BWW Review: Crossing Paths at HOMESTEAD CROSSING

Homestead Crossing

Written by William Donnelly, Directed by Kyle Fabel; Scenery Designer, Anita Stewart; Costume Designer, Lara de Bruijn; Lighting Designer, Paul Hackenmueller; Sound Designer, Shane Rettig; Production Stage Manager, Emily F. McMullen

CAST: David Adkins, Corinna May, Lesley Shires, Ross Cowan

Performances through September 30 at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Liberty Hall, 50 E. Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA; Box Office 978-654-4678 or www.MRT.org

Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell is having a bit of a rebirth in its 34^th season. The Nancy L. Donahue Theatre in Liberty Hall has been completely renovated with an emphasis on comfort and safety for the audience, achieved with the sacrifice of a small number of seats. The box office and lobby are unrecognizable (in a good way), and there's the smell of new carpeting and excitement in the air.

As handsome as the physical changes are, the choice of Massachusetts playwright William Donnelly's Homestead Crossing as the inaugural selection is greater cause for excitement. In keeping with MRT's tradition of staging contemporary and new plays, Artistic Director Charles Towers strikes both chords with this world premiere in a co-production with Berkshire Theatre Group and Portland Stage Company. Donnelly writes about life and love with insight, humor, authenticity, and a liberal dose of sarcasm tempered with tenderness.

Director Kyle Fabel and the cast of David Adkins (Noel), Corinna May (Anne), Lesley Shires (Claudia), and Ross Cowan (Tobin) hit every note with the right emphasis, playing their parts like a well-rehearsed string quartet. Noel and Anne are a long-married, childless couple, living out their antiseptic lives in suburbia feeling alternately bored, resigned, or numb. Their theme song could be "Is That All There Is?" When Claudia and Tobin quite literally drop onto their doorstep, the innocence, exuberance, and spontaneity of the younger couple throws Noel and Anne into the way back machine and you can almost see their lives passing before their eyes.

The setting is the uncluttered study of Noel and Anne's home on a cul-de-sac in Homestead Crossing, most likely an upscale, planned neighborhood populated by people of similar educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. Anita Stewart's scenery design reflects the orderliness (tedium?) of the couple's life, with two chairs and a small occasional table on a rectangle of rug center stage, built-in shelves with books and a few vases neatly aligned, and nothing on the walls. Donnelly lets it slip that Noel is a Republican, but his politics take a back seat to his hard-wired, stereotypical world views and his clumsiness in navigating the waters of the relationship. When Noel tells Anne, "I love you very much; I have nothing to say to you right now," it encapsulates the state of their marriage and it sounds like a positive thing.

Their conversation and the action heat up when, in the midst of a driving rainstorm, a dripping wet Claudia pounds on the upstage picture window beckoning to be admitted to use their telephone. I love the dialogue between Noel and Anne in this scene as they debate whether or not it is prudent to allow a stranger into their home, conjuring up every bad decision ever made in a horror movie. It telegraphs a hint of danger to the audience and makes us wary of the young woman's intentions, despite her openness and apparent harmlessness. She bombards her hosts with nonstop chatter and a litany of personal questions that make their heads spin. When they answer Claudia's queries, they begin to examine their previously unexamined lives and uncover some surprises along the way.

Fabel gets the most out of those surprises by building in pauses and focusing attention on the nonverbal cues shared by the actors. He lulls us into concentrating on Claudia's banter along with Noel and Anne so that we are equally shocked by another unexpected arrival. There are a few incidents that are clichéd (e.g., lights going out during the storm), and a couple of Red Herrings, but they add to the character development and suspense respectively. Homestead Crossing falls primarily into the comedy genre, but there are surreal twists and turns that steer it away from predictability.

From producing and starring in family holiday pageants as a child, to avid member of Broadway Across America and Show of the Month Club, Nancy has cultivated her love of the art and respect for the craft of theatre. She fulfilled a dream when she became an adult-onset tap dancer in the early 90's ("Gotta dance!"); she fulfills another by providing reviews for BroadwayWorld.com and evolving as a freelance writer. Nancy is an alumna of Syracuse University and a retired Probation Officer-in-Charge in the Massachusetts Trial Court system.

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