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| Madison Gourlay and Michael Conner Humphreys Photo by Alicia Turvin |
The title comes from a musical term about ending a phrase on
a weak note, immediately raising the specter of feminist themes (accurate, but
Treem’s characterizations cover a lot more). The story is told from the perspective
and within the head, of Amanda, a young oboist originally from New Hampshire.
She sets the stage with two pieces of information: 1) the orchestra is always
tuned to the oboe, as it always plays a perfect A note, and 2) there have been
no famous woman composers – dispiriting, as she is trying to make it as a
composer in NYC. Amanda pays the bills
with the money she makes writing music for advertising jingles – not exactly
her life’s goal. Her partner Jack Handel is on the verge of making it big as a
young rock star, and he is offering her (as his mate) the “extraordinary life”
she dreams of – but in his shadow, not as an accomplished musician in her own
right. They become engaged (briefly),
but before the wedding she is called off to New Hampshire by her mother, who is
in crisis again. Through interactions
with her mother, her father, and her high school boyfriend Billy, now the local
mailman, Amanda finally finds her way – no easy answers, but the courage to
quietly persist in being her own woman.
Michael Conner Humphreys (Jack) has a tough role to fill, as
he’s stuck being the least sympathetic character. However, watching him develop
from a show biz naïf to a budding narcissist is definitely amusing – it was
occasionally tough to restrain myself from pulling Amanda aside for a quick
reality check. In the limited time he has on stage. David Mitchum Brown (as
Amanda’s father, David) does a wonderful job of being everything Jack is not.
Before we meet him, Amanda’s mom Kim leads us to believe that he is the
architect of her life’s shortcomings – faithless and disconnected from his
spouse. Brown quickly disabuses us of this notion, through the wry, warm and
comfortable expression of his relationship with Amanda and through his generous
understanding and acceptance of his wife’s odd view of reality.
Then there’s Kim, wonderfully portrayed by Twilight mainstay
Alicia Turvin. She jumps from sarcasm to rage to pain with every line she
delivers – sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, and always a bit
puzzling as she unspools the facets of her character.
Jeremy Abe is unforgettable as the thoroughly likeable
Billy, with his furry hat, easy grin, and gentle New Hampshire accent. While
Amanda, Jack, and Kim all long for extraordinary lives, Abe’s performance
showcases the value of an ordinary life lived extraordinarily well, adding an
interesting sub-theme to the more prominent feminist tropes.
Finally, of course, there’s oh-so-cute Madison Gourlay
delivering the many faces of Amanda as she bounces from optimism to insecurity,
frustration to determination, reluctant dependence to hard-won independence. She slides seamlessly from addressing the
audience to interacting with her cast mates – there are no jarring transitions
as she moves from narration to recreation of her story.
Toner’s set design is minimalist, with just enough scenery
and props to suggest locales visited from within the narrator’s head. Robin
Pair’s lighting design really helps by shifting our attention toward the
relevant props, and the lighted trees in the apple orchard provide a
show-stopping moment.
