Review: Actors’ Playhouse Finds Heart In Character Driven ‘A Rock Sails By’
Friday, May 24, 2024
Laura Turnbull and Mallory Newbrough are mother and daughter in Lela Elam in Sean Grennan’s “A Rock Sails By” at Actors’ Playhouse. (Photos by Alberto Romeu)
Aaron Krause, Theater Critic
During Sean Grennan’s heartfelt, humorous, and thought-provoking play, “A Rock Sails By,” at times you may feel caught off guard, confused, or even troubled. More specifically, discomfiting sound effects and the sudden appearance of a mysterious being may rattle you. In fact, experiencing such a feeling may give you an idea of what life can be like for dementia patients. And if you leave the theater with a better ability to empathize, or at least sympathize with someone stricken with dementia, Grennan has done his job.
Actually, Grennan has done his job well in many respects in “A Rock Sails By,” a meaty and intense drama leavened with enough humor to make the piece’s darkness at least tolerable. The proof is at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables. There, the impressive Florida premiere of “A Rock Sails By” runs through Sunday, June 9.
Under Artistic Director David Arisco’s astute guidance, a quartet of talented local performers believably portray their characters. And thanks to their sincere portrayals, the piece’s humor springs naturally from Grennan’s realistic-sounding dialogue.
[RELATED: A preview with the director of “A Rock Sails By”]
The talented performers are Lela Elam, Daniel Llaca, Mallory Newbrough, and Laura Turnbull.
Grennan has become a familiar name to Actors’ Playhouse audiences. Indeed, the professional, nonprofit, award-winning company has staged at least a half dozen of Grennan’s works.
Of course, Actors’ Playhouse isn’t alone in admiring Grennan’s work. As a matter of fact, his pieces have received hundreds of productions around the world, including in the U.S., Canada, Russia, Australia, China, the Middle East, England, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Spain.
With humor, heart, and honesty, Grennan creates relatable and moving stories and characters. In addition, the playwright includes something unexpected in his works, such as a plot twist. It’s no wonder, then, why Grennan’s work has enjoyed such wide exposure.
While revealing the fact that a mysterious character appears in “A Rock Sails By” may be a bit of a plot spoiler, it’s unclear who or what that being is, and its objective is debatable. But more on that later.
Lela Elam as the pesky publisher of Grate Magazine and Daniel Llaca as the writer in Sean Grennan’s “A Rock Sails By” at Actors’ Playhouse. (Photos by Alberto Romeu)
In “A Rock Sails By,” renowned and respected astrophysicist and college professor Dr. Lynn Cummings faces challenges. In particular, a doctor has diagnosed her with early onset dementia. To make matters worse, Cummings lost her husband to a sudden heart attack a couple of years back. And, as though all of that were not enough, after a less-than-reputable publication misquotes Cummings regarding a meteor-like object headed toward Earth, she finds her reputation and career threatened.
Without a doubt, Cummings is suffering and searching for something.
“Call if there’s anything you want,” the doctor who diagnoses Cummings tells her patient.
“Anything I want…I want to know what the point is,” she tells her doctor. “What’s the point? I don’t know what the point is and I know a lot of things, believe me.”
Cummings isn’t the only character in the play who is searching. In addition, Jason, the reporter who misquotes Cummings, broke up with his girlfriend, and is dissatisfied with his job at the “rag” where he works. Among other things, he wants meaning and order in his life.
Lela Elam brings a message to Laura Turnbull in Lela Elam as the pesky publisher in Sean Grennan’s “A Rock Sails By” at Actors’ Playhouse. (Photos by Alberto Romeu)
At its heart, “A Rock Sails By” is about relationships and how we deal with challenges that life hurls at us. But the play also carries bigger themes and questions without getting too heavy handed. More specifically, in his piece, Grennan touches on family relationships, journalistic ethics, questions about science and existence, science fiction, the mourning process, the importance of having a positive attitude, and health.
Amazingly, the play, which a company could easily stage without an intermission, never feels aimless or overstuffed. Rather, “A Rock Sails By” is a cohesive theater piece that moves us and makes us think, as well as laugh.
Speaking of laughter, humor often serves as an effective entryway into more serious topics. Why? Comedy disarms us so that we are more open to deeper subject matter. And in “A Rock Sails By,” you can expect to laugh from the beginning.
“Our interests couldn’t be further apart,” Dr. Cummings tells her daughter, Olive, early on. “I think you went as far away from astrophysics as you could get.”
