Review: BLOOMSDAY at Florida Repertory Theatre

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. What could be more heartwarming than to watch two young folks fall in love right before your eyes?

Bloomsday by Steven Dietz at Florida Rep will touch the heart of any romantic. Jessica Mosher as Caithleen and Braydie Aldrich as Robbie are awkward and charming twenty-year-olds who meet in Dublin on June 16, Bloomsday. Lynn Hawley and Duke Lafoon are the same couple now called Cait and Robert, older and wiser, who reunite thirty-five years later.

What happens in between is magic.

A sort of time travel unfolds as the older versions of the couple confront their younger selves. After such a promising “meet cute,” how did it go so wrong?

Middle-aged Robert is still dazed when he looks at young Caithleen. And why wouldn’t he be? She is luminous. I wasn’t observing closely, but in retrospect, I wonder if lighting designer Weston Wilkerson helped this along. If you’ve seen Glenn Close in The Natural, you’ll understand what I mean.

Better yet, Robert looks at the older Cait just the same way. Sigh. Is there hope for them?

The set design by Richard Crowell takes the audience right onto the streets of Dublin. A bar with Guiness on tap in one corner adds to the atmosphere.

Imagine going back to an earlier time for a re-do, knowing what you know now.  Would you do things differently if you could? Would you be brave enough to seize the day? Dietz has graced us with a vicarious opportunity we won’t get in real life.

Bloomsday runs through March 2 in the intimate Artstage Studio Theatre, the perfect space for this jewel of a play. For tickets, call 239.332.4488.