Rabbit Hole

You're in your mid-thirties. You waited to have children for financial reasons, and let's face it you wanted to enjoy your spouse before bringing a beautiful dependent child into the home. You're in your mid-thirties...so, you only have a few good years left before having children is no longer an option...

You're rounding the bend to 40. Your precious baby is now 4 years old. Your husband recently brought home a cute dog for your little boy, and life is...well...perfect for lack of a better and more complete description. You have a lovely home, your husband has a great job, your son is growing (getting ready for kindergarten maybe)...he's the pride and joy of your life.

Your husband says "Goodbye." You and little Danny walk him to the door. Danny runs after Daddy with the dog wagging his tale behind. You play with Danny for a while in the yard after Daddy has left...

The phone rings (you have a fenced yard...your precious is safe with the dog). So, you go to answer the phone...Daddy left the gate unlatched...the dog pushes through into the street...the boy, Lil' Danny, runs after...

That is what I imagine happened to Becca Corbett (Cate Damon) and Howie Corbett (Kieth Langsdale) one tragic morning. Rabbit Hole begins 8 months after this horrible day. The mother, Becca is at home with her sister, Izzy, played by Sandra Blaney, talking about another night at the bar. Not five minutes in we are presented with a hint of a tragic story, and Damon's sharp heart-felt performance keeps the tension suspended in the audience throats as they watch the household break apart. Howie plays a cool, collected husband and father, but as the play progresses Howie's true colors surface, full of resent, blame, and guilt. He's a father broken and distanced from his wife by the memory of a precious child.

This cast presents stellar performances, even with Nat, Becca's Mother, played by Ellen Barry, starting the night off a bit rocky and over bearing. She pulls it together for the second act and delivers a fantastic heart warming scene as she helps her daughter pack up her sons belongings.

The performance is set in a contemporary New York home. Although the mixture of 80's furnishings might lead the audience to believe otherwise, the performers take charge of the set and keep our attention focused on the action in the play. The lights lit up the stage as though we were in a department store rather than a home, but again with actors like these, minor design oversights can't keep the play from shining brighter. Despite the minor nuances the production was just what this newcomer to the East Coast needed to see, and if you're in the area Rabbit Hole is the play to see this summer.