Review: THE ROAD TO THE END Takes a Bittersweet Trip Down Memory Lane at Theater J

The Road to the End, written by Bella Panciocco and directed by Megan Lederman, brings to Capital Fringe a story about a father and son who must learn to balance their fraught family history and their love for one another on an action-packed road trip to the Grand Canyon. This quick-paced show, which first premiered at George Mason University earlier this year, features a young and enthusiastic cast, many laughs, and a moving finale. 

The play opens with an animated and nostalgic Steve (Sage Munson) sitting in the passenger seat, rifling through a box of old family photos while his irritable middle-aged son Henry (Aadith Iyer) drives. As Steve plucks polaroids from the box, his memories of their family adventures play out on stage beside them, portrayed by Young Henry (Keaton Lazar), Young Steve (Hansin Arvind), and Kendall Huheey (Young Diana; their mother and wife, respectively). This is a choice that takes a few scenes before it really clicks with the present-day plot. While these memory scenes at first feel slightly discordant, the tenderness between Young Steve and Young Henry provides a useful contrast to their present-day road-tripping selves. 

The two soon pick up a young hitchhiker named Dabria (Jessica Nguyen), a spunky runaway whose adventure-loving personality helps to bridge the gap between father and son. This multigenerational trio gets into increasingly dire situations while the parallel-running family memory plot becomes increasingly strained. The two storylines converge in a final tender and heartbreaking scene. 

Stand-out performances come from Aadith Iyer, whose gruff and grief-stricken Henry brings wonderful depth to the show, as well as Bertem Demirtas, who plays a kind-hearted Tow Truck Driver with delightful comedic delivery. 

Although this is The Road to the End’s second production, it does occasionally feel as if the story and its actors are still finding their footing. Told through interlacing scenes of past and present, it also takes some time for the story to feel cohesive. Even though the production at times leans too heavily into tropes or caricatures, it still ends with a deep emotional resonance. There is rich material here and much heart. Audiences will enjoy The Road to the End’s sweet look at love, loss, and memory. 

The Road to the End is onstage at Theater J until July 23 as part of Capital Fringe Fest. The run time is 75 minutes without an intermission.

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