SMCT's Latest Production: Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole, David Lindsay-Abaire’s raw and earnest portrait of a family caught in the wake of wrenching tragedy, hits the Santa Maria Civic Theater stage this February under the direction of Stuart Wenger. Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rabbit Hole offers an intimate, witty and unvarnished glimpse into the world of a family balanced precariously between despair, isolation and hope.
"Rabbit Hole is an engaging slice-of-life story for audiences and an emotionally satisfying challenge for the five actors involved," said Wenger, a veteran Central Coast director and actor. "There is much depth and heart here."
Rabbit Hole centers on Becca (Angi Herrick) and her husband Howie (Joshua Cornell), who lose their young son Danny in a senseless accident. As the months pass, Becca and Howie - joined by Becca's mother Nat (Patty Beckman), sister Izzy (Sarah Leavenworth), and Jason (Paul Chavez), the teenager who blames himself for Danny's death - each wage their own deeply personal battle against the forces that have brought them together by turning their world upside down.
For Herrick, playing Rabbit Hole's emotional focal point, and bringing to life the journey Becca takes through Lindsay-Abaire’s poignant script, is a challenge she relishes.
"There are dangers that [Becca] may be paralyzed by her grief and unable to move forward, or that she will lose relationships with her family or friends," said Herrick. "But there are opportunities as well that she may strengthen those ties and that she could find not a better but new identity on the other side of her loss."
Wenger notes that Rabbit Hole is an honest, complex and often humorous examination not of grief and tragedy, but of how each character learns to live again in the face of loss.
"While the plot of Rabbit Hole revolves around a family in the aftermath of the death of their four-year-old son, this is not a play about death or mourning," said Wenger. "This is a play about how people deal with the aftermath, how they resume with day-to-day living, and most important, how they communicate - or fail to communicate - with each other."
"I am glad that the playwright chose to set the play several months after the death of her son, as so many other pieces have focused on the initial shock of a loss," added Herrick. "[Lindsay-Abaire] takes an honest look at what it means for a family to try and find their new 'normal' without their child. Is it a sad story? At times it is. However, there are moments of humor and honesty that are not to be missed."
Rabbit Hole is not related to any children's stories, and features adult themes and language. It is recommended for mature audiences only. The play opens February 3rd at 8 p.m., and runs February 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 & 25. Doors open nightly at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information or to contact the box office, call 805-922-4442.