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| James Carpenter as Mitch challenges daughter Annie (Martha Brigham, right) as Angela (Emilie Talbot, second fron left) and Macy (Emily Radosevich) listen. (Photo by Jennifer Reiley) |
A family’s pain is raw and visceral in Ashlin
Halfnight’s “The Resting Place,” being given its world premiere by Magic
Theatre.
Mitch (James Carpenter) and Angela (Emilie Talbot)
have been joined in Detroit by their adult daughters, Annie (Martha Brigham),
who works for an environmental group in San Francisco, and Macy (Emily
Radosevich), who works on political campaigns in New York City.
Their reunion is not happy. Travis, oldest of the
siblings, has just committed suicide.
He was a gay man, teacher and longtime
pedophile who victimized local boys.
Annie wants him to have a funeral and burial in the
family plot in the Catholic cemetery next to his beloved paternal grandfather.
The rest of the family, concerned about the angry uprising over his actions,
wants to cremate him and quietly scatter his ashes.
As the play continues, the issues go much deeper,
leading to angry shouting matches, blame and feelings of guilt on top of profound
grief. Nevertheless, familial love is palpable.
Also involved are Travis’s former partner, Liam
(Wiley Naman Strasser), and one of Travis’s victims, Charles (Andrew LeBuhn),
now a recent high school graduate.
The final scene is especially wrenching as Annie
delivers an eloquent eulogy and reveals her own reason for feeling guilty.
Sensitively directed by Jessica Holt, the six actors
carefully navigate the play’s ups and downs.
Carpenter’s Mitch is the voice of reason as
conflicts arise, but he has moments of extreme emotion. Talbot’s Angela drinks
too much, but she, too, can be both reasonable and highly upset.
The sisters, Brigham as Annie and Radosevich as
Macy, sometimes clash, especially when Macy calls the take-charge Annie
self-righteous.
Both Strasser as Liam and LeBuhn as Charles are
believable in their pain.
Design elements are outstanding with the set by
Edward T. Morris, costumes by Shelby-Lio Feeney, lighting by Wen-Ling Liao and
sound by Sara Huddleston.
According to artistic director Loretta Greco, the
play “investigates what happens to those who are left behind in the wake of unimaginable
tragedy.”
Despite the difficult subject matter, it’s a
brilliant, absorbing, utterly human play that doesn’t skirt the issues. This profound
work of art is worth seeing.
Running about two hours with one intermission, “The
Resting Place” will continue through Nov. 4 at Magic Theatre, Fort Mason
Center, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D, third floor, San Francisco.
