Review: SHADOWS ON OAK ISLAND at Theatre Suburbia

SHADOWS ON OAK ISLAND is a Canadian play getting its Houston premiere at Theatre Suburbia. It centers around an affluent couple Jackson (Glenn Dodson) and Rene Barlow (Julie Reinagel), who flee to a remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia to work through the pain of losing their son. Once there, Rene befriends the cabin's caretaker Wally (Adrian Collinson). They set out to uncover the lingering mystery of the enigmatic treasure on Oak Island by looking at clues and artifacts around the woods and sinkholes. Soon the couple's fighting reaches new levels, Wally thinks they are close to the secret, and the ghost of the son the Barlow's lost seems to be taunting them. Everything culminates in a swirling pool of loss mixed with the mystery of the promised riches.

Oak Island and rumored treasures are based in real world myths, and much has been made of the legends surrounding the little isle off the coast of Nova Scotia. The History Channel has done a reality show on it, and for many years explorers and archeologists have conjectured perhaps there is pirate gold, Shakespeare manuscripts, knights of the Templar artifacts, and even the Ark of the Covenant. The play tries to take advantage of these debates and theories that have occurred in the real world for centuries. Many of the urban legends are weaved in and out of the plot, and they make cameos throughout.

It's an ambitious script which seeks to blend a drama about marital strife through the loss of a child, the thrill of a treasure hunt, and a supernatural ghost story all at once. The problem is it truly only succeeds in one area. SHADOWS ON OAK ISLAND works best when it is looking at Jackson and Rene losing their child, and plunges into silly nonsense when trying to decipher the Knights of the Templar legends or hint at ghosts. It seems sometimes to want to drift towards the fantastic and supernatural, but it fires on all cylinders when it allows the people to grieve over their loss rather than their potential gains.

Director Lindsay Smith has assembled a trio of actors who are up for the drama, and she's also overseen the crafting of a handsome set. Together with Assistant director Akia Lorain McPhaul she has made the pace quick and brisk. They wisely move over the supernatural and treasure hunt portions, and allow the strong drama to take root. It's more mournful than spooky, and that seems to work for SHADOWS ON OAK ISLAND. The cast and crew move nimbly through the weak parts and bring out the real strengths of a flawed script.

Glenn Dodson and Julie Reinagel deliver touching performances as Jackson and Rene. They delve into their best work when confronting each other about the missing son, and these are the sequences to watch for. Glenn brings a heavy world weariness that is palpable from start to finish. Julie plays her part as a woman holding onto shreds of hope without any true anchors for them. She's unhinged and nuanced, a nice turn by the actress. Adrian Collinson gets the role that serves as narrator and sometimes comic relief in Wally the caretaker. He adds layers and colors where other actors might have missed, and adds more soul than the script indicates.

Audiences should appreciate the deeper darker parts of SHADOWS ON OAK ISLAND, and perhaps it is best to forget the attempts at thriller or ghost story. In the end the parts that resonate best are the human elements, and the treasures and ghosts seem to come in second place to the people they seek to haunt. The problem is these three people are already haunted by their own emotional landscape, and anything that Oak Island can throw at them seems like small potatoes by comparison. If you can concentrate on the best parts then the show works. Too bad that at times it gets bogged down by twists and turns that sometimes feel unearned, but the cast handle it all gracefully enough. It's strongly acted and strongly directed, and that more than makes up for the clunky bits. It's worth the trip just to catch an interesting production that you won't see many other places.

SHADOWS ON OAK ISLAND plays at Theatre Suburbia until February 6th with shows on Friday and Saturday nights as well as two Sunday afternoon matinees. For reservations call (713) 682-3525. For further information visit www.theatresuburbia.org

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