Review: Family Quibbles Galore in RUMORS OF TRUTH

What fuels a dysfunctional family?

That query is one of many that three sisters face in Kathie Rasmussen Women's Theatre's latest production.

KRASS' latest show Rumors of Truth, a premiere by local playwright Marcia Jablonski, examines the dark and light sides of a disjointed family.

It's heartening, heartbreaking, and heartwarming all at the same time.

The sisters -- Savannah, Madison, and Brooklyn -- haven't seen each other in three years when they meet up at the grave of their mother Margaret. Margaret had died 12 years prior and asked the girls to come together to celebrate her 50th birthday with a ceremony of chardonnay, song, and the reading of a final letter.

But when the girls finally see one another again, old problems resurface and the sisters have to either put aside their differences or defy their mother's final wishes.

Madison, a perfectly stand-offish Katherine Mitchell, is the pointed middle sister who always has a passive aggressive comment to make. But in her often negative portrayal, Mitchell is skillfully able to divulge small snippets of vulnerability.

Brooklyn, played by Annie Jay, is the eldest daughter whose main focus is her daughter Ruth. Jay allows Brooklyn to expertly toe the line between self-centered sister and mother figure to the baby of the family - Savannah.

Savannah, the sensitive do-gooder played by Liz Light, just wants her sisters to get along and get through the day. Light's "just hang in there" smile by itself is enough to warrant more than a few laughs.

Separately, the actresses' embody their characters - but it's their undeniable chemistry that makes the show all the more fascinating.

Rumors of Truth, directed by Sarah Whelan, is a heavy 80 minute show. But the term 'heavy' shouldn't deter audiences from seeing it. Its weight comes from a place of absolute truth. Families aren't idyllic all the time and -- oftentimes -- aren't idyllic at all.

Whelan's direction of the "triple threat" trio keeps the dialogue saturated production moving forward at a clip and never looking back - which likens the show to real life since time often moves too quickly.

Rumors of Truth, much like a family, holds many facets. There's some humor in the pain and pain in the humor - because that's just how life is.

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