Review: 'INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP' at North Coast Repertory Theatre

Who remembers the 1970s? This question is asked at the start of “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” but no matter the answer, North Coast Repertory Theatre brings them vividly to life in this bittersweet family comedy, which plays through November 17th. 

Thanks to Marty Burnett's scenic design, you are immediately transported back to the 1970s from the moment you enter the theatre. From the mustard yellow fridge, avocado cabinets, a yellow corded wall phone, and burnt orange floral wallpaper, you know you’re not in 2024 anymore.

You are invited in by Linda O’Shea (Samantha Gorjanc), the oldest daughter of the O’Shea family. She opens the show with a friendly audience back-and-forth, establishing both that this is a memory play about a momentous week for her and her family and that the fourth wall is non-existent.

As this is a memory play, specifically Linda’s memories, she warns that this means the events could be slightly different from the actual truth since memory and perspectives change over the years.  There is her mother, Josephine (Erin Noel Grennan), who is a housewife who manages everything for the family, her 13-year-old little sister Becky (Abbi Hoffpauir), and her feisty and feminist aunt Terri (Shan Wride).  Then there is her father Mike (Tom Dugan) is such a strong personality in her memories that sometimes he appears as more than one character in this recollection.

Linda is 19 and ready to leave for school at Stanford soon.  She’s chafing to leave her small town, ruled by nosey neighbors and church ladies, and firmly under the gaze of the neighborhood parish priest.  The events of this momentous week start with a simple request from Jo. Can Linda please explain the “birds and the bees” to her younger sister Becky?  Jo would, but just the thought of trying to explain the beautiful puzzle of womanhood makes her burst into tears. 

 Becky is 13 but is currently obsessed with old movies and PI plots. She wears a fedora, a trench coat, and a tape recorder and constantly references old films. So when Linda gives her an extremely forthright and funny explanation of everything, this combination leads to an unexpected turn of events that scandalizes the local priest. 

Little does this affectionate and chaotic family know that more twists, turns, and scandals are coming. 

Directed by Jenny Sullivan, the reveals keep coming, and the fourth wall keeps being broken (everyone wants a monologue, it seems), but the story's central themes of love, loss, and growing up stay clearly front and center.

Gorjanc is as warm and funny as Linda, balancing the bravado of a brainy kid ready to leave home with that childlike vulnerability lurking underneath, afraid of disappointing her parents. Grennan, as mom Jo, is warm and seemingly naive before revealing how much work she does to keep this family running. Hoffpauir is a sweetly innocent Becky who is baffled by the information that she keeps learning over the course of events.

Wride is fun as the more cynical but loving Aunt Terri, who takes her coffee with a hefty dose of Irish liquor.  She also has a delightful impish glee while she cleverly spars with the priest (also Dugan) in a truly standout confrontation scene.

Dugan is funny in multiple roles: the stern but loving dad, the strict and hypocritical priest, and the gossipy church lady Betty, who lords her position over everyone. 

The sound design by Evan Eason allows multiple voices from “upstairs” to be heard clearly and has a great comedic effect, including a fun character change. Costumes by Elisa Benzoni are fun and period-appropriate, while the wigs by Peter Herman complete the look. Lighting design by Matthew Novotny lets all the glory of the 1970s shine through with a warmth that fits this family.

At intermission, people were reminiscing about the 70’s. Aside from explaining how a landline phone worked to those unfamiliar, it was interesting how many things they were discussing that are just as relevant now-  Roe vs. Wade and a woman's right to choose, the influence of the church, and how much “work” a housewife does without getting any credit or compensation.  Luckily, the avocado cabinets stayed in the past.

How To Get Tickets 

“Our Lady of Perpetual Help” runs at North Coast Repertory Theatre through November 24th.  For ticket and show time information, go to www.northocastrep.org 

 

Photo Credit: Samantha Gorjanc, Erin Noel Grennan Abbi Hoffpauir, Shana Wride, and Tom Dugan in North Coast Repertory Theatre’s “Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.”  photo by Aaron Rumley)

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