Review: UNFINISHED BUSINESS is a Reflection on Redemption, Love, and Acceptance

The propensity to consider the mystery of what happens to our awareness after the body ceases to function has resulted in "Transition Mythology"--invented scenarios (both personal beliefs and widely accepted philosophical dogma) that put a face on the unknowable nature of existence beyond death. Unfinished Business, written and directed by Rod Lathim, is one such version of the transition myth. Lathim's play offers a interesting tiered storytelling structure, an explanation of the universe beyond packaged like a Russian nesting doll. The audience witnesses the same scene three times, from three distinct points of view; each version of the scene unveils another layer of existence in Lathim's version of the transition myth.

The first layer is the world of the living: David (Brian Harwell) and Sis (Jenna Scanlon) sit vigilantly over their mother's bedside during her final hours of life. The universe of the play exists in one room, yet there are echoes and hints of a world unseen that are apparent to David, whose sense of the spirit world allows him to know the true reason the wind chime jingles in lieu of a breeze. Lights out, lights up: we witness the same scene, but with the addition of the spirit world. The spirit of David and Sis's mom (Anne Dusenberry) explores the confusing new form of existence outside her body. She's greeted by friends and family members long deceased. David is able to interact with the spirit world, though not with his mother; there're unresolved issues that prevent Mom's spirit from connecting with her son.

Again, hints of a greater tier of existence are introduced in the scene; in this case, representation of existence beyond the spirit world comes in the form of a messenger, a mysterious man who arrives to lead Mom's spirit through her transition. Lights out, lights up, and the same scene is played out again--this time we see it from the point of view of a council of ethereal beings (the implication is that they are angels) who watch their protégé, the mysterious man, carry out his assignment to escort this soul from one world to the next. This layered structure of Unfinished Business emphasizes the gradation between information humanity knows and information that is ultimately unknowable.

The interesting challenge of writing a play about the transition myth is that the perpetuation of the spirit beyond the death of the body exists in rumination rather than action. We contemplate what happens after we die, we discuss it and meditate on it; but there is very little action associated with this contemplation. In fictional/theatrical representations of this transition dogma, however, it's important to create movement through external conflict. For exapmle: the conflict in the first act of Unfinished Business is very internal--siblings mourning the impending death of their mother. In the second act, Mom's spirit's internal conflict (how to deal with her new surroundings, how to resolve her "unfinished business" with her son) is able to be expressed externally when she is faced with the mysterious stranger who puts a time-limit on her period of adjustment. The third act features explanation of universe and the mysterious man's role: he's coached by a court of ethereal beings (who essentially serve as explicatory chorus, though it's never fully explained why there is such a rush to move Mom's spirit from one plain to another, so the conflict is somewhat unsupported from the end of the mysterious stranger). The challenge of presenting the transition myth is finding ways to use the inherent internal conflict surrounding our fear of the unknown in ways that influences stage action to move the story forward. Within these bounds, Unfinished Business was less of a dramatic saga and more a multifaceted rumination on this existence and the next.

Dramatized autobiography is ambitious. There's a delicate spectrum on the line of autobiographical storytelling that ranges from very universal to very personal. If too universal, the details that made the story specific to the writer are eliminated in favor of providing circumstances more widely relatable. When the story becomes too universal, the potential for nuance or fresh interpretation is lessened, and retelling becomes hackneyed rehash. On the other hand, autobiography runs the risk of telling stories that are too personal, stories in which the main conflict is too inaccessible and specific, and broad representation of the struggles of mankind cannot be interpreted. Thematic elements must be recognizable for the audience to glean meaning from a production. Unfinished Business exists comfortably between these two extremes. Lathim tells the story of two adults handling their mother's lingering illness and impending death--a subject widely relatable. However, the personal touches written into the characters' personalities were distinctive, and it was satisfying to see Mom's spirit have the strength and opportunity to resolve her last, lingering issues and find closure. Lathim's version of the transition myth offers unique nuance to the conversation of "what comes next."

Unfinished Business featured a cast of talented local actors, including Ann Dusenberry as the lingering spirit of the mother who desperately wants to make things right by her children before she dies, and Solomon N'Dung'u as a mysterious man who arrives to help guide Dusenberry's character into the next layer of existence. Dusenberry showed a powerful sense of purpose, and strength mitigated by sincerity and softness. N'Dung'u, as the mysterious stranger, was provoked to (very funny) muted annoyance at every turn as he tried to usher his "student" to the next leg of her journey. Design-wise, Unfinished Business existed within an intriguing stage universe. The set was layered, like the story, to create a space in which the world of the living was nested within the spirit world, which was nested within the ethereal world beyond. The playing space was intimate: the audience sat onstage and the cast walked amongst them. Mirrors against the upstage wall gave the effect of a hall full of witnesses, a universe full of spirits.

Unfinished Business is a production that aspires to engender love and catharsis by allowing eleventh-hour redemption and understanding between family members. Rife with the sense of gentle purification, Unfinished Business underscores the importance of release, of freeing the conscience during life. Whether or not you believe any aspect of this rendition of the transition myth, Lathim's play is a thought-provoking journey to the nexus of life and death, a reflection on redemption, love, and acceptance.

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