If you haven’t
been to a Hovey Players production, now is the time. Director Michelle Aguillon
and company are giving RABBIT HOLE (through March 29th) the best
production of it I’ve seen yet. (Yes, it’s even better than the Huntington’s.) David
Lindsay-Abaire’s hip, smart, surprisingly gentle play about grief over the
death of a child lovingly nudges its characters toward acceptance. The journey
for them is divisive, painful and often sardonically funny (especially when the
pushy grandmother arrives). For us, it’s endearing, amusing and finally,
uplifting.
Lindsay-Abaire
invents outlandish characters like the child’s aunt (Brooke Casanova), whose
out-of-control life, she thinks, will magically come together if she gets
pregnant. It’s her sister (Katie Gluck) whose son has died. She’s fallen into a
deep depression which only lifts when she makes an unusual, unexpected human
connection. Her exasperated husband (Alex Thayer) is ready to give up on her
when she doesn’t seem to want help, from him or anyone. (The playwright
miraculously keeps the subject matter miles away from TV “movie of the week”
territory.)
Aguillon’s cast
is extraordinary, deftly mining the humor in the piece without sacrificing the
pathos. Maureen Adduci, as the acerbic grandmother, tries her daughter’s
patience but never comes across as unfeeling. Jordan DiGloria is the optimistic
student who believes in parallel universes and worm holes but never seems
anything but genuine. Best of all, the company manages a Zen finish for the
play by slowing down time itself so that we can savor the lovely, emotional,
redemptive ending.