meers, or a wannabe subversive who steals mailboxes in Kimberly Akimbo.
Rabbit Hole scuttles the sarcasm and abandons the absurd, focusing solely on very real people in very real situations dealing-or not dealing-with very real emotions.
Those people are Becca (an impeccable Jennifer Ruckman, who walks a precarious line between obsessive control freak and simmering emotional volcano), a former career-oriented woman turned stay-at-home mother, and her husband, Howie (an equally stellar and believable Jonathon Lamer).
The play-set 10 months after the death of their son, Davey, who was struck and killed by a car driven by a teenager-begins with Becca's likeable fuck-up of a sister, Izzy (a feisty Alex Bueno), recalling a bar scrum she'd gotten into the night before. But, like nearly everything in Rabbit Hole, what's truly important percolates beneath the surface: The story is Izzy's backhanded way of letting her sister know she's pregnant.
The announcement is the catalyst that finally forces Becca and Howie into dealing with their loss. It's not that they've been hiding from their son's death: Davey's bedroom remains intact, and a video of him shot shortly before his death is constantly in the VCR.
But both are stuck in their respective grieving ruts, and though each seems to be handling it as well as one could expect, they are both scared shitless about the most difficult part of the process: truly accepting Davey's death. Just as his life largely identified them for five years, his death now defines them. And as Rabbit Hole unwinds in its deceivingly simple pattern, we realize their inability to move on is also what keeps them from unraveling.
What's most refreshing about Lindsay-Abaire's play is its lack of device, both in terms of plot twists and dramaturgical hocus pocus. There are no skeletons lurking in the closet; no lightning bolts hit the stage and expose some dark secret or awful, ugly truth. Nor does the play ever embark on soaring flights of poetic fancy or eloquently worded monologues that link the pain of this couple to some greater universal truth of human mortality and the fragility of existence.
It's all very simple: People are in pain. To get through it will mean even more pain. And there's no guarantee of making it through intact.
Not the most inspiring of rally cries, but in a time when so much theater (and so much popular culture) is so much bullshit, it's positively liberating to get a dose of reality.
Rabbit Hole at the Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim,
(714) 777-3033; www.chancetheater.com. Thurs., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.
Through June 8. $22-$25.
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THEATER ARTICLE
They're digging a longer 'Rabbit Hole' at the Chance Theater
by Paul Hodgins, OCRegister.com
May 27, 2008
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Anaheim Hills' Chance Theater is extending its run of David Lindsay-Abaire's award-winning play, "Rabbit Hole." This staging of a poignant and deeply personal family tragedy was lavished with praise by the local critics (including the Register's Eric Marchese) and has a bonafide O.C. connection: it was first read at South Coast Repertory's Pacific Playwrights Festival a few seasons back. Details follow.
The Chance Theater is extending its critically lauded production of RABBIT HOLE thru June 15th, with performances on Friday, June 13th at 8pm, Saturday, June 14th at 8pm, and Sunday, June 15th at 2pm.
Directed by Chance Theater Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen, the play is about the Corbetts, who had everything a regular family could want. until the day their world was turned upside down. Teeming with heartbreak, compassion, wit, and honesty, RABBIT HOLE is a nuanced and delicate piece of theater about family relationships, loss and hope. Having won or been nominated for almost every major playwriting award in the country, RABBIT HOLE is widely regarded as one of the best new plays written in the last 25 years.
Since opening on Sunday, May 11th, RABBIT HOLE has been playing to sold-out houses. The production has received positive feedback from Chance Theater audiences and critics, making it an easy choice to add performances after its original closing date on Sunday, June 8th.
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THEATER ARTICLE
Rabbit Hole
by Shirley Gottlieb, StageHappenings.com
June 3, 2008
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If you're reading this review on line, there's a good chance you've never been to The Chance Theater before. In fact, you've probably never heard of it; and that's your loss.
As a small 45-seat theater located in the foothills of Anaheim, it is certainly off the beaten track. But big things often come in small packages, and The Chance is making such big waves in Orange County it deserves your attention.
In a nutshell, this gutsy little company has been taking a big "chance" by producing provocative theater that continually challenges both the actors on stage and people in the audience.
It's efforts have paid off and word of its success has spred like wildfire. Recently, just months shy of its tenth birthday, The Chance was voted the 2nd best theatre in Orange County right on the heels of South Coast Repertory.
To see what all the talk is about, you couldn't do better than attend the current production of "Rabbit Hole" by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, David Lindsay-Abaire. The fact that this acclaimed drama is making its Orange County debut at a small theater in Anaheim is a sure sign that The Chance is making its mark. "Rabbit Hole" is an honest, straight-forward story about the death of a small child, and the havoc and unspeakable pain that almost destroys the people involved.
Beautifully written by Lindsay-Abaire, it's a heart-wrenching side of life that everyone in the audience can relate to if it's not over-acted, sentimentalized, or made maudlin. Kudos to Oanh Nguyen for his impeccable, sensitive direction of this timeless tragedy; and to his five-member ensemble who play off of each other like well-tempered chambre music.
Masako Tobaru's set design and projections are sheer magic that turn the couple's lovely living room into a child's nursery during flash-backs; KC Wilkerson's light design creates both mood and illusion for the transitions; and Erika Miller's costumes are perfect for real characters who live in the real world and go through a devastating family crisis.
You couldn't ask for a finer cast. Jennifer Ruckman and Jonathon Lamer turn in flawless portrayals of the young grieving parents (Becca and Howie) who struggle to come to grips with their lives after the death of their four-year-old son, Danny. (It was an accident, it happened so fast, it couldn't be helped! He ran after his dog into the street, it's not my fault! He loved the dog, but you brought it home, it's your fault! I hated the dog, but it's still alive, and now Danny is dead!)
Alex Bueno is delightful as Izzy, Becca's kooky, free-spirited sister, who discovers she's pregnant while Becca is still mourning the death of her son; and Karen Webster is outstanding as Nat, the mother of two girls whose temperament couldn't be more disparate. Seemingly happy-go-lucky, laissez-faire, and able to roll with the punches, Nat reveals her own secret turmoil when she tries to help Becca get through her suffering. As in real life, the parents go from stoic acceptance and agonizing inner pain, to ribald jokes and desperate humor, then back again to controlled composure. Anything at hand to get through one unbearable day after another.
Then quite unexpectedly, Jason enters the picture. Kevin Johnston is riveting as the nervous teenage boy who accidentally caused Danny's death. Jason is full of so much remorse about the incident, he feels compelled to talk to the parents. His courageous entrance into Becca's life acts as a catharsis. Slowly but surely, healing is set into motion.
If you get the chance to see "Rabbit Hole" at The Chance, you'll be well rewarded. This is a first-rate production. Due to popular demand after it sold out, it has been extended through June 15th. For tickets and further information, call (714) 777-3033 or go online at www.chancetheater.com
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