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<font size="5"><b>Schenectady Civic Players present tale of loss with
pathos, humor</b></font><b><br>Sunday, February 1, 2015<br>By Paul
Lamar/For The Daily Gazette<br><br><br>SCHENECTADY — <i>“The
heart asks pleasure first/And then excuse from pain/And then those
little anodynes/That deaden suffering.”<br>— Emily Dickinson</i><br><br>Right,
Becca (Amy M. Lane) might say. This is my life, months after the
accidental death of my four-year-old son. Will there ever be relief?<br><br>David
Lindsay-Abaire’s “Rabbit Hole” is a series of scenes exploring a
family’s reaction to this unthinkable event, culminating in two
powerful moments: Grandmother Nat’s (Laural Hayes) monologue about
grief and a conversation between Becca and Jason (Ryan Glynn), the
motorist who struck Daniel.<br><br>The excellent cast of five, under
Jennifer Van Iderstyne’s insightful direction, paces the story’s
unfolding with just the right amount of pathos and humor.<br><br>Those
familiar with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s study of grief will recognize
its stages, and the play occasionally feels clinical. But
Lindsay-Abaire always reminds us that life goes on: Becca’s sister,
the light-hearted Izzy (Katherine Stephens), announces her pregnancy,
and there are frequent references to the children of friends.<br><br>Nat
herself serves as an example of how people come out of despair—albeit
with the help of alcohol, her anodyne.<br><br>One of the most poignant
reactions of an adult to the death of a child is guilt? Everyone in
the play asks the question “What could I have done?” for which there
is no answer.<br><br>And that same sense of bewilderment infuses many
conversations. At one point, husband Howie (Robin MacDuffie) says to
Becca, “You know, I really don’t know where you want this conversation
to go.”<br><br>While I miss a stove in the kitchen and the
capaciousness of the house referred to in the script, Robert L.
Hegeman’s economical set design satisfyingly allows for the necessary
playing space, and Jeffrey Scott’s lighting design and the restless
music between scenes aptly chronicle time and mood changes.<br><br>The
play gets off to a strong start, thanks to the crisp interplay between
Lane and Stephens. In a fine Playhouse debut, Stephens’ Izzy is a
breezy, smart-mouthed young woman who has lived in the shadow of her
more sober-sided sister, but she believes — rightly or wrongly — that
parenthood will help her grow up. And in a scene with Howie, we see
that growth.<br><br>Glynn credibly makes Jason an earnest young man to
whom something potentially life-stopping has happened, even as life is
just beginning for him.<br><br>Hayes is alternately funny and touching
as a survivor of loss, and the straightforward delivery of her speech
in Act II is just right.<br><br>MacDuffie’s Howie is a man perplexed,
trying on every emotion as it comes to him, but nothing quite fits.
MacDuffie is moving throughout, especially in a heartbreaking moment
sitting in the living room, watching a video.<br><br>Lane’s line
readings, physical mannerisms, drab dress and unkempt hair make Becca
more a creature than a person, a wounded animal able to respond but
not so much to initiate. Lane gives an extraordinary performance,
working in the cracks of this character, so when catharsis comes, ever
so slightly, she reveals it, even hinting that recovery is possible.<br><br><font size="4">FEBRUARY
4 thru 8 (Final Week)</font><br><i>(FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS at 8 pm;
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY at 7:30 pm; SUNDAY matinees at 2:30 pm)<br></i><br>Tickets,
$17. Order in person at, or by phone through, Proctors box office
346-6204. Order tickets on-line at www.civicplayers.org Or call the
Playhouse 382-2081.<br></b><br>
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