RABBIT HOLE AT THE SAN JOSE REP
RABBIT HOLE
Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
The San Jose Rep is currently performing Pulitzer nominated RABBIT HOLE by Pulitzer prize winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire.
The theme is reminiscent of Tolstoy's opening line in ANNA KARENIN: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Becca and Howie are rightfully unhappy: the family dog chased a squirrel into the street, their son chased the family dog into the street; a teenage driving, perhaps driving too fast, dodged the dog only to fatally strike the child.
While the Becca and Howie share the same loss, agony and grief, they both cope and grieve in separate ways.
The isolation of grieving translates into isolation from each other.
Off the stage, when a family suffers such a loss, the statistics for domestic continuity are bleak: nearly three out of four marriages will not survive the loss of a child.
RABBIT HOLE is a story of such loss, yet it is buoyed by tenuous hope and humor.
Becca and Howie individually grope through the darkest, bone grinding stages of grief to partially emerge: intact as a couple.
While some may see the play as a bittersweet comedy, the character Becca seems to tip the scales too much in favor of bitter.
Given the real problems of the world one might ask: why voluntarily experience via an evening's entertainment, the contrived, scripted pathos of this uneasy drama?
Unless you are desperately struggling to understand the grieving process, this might be a play to sidestep until after George W exits the White House, the troops redeploy from Afghanistan and Iraq, and the ice quits melting in Greenland.
None-the-less, the script is airtight, the set design is noteworthy and the acting is superb.
So, if you are too bilious or have too much levity in your life and want to take a walk on the dark side, this might be the play for you.
For tickets call the San Jose Rep box office at 408-367-7255.
U.S. Naval Aviator and Lieutenant Commander Retired
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