Santa Maria Sun / Art

Follow it down

BY SHELLY CONE

When the dust settles after a tragedy, what are sometimes left are questions that can never be answered and relationships that will never be the same. Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s performance of Rabbit Hole explores the aftermath of tragedy and the dynamics that go into finding normalcy again.

FAMILY BONDS: After her loss, Becca (Angela Herrick, far right) must re-evaluate her relationship with her mother, (Patty Beckman) and her sister, (Sarah Leavenworth) as the dynamics change. PHOTOS BY PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICHARD

Becca and Howie Corbett face a life-shattering event—the death of their son—that tears apart their well-crafted lives. As they struggle to regain the relationship they once had, Becca also deals with her changing relationships with her sister and mother.

As Becca, Angela Herrick expertly balances an act of emotional denial. She is dismissive about her true feelings, refusing to go to therapy, while throwing herself into domestic maintenance whenever grief creeps in. Yet, there are times when emotion can’t be subdued and when Herrick, as Becca, grieves, the audience grieves with her. Her desolate moments are powerful and moving.

Though rational and steady in demeanor most of the time, Howie, played by Josh Cornell, punctuates that demeanor with an equally moving performance; most notably when he realizes a videotape of his son is gone. Howie experiences an eruption of hurt, anger, blame, and overwhelming sadness. 

ANGER MANAGEMENT: Becca (Herrick) and Howie (Josh Cornell) try to stay rational about their feelings for Jason (Paul Chavez) after the accident but their emotions dictate otherwise. PHOTOS BY PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICHARD

The emotionality of the subject matter requires the actors to dig deep in order to deliver a realistic performance, and they don’t disappoint. On opening night, Herrick and Cornell showed a few signs of perhaps nerves at the very beginning, but that quickly dissipated and they fell into their characters with real emotion.

The play focuses on the way the tragedy affects the different relationships between the characters and not just how they are dealing with their own emotions, and it’s an interesting perspective. The play finds the couple drifting apart and unable to agree on the best way to move forward—with their own lives and with each other. Becca and her mother Nat must come to terms with the fact they now have a similar bond in another way. Nat faced a similar loss, though Becca fights the comparison. Eventually, Becca realizes she can learn from her mother’s experience.

Becca also comes to terms with her perspective of her sister as incapable, lost, and not ready for a child of her own.

Overcoming tragedy The Santa Maria Civic Theatre is celebrating its 53rd season with the drama Rabbit Hole, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by veteran SMCT director Stuart Wenger. Rabbit Hole is showing Feb. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, and 25 at the Santa Maria Civic Theatre, 1660 N. McClelland St. All performances are at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information call 922-4442.

The play deals with a tough subject but brief moments of levity are seamlessly woven throughout, and do a fantastic job of balancing out emotions. While certain moments grip the heart, others provide a brief reprieve, like when Nat has a little too much wine and touches on some sensitive territory as she talks about the tragedies the Kennedys faced and how such tragedies bring up so many unanswered questions. Becca bristles at the obvious parallels her mother is alluding to, but you can’t help but laugh at Nat’s wine-fueled rambling when she says the Kennedys’ woes were the result of having too much money. Then she adds the exceptions are the “ones who were assassinated. Of course, that’s kind of a rich guy problem too.” Patty Beckman plays Nat and gives a colorful and much-needed supporting performance.

Sarah Leavenworth also brings some levity to the performance with her portrayal of Izzy, Becca’s wayward younger sister who likes to speak frankly and has a penchant for getting herself into predicaments.

Paul Chavez is impressive in his SMCT debut as Jason Willet, the catalyst for some of the anger the characters face, but also the catharsis Becca needs. And Elijah Herrick performs the voice-over for Danny, a small touch that adds another emotional dimension to the performance.

Directed by Stuart Wenger, SMCT’s version of Rabbit Hole is an incredible exploration of both the strength and fragility of the human spirit.

Rabbit Hole was the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize and in 2010 it was turned into a major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman, who scored an Academy Award nomination for her performance.

Contact Arts Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com