BWW Reviews: THE OTHER PLACE is a Riveting Destination

A startling and compelling play about journeys, literal and metaphorical, THE OTHER PLACE by Sharr White, is currently running at Trustus' Stage Door Theatre through November 1. This intelligent production, insightfully directed by Jim O'Connor, yields a mixture of mystery, pathos, and dark humor in its exploration of serious illness as manifested by behavioral aberrations. In order to preserve the revelatory nature of the work, no spoiler alert will be offered here, but suffice it to say that there are many layers, some rooted in biology, others in experience, that are unpeeled to yield answers and poignant resolution. This work, at once intense and instructive, is perfectly suited to the intimate environment of the black box space, allowing the audience to palpably share the actors' emotional distress, and the inner terror that can be unleashed by the unknown, and in some ways, by the known. While the plot at times relies on contrived circumstances, the play is also an actors' showcase, and it is to this production's credit that the cast, particularly its lead, Juliana (Erica Tobolski), so credibly plumb those depths.

We first meet Juliana as a crisp, tart-tongued, professional woman, a neuroscientist who has made an art of being the smartest person, (and only woman), in the rooms she typically inhabits. Yet she experiences a frightening "episode" while giving a presentation in a site that is to others a relaxing paradise location; for Juliana, there is a gnawing feeling that any semblance of a paradise for her is lost. She alternates between venom and dependence in her interactions with her oncologist husband Ian (Bryan Bender), and her perceptions of their relationship seem greatly at odds with the seeming reality of his actions. Juliana's hostility serves as her initial defense in parrying with a young physician (Jennifer Moody Sanchez), but it seems increasingly untoward over a series of medical encounters that give way to confusion and mounting evidence that she is losing her grip. Her inner desperation and a need to connect permeate her phone calls with her estranged daughter Laurel (also played by Jennifer Moody Sanchez) and her perhaps unfairly wronged former post-doc assistant and son-in-law Richard (G. Scott Wild). Indeed, she has not seen Laurel for over ten years after a disastrous family confrontation, and somehow intuits that reconciliation can only happen at "the other place" where they were last all together, a Cape Cod vacation home that is also something of a paradise lost. Even as words seem to fail her, Juliana is touched by the warmth of others, even the kindness of strangers, and the completion of a circle ultimately allows for a measure of grace as her mental twilight stretches towards night.

Audiences may at times be jolted by the fits and starts of several scenes, but this is written by design, mirroring Juliana's inner life and dissolution of much-valued mental control. One may quibble with some of the medical and behavioral aspects of Juliana's presentation, but the play is not meant to be a case scenario, and indeed, such writing would rob it of much of its dramatic impact and the mystery at its core (which is not so much of a whodunit but a howdunit and whydunit). The Trustus set is spare but atmospherically lit, and the incorporation of video is effectively done. Costumes are well-suited to character, and demonstrate (as in the case of the young doctor), good attention to detail. The staging is creative, taking account of the whole space, and the pacing moves swiftly through the 80 minutes of run time. Erica Tobolski's portrayal of Juliana is knowing and profound, and the erosion of her flinty confidence as her status changes from one with all the answers to one who has difficulty formulating questions, is remarkable. Bryan Bender makes Ian a tremendously sympathetic character, understandably frustrated but prepared for the long haul, and his steadfast quality allows us to question Juliana's versions of events. G. Scott Wild and especially Jennifer Moody Sanchez do well-differentiated justice to their multiple roles, modulating their orbits around Juliana's blazing sun.

THE OTHER PLACE offers a thought-provoking theatre experience that is sure to generate questions and discussion, as well as a sense of concern for our possible trajectory, and for those we love. John Lennon famously said, "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". This production holds up a mirror to hearts and minds along that way, and celebrates compassion without sentimentality in overtaking the greatest challenges and ironies that fate can throw in our path.

Photo Credit: Richard Kiraly

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