"Rabbit Hole" Review (incomplete)

Below you will find a fragment of what was intended to be a full review of the play "Rabbit Hole" which I caught a few weeks back at ULV. I regret not finishing it, but I feel it's been too long now for me to actually recall the nuances I wished to comment on. So to my friends in the show, I apologize. I hope you can still find something useful here.

Cheers!

"Rabbit Hole" Review

(incomplete)

"I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being."

-Oscar Wilde

An actor-friend of mine, a Mr. Joshua Prisk, used that quote while describing his experiences playing Howie Corbett of “Rabbit Hole” as his senior acting thesis. While I cannot dare to comment on his experiences as they are his own, I can dare to say that the quote is perfectly suited to my experience of David Lindsay-Abaire’s play as produced on the night of February 7, 2010 at the University of La Verne. The production was the senior acting thesis of not only Joshua Prisk, but also my friend Jennifer Scarr, and new-comer to the ULV theatre (though not to theatre in general, as her performance showed) Brittany Lokar.

I mention that this production is the senior thesis of several friends of mine precisely because it affects the way I approached the show. I know these people. I know Sean Dillon, the director. I know Hailey Heisick (who played Nat, the mother of Becca and Izzy) and Josh and Jen. I’ve performed with them and seen them grow. And this is to be their senior acting thesis—the showcase of their talent and culminative studies in drama while at ULV. There is an expectation that comes with a senior thesis. I expect to be wowed.

I suppose here would be as good a time as any to declare my intentions in writing about this show. It is my hope to briefly discuss what I experienced, from the unique vantage point of one who not only has studied drama, and also has a personal relationship with both the people involved and the department producing this show. Which brings me to an interesting point that I’d like to discuss as a preface to my review; that is, the concept of intentions and opinions. It is my intention to discuss the show based on my unique sensibilities. It is also my intention in writing this to attempt to learn something myself—to take the hazy emotional responses I had about the show and bring them fully into focus. It is not my intention to criticize for the sake of criticizing; it is my intention to criticize where criticism is due for the sake of an honest critique.

I should also preface now with my overall impression, and slowly bring that impression into focus over the course of this paper. My overall impression, in one sentence or less: “Rabbit Hole” as performed last night was a tender and beautiful study of the nature of grief and comfort, riddled with tears and sprinkled with laughs. With that as my starting point, I will now attempt to discuss the show by focusing on the components of the machine. For the purposes here, these components will be acting and design. For acting, I will attempt to discuss overall character choices, vocal character, physical character, staging, and script/emotional understanding. With regards to design, I will discuss overall atmosphere, set design, set decoration, lighting, costuming, props, and sound. I will not discuss directing for the simple reason that I hold the director responsible for everything. Let’s begin, shall we?

The acting was excellent. It was tender (a word I will continue to use), subtle, and reflected a deep maturity. There is always a slight disconnect when roles are not cast age-appropriately. However, when one has real actors (yes, opposed to fake actors) the magic of the theatre can do its work. I had no trouble believing Jen Scarr as the downtrodden Becca, nor Hailey as her aging mother. I use those two as examples; the same can be said of the entire cast. The show was excellently cast. I found each one believable, and more—genuine.

Jen Scarr played Becca Corbett; a woman who was by design a mother, but by fate had her motherhood taken away. The action of the play begins months after the death of their four year old Danny. Becca and Howie are attempting to put their lives back in order, but are finding that their methods differ considerable. For one, Becca cannot find comfort in the group counseling that Howie does. She finds no comfort in the constant “It was God’s plan”/”He’s in a better place” prattle of the group. Her inability to find comfort is another step in isolating her from her husband and family.