‘Rabbit Hole’ a family dramedy for TexRep
Texarkana Repertory Co. explores the powerful themes of grief and loss with the award-winning play “Rabbit Hole” next up at Stilwell Theatre on the Texarkana College campus.
With performances Sept. 8-10 and Sept. 15-17 (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.), TexRep stages contemporary playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s most successful play, which premiered on Broadway 11 years ago.
“Rabbit Hole” deals with a couple as they cope with the loss of their young son Danny, who was hit by a car in a freak accident. While the play is a drama, it also employs humor to give insight into the grieving process undertaken by Becca (Susannah Linnett) and Howie (Alex Rain).
“It’s just a beautiful play. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007, and it’s just a lovely show. It’s about a family coping with grief,” said TexRep’s Michael Cooper, play director and TexRep artistic director. While that sounds serious, he points out the humor is real in the play. Getting through the mundane as you deal with sorrow is part of what life is about, after all.
“There’s a couple who about eight months ago their 4-year-old child was chasing the dog and ran off into the street,” Cooper explained. It’s not all “sturm and drang,” though, the director says, calling it a “dramedy.” Don’t expect a lot of crying.
“Part of the story is people find comfort in their own way … we are all going to have to face tragedy and loss in our lives, and no one can tell us how to deal with it. We each deal with it in our own way,” Cooper said. “So the couple is finding their way to deal, to come back together.”
The couple’s journey is important, but the play focuses on Becca, who has blinders on as she tries to march through the process. She won’t attend the support group that her husband attends, for example, said Cooper.
“And her mom is like, ‘Where do you find comfort?’ She says, ‘I don’t,’” the director said. “It’s really a beautiful play.”
This show sits in the seasonal slot that’s typically meant for more thoughtful, dramatic fare. For Cooper, it’s gratifying to tackle such plays.
And for TexRep, it’s a smaller ensemble cast with this play. Joining Linnett and Rain are Wendi Evetts as Becca’s sister Izzy, Kaye Ellison as their mother Nat and Nicholas White as Jason, the boy whose car hits Danny.
“It’s nice to do small because the next two are big,” admits Cooper. Namely, they’re “The Outsiders” and “Peter and the Star Catcher.”
But in “Rabbit Hole,” the high school boy who drove the car also has his own issues to confront in the aftermath of this accident. “He’s carrying around a terrible weight himself,” Cooper said. The boy’s way to manage is to write both a letter to the couple and a short story dedicated to their boy.
“And then he comes by and says he would like to sit down and talk with them,” Cooper said. In a way, this becomes a cleansing event, even cathartic.
Cooper says the playwright is mostly known for writing wacky comedies, such as “Fuddy Meers.” This play, “Rabbit Hole,” is not melodramatic, he said. It’s not milking the audience for emotion, but the emotions will be there. Cooper says the audience will probably want a tissue at times.
“Because with this kind of subject matter, how can there not be?” he said of the kind of play that’s important for TexRep to perform.
“I think it’s important for TexRep and the community that we do some important plays, challenging plays,” Cooper said.
(Tickets: $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, $5 for TC students and faculty. Get tickets online at TexRep. org.)