Twilight Offers Fertile Ground for Quality of Death

Picture shows Margie Boulé, Olivia
Henry, Paul Roder and Ira Kortum

 

By Tina Arth

Quality of Death, a Thinking Peoples’ Theatre production by playwright Ruth Jenkins, has a unique pedigree. It is an original show first offered in live stream format as part of the the 2022 Portland Area Theatre Alliance (PATA) Fertile Ground Festival, for which all productions were done virtually – yet it is continuing life as a fully staged drama hosted by North Portland’s Twilight Theater. I was privileged to be part of a small in-house audience for this remarkable show’s opening night live stream, and I’m glad that so many people could enjoy the show remotely that weekend, but I’m even happier that many more folk will have the opportunity I did of seeing the show performed in person for the next two weeks.

Be forewarned – Quality of Death is no stroll in the park! The play explores the journeys of five families who come together in a support group as they negotiate the dreaded “d” word – “death” – of a loved one. The individual stories are diverse – there’s dementia, Parkinson’s, cancer, COPD, and garden variety (if extreme) old age – what ties them together is that in each case the deceased exerts control over their own death to end suffering or simply to pass on their own terms – true death with dignity. One story involves conventional suicide, while the others all embark on their final journeys by turning away from medical treatment and sustenance, allowing death to come naturally as their bodies simply shut down.

The drama (and often unexpected humor) of Quality of Death arises from the tension between the dying and the family members determined to keep them alive at any cost. With the help of the support group, including members of a medical establishment willing to provide compassionate guidance, reluctant loved ones come to accept that their role is to accept the inevitability of death and embrace the love and empathy necessary to provide a good last day.

The large cast (16 actors portray 24 different characters) means it’s impossible to recognize every strong performance, but I’ll highlight several that touched me most. First among equals is Allie Rivenbark (Teri), who captures both the physical and vocal challenges of progressively debilitating Parkinson’s disease with amazing consistency, yet uses humor and sarcasm to ward off the potentially maudlin overtones of her situation and keep us rooting for her right to die. As her partner Kathryn, Leslie Inmon gives us the other side – the passionate insistence on fighting until the last breath a battle that, as the playwright makes clear, is not hers to fight.

Anyone who has ever done a true death watch should respond to the absolute authenticity of the dialogue and physical performances given by Paul Roder (Charlie) and Pat Lach (Martha) as they move down the road to that final breath. Pat’s querulous, self-centered character is perfectly recognizable as the archetype of one variety of hard-headed old lady – well loved, yes, but not easy to love. Paul, on the other hand, creates an unforgettably sly and playful old devil who will be sincerely mourned by the three generations of descendants we meet on stage. Olivia Henry (Devon) turns in a beautiful performance as Charlie’s great granddaughter, the one family member (in fact, the one cast member) most comfortable with allowing a loved one to go in peace when the time has come.

Ira Kortum becomes two very different men for his two roles – as Max, losing his young wife, he is movingly frightened and grief-stricken, while he is stoic but a bit bewildered as Charlie’s grandson Jeff, trapped between his mother’s stubborn denial and his daughter’s persistent support of the old man’s wishes. Tony Domingue is a treat to watch in his larger role as Martha’s son-in-law Ross – he’s an island of calm in the storm of emotions roiling the immediate family.

Quality of Death presents some unusual challenges, both thematically and in the pure mechanics of staging so many characters and scenes without confusing the audience or muddling the messaging.  Theresa Robbins Dudeck’s direction keeps the train on the tracks – it’s a long show with some exceptionally intense moments, but she never allows her actors or the audience to lose focus. The set is simple and flexible enough to keep things moving along quickly, and many of the best spots are enhanced by some brilliant lighting effects.

I found myself both deeply moved and, as the author clearly intended, educated by the play. There are times where detailed descriptions of the mechanics of dying verge on the didactic, but given the topic this may be unavoidable. If you can get to this show, by all means do!

Thinking Peoples’ Theatre Project’s live run performances of Quality of Death can be seen at 8:00 pm on February 11, 12, 18, and 19, and at 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 13 at Twilight Theatre, 7571 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland.