Worthy of a ‘Rabbit’ Following

Theater Review

Historically, Los Angeles has received a bad rap for not being much of a theater town. But if there were more productions such as ‘Rabbit Hole,’ now playing at Malibu Stage Company, such notions would be handily overturned. Commissioned by South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, David Lindsay-Abaire debuted ‘Rabbit Hole’ his work at the Pacific Playwrights Festival reading series in 2005. It won the Pulitzer for Drama in 2007. Directed by Graeme Clifford, ‘Rabbit Hole’ is a meditation on the many faces of grief, and how different people personalize and act out their anguish. The plot follows Becca and Howie Corbett as they struggle to cope with the recent death of their four-year-old, Danny, killed by an automobile. We see firsthand the emotional divide between the young married couple calcify as they express their grief in different ways. If this all sounds too depressing for a night out, do not be discouraged from going: the drama in ‘Rabbit’ comes leavened by sharply observed humor throughout. When Becca learns that her younger sister, Izzy, has lost her job, Becca yells at her, ‘How can you get fired from Applebee’s?’ Izzy brushes it off: ‘It was all politics, I don’t want to get into it.’ There’s not a weak link in this five-person cast. Sharon Gardner, as the high-strung Becca, succeeds as the play’s volatile driving engine. Jeffrey Doornbos portrays Howie as a guy who is, on the surface, laid-back and affable. A touch of Ryan O’Neal and Robert Redford in appearance, he’s the kind of guy everybody has gone to college with or met at a party. He appears to be handling his son’s death better than his wife at first, but he starts to unravel when Becca unconsciously removes evidence of Danny around the house. The snapping point for Howie arrives when Jason, the teenager who struck Danny, pays an unexpected visit. As the family matriarch, Katherine Ross, best known as Elaine Robinson from Mike Nichols’ film classic, ‘The Graduate,’ enters the play like a lioness with a hysterical riff on Camelot and the ‘Kennedy Curse.’ Tasha Ames is the most perfectly cast as the brash Izzy. She does a spot-on portrayal of a blunt teen, down to the giggle. Mimo Reynolds effectively portrays the soft-spoken and philosophical, guilt-racked reckless teen. He explains to Becca the concept of rabbit holes’portals to parallel worlds and alternative realities simultaneously taking place across the universe. ‘So this is just the sad version of us?’ Becca responds, softly. Director Clifford has an impressive entertainment-industry background. He worked as a film editor on movies by Sam Peckinpah and Robert Altman, and he has also directed for television. The set is no-nonsense but effective, with Danny’s room providing a constant reminder of the departed. It’s worth noting that actor Reynolds composed the play’s melancholy incidental music. One of the play’s running gags is a constant flow of desserts’cr’me caramel, torte, birthday cake, banana bread, etc.’consumed by the characters. It’s a good thing for the actors involved that this play has a short run, or else it might start to show on their waistlines. But for those of us gasping for good theater, its short run is a bummer. This is one of the best productions in recent memory, so catch this ‘Rabbit’ while you can. ‘Rabbit Hole’ plays Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m. through March 1 at the Stage Company, 29243 Pacific Coast Hwy. For tickets ($20), visit BrownPaperTickets.com or call 310-589-1998. For more information, visit www.MalibuStageCompany.org.