Review - A Little Journey

Though playwright Rachel Crothers was regarded as the toast of the town for many a Broadway season - she had 29 plays debut there in the years between 1906 and 1940 - she's scarcely know by 21st Century playgoers. Fortunately, the Mint Theater Company has been doing its part to return her name to the limelight; first with their mounting of her clever take on religious fads, Susan and God, and now with a sweeter, more uplifting comedy/melodrama - one that was a finalist for the first Pulitzer Prize for Drama - A Little Journey.

Premiering in 1918, though set a few years earlier, Crothers' story is of a collection of Pullman car passengers of various social classes and backgrounds traveling across the country until a tragic occurrence forces them to bond. It may remind viewers of tales of the sinking of the Titanic, though the playwright is not known to have ever acknowledged any influence from that event.

Director Jackson Gay's touching and humorous production is set on designer Roger Hanna's very handsome rendering of a train car, built as a carousel that gracefully revolves whenever there's the need to focus on new characters. The play itself is set in motion by Julie Rutherford (Samantha Soule), a smart, young New Yorker who is traveling to Montana to stay with her brother because her newly impoverish aunt can no longer afford to house her and the man she loves can't afford to marry her. Dreading the thought of being a burden on anyone, she feels further ashamed when a lost ticket forces her to accept a loan from the carefree and generous Jim West (McCaleb Burnett). West is a very happy soul, with a bit of a past, satisfied with a simple life with few responsibilities as a rancher in a Montana work camp.

The two quickly become traveling companions and the subject of gossip among the other passengers, including a demanding wealthy matron (Laurie Birmingham), a spry, but hard-of-hearing elderly woman (Rosemary Prinz) and her granddaughter (Chet Siegel), two flirtatious college boys (Ben Hollandsworth and Ben Roberts), a genial traveling salesman (Craig Wroe) and the irritating grouch who occupies the stateroom (Douglas Rees). All of them are tended to with courtesy and a patient smile by the overworked porter (Anthony L. Gaskins).

Also overworked is Annie (Jennifer Blood), the shy single mother of an infant that Julie and Jim agree to watch while her mother gets some food. As they tend to the child we see the hesitation in their budding romance, as she thrives on a planned-out life while he tries to sell her on the joys of unpredictability.

The plot takes a drastic turn in the third act and the tone of the play shifts from something warmly understated to melodramatic, as it heads for a predictable resolution. Still, that resolution is a satisfying one and the fine ensemble plays the piece with convincing and committed sincerity, leaving one to hope the Mint decides to raid the Crothers repertory again very soon.

Photos by Richard Termine: Top: Samantha Soule and McCaleb Burnett; Bottom: McCaleb Burnett, Jennifer Blood and Anthony L. Gaskins.

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