Accent
Grief takes center stage in 'Rabbit Hole'
Grief. Bone-chilling, mind-zapping, physically painful grief, is at the core of David Lindsay-Abaire’s graceful, poignant “Rabbit Hole,” which Beowulf Alley Theatre opened last weekend.
Death has visited Becca and Howie and snatched their young son away. It was an accident — he ran after his dog in front of a car driven by a teen. But no matter the cause, the loss is profound.
Howie goes to support groups; Becca doesn’t like the people there and swims deep in her solitary grief. It’s been eight months since their son’s death.
This is the household we enter as “Rabbit Hole” opens. The mercurial Becca, played with restraint by Nell Summers, is folding her son’s just-washed clothes while her ditzy sister, Izzy (Kristina Sloan, who knows how to land a line), tells her of a bar fight she got into. And, oh, by the way, she’s pregnant.
Gabriel Nagy and Nell Summers, in "Rabbit Hole," play a couple who have lost a child and are struggling to recover.
COURTESY OF BEOWULF ALLEY THEATRE
Quietly, Becca absorbs this news. Her emotions flash across her face as she tries to process that her flighty sister, who seems far from prepared for motherhood, will have what she no longer has: a child.
There is no great, cathartic blowup in this play. Only a family struggling with heartache. Becca, especially, is greedy with her grief, hugging it tightly to her.
Meanwhile, her accommodating husband (Gabriel Nagy gives the character a deeply felt sorrow) is frustrated — sex is not high on Becca’s agenda these days. Then there’s that dizzy Izzy, and Becca’s mother (Martie van der Voort), who has crazy theories and a big heart, longs for Becca to be happy again.
This cast, directed by Sara Falconer, grabs hold of the heartbreak laced with hope and allows it to simmer without boiling over.
Lindsay-Abaire’s dialogue is naturalistic, making this story all the more real.
The director kept the action moving and the actors clearly embraced the material — though, at times, they did seem to be waiting for their cue lines rather than living in the character and the moment.
But that’s an early-in-the-run problem. “Rabbit Hole” is a tear-jerker punctuated with optimism, and within a few more performances we’re willing to bet there won’t be a dry eye in the house.
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