“Maybe because you were always pushing it,” Olive responds. “For my eighth birthday, you gave me quantum mechanics flashcards.”
Unlike her scientist mother, Olive is pursuing a doctorate in English Literature. Perhaps she enjoys the topic, or maybe, as an act of rebellion, the younger woman just wanted to enter a field as different from science as possible.
While the younger woman would ordinarily be busy with her studies, she has come home to be with her mother for a reason you will learn if and when you see the play.
In more than one way, Cummings and her daughter are different. In addition to their contrasting interests, they view the world differently. For instance, the older woman only believes what can be proven as facts. On the other hand, Olive is more open to faith and the intangible. She believes, for example, that her father, while deceased, may be able to hear and respond to somebody.
Mallory Newbrough and Laura Turnbull ponder questions of the universe in Sean Grennan’s “A Rock Sails By” at Actors’ Playhouse. (Photos by Alberto Romeu)
Unsurprisingly, Cummings believes that the object headed toward earth is nothing more than a rock that will sail right by, hence the play’s title. But her daughter and Jason are not so sure about that.
As far as the mysterious being who suddenly appears to Cummings, we don’t know if it’s an alien with special powers, an angel, God, a ghost, a figment of the character’s imagination, or something else. The being visits Cummings as she, her daughter, and Jason wait at the university’s observatory in New Mexico for the meteor-like object to pass near enough to be seen. Understandably, you may be shocked after the being is able to “call” Cummings’ husband, Tom, on the phone from his grave.
Perhaps the purpose for the being’s presence and its powers is for the playwright to illustrate how badly someone stricken with dementia can suffer. In addition to the mysterious figure, Cummings periodically hears foreboding rumbling sounds, and its never clear what those sounds are. Are they sounds of the meteor-like object approaching? Or are the noises another manifestation of Cummings’ dementia? Certainly, these are things to consider. Just as only Cummings can hear or see the mysterious visitor, only she hears the rumble.
Speaking of the being, he, she, or it is one of several characters that Elam portrays. The performer imbues the being with a robotic, blissful, almost angelic demeanor. Picture a happy-go-lucky C-3PO from the “Star Wars” franchise.
Elam also portrays Jason’s boss at the online magazine where he works, lending her a seductive and impulsive quality that suggests she is short on ethics. In particular, she prizes clicks over accuracy.
Other characters Elam brings to life include the provost of the university where Cummings teaches. The performer lends the woman a sympathetic but honest demeanor.
Meanwhile, Turnbull forcefully yet believably endows Cummings with pride, irritability, confidence, and a sarcastic edge during much of the first act. Clearly, this sardonic woman is proud of her accomplishments, impatient, and does not let anybody push her around.
While Turnbull turns in a believable performance, for most of the first act, it lacks nuance. On a more positive note, Turnbull endows Cummings with a touching vulnerability. And it’s always clear that Cummings loves her daughter and vice versa.
Laura Turnbull plays a Ph.D. astrophysicist and her daughter, Oliver, played by Mallory Newbrough leans more towards English literature. (Photos by Alberto Romeu)
Turnbull shares a touching chemistry with Mallory Newbrough. The latter performer portrays Cummings’ daughter with affection, as well as a rejuvenating zest for life and a dry sense of humor that she shares with her mother. The two women may argue, but Grennan does a good job of illustrating that they have more in common than you might think.
Llaca credibly lends Jason a journalist’s curiosity, as well as an eagerness and openness to experience new things. As Llaca portrays him, you can’t help but like Jason. You also admire his persistence, even if he overdoes it at times. And, at the end of the play, you sense that he has become a changed man; he has learned something from his time spent with Cummings and her daughter.
In addition to the performers’ fine work verbally, they gesture appropriately and find other effective non-verbal ways to convey information about their characters.
Together with his attention to detail, Arisco paces the production well. And the dramatic portions of the story receive as much emphasis as the comic scenes.
The stage in the Balcony Theatre is rather wide. While that can be a good thing, people sitting on one extreme side of the theater may have trouble hearing actors positioned on the extreme opposite side. Fortunately, Arisco and Co. ensure that this never becomes a problem.
Mallory Newbrough and Laura Turnbull share an embrace as mother and daughter in “A Rock Sails By.” (Photos by Alberto Romeu)
On this wide stage, scenic designer Brandon M. Newton suggests several different locales with minimal and appropriate scenery. From a scenic design standpoint, this is an effective technique; it allows for seamless transitions from one scene to another.
Meanwhile, lighting designer Eric Nelson has created appropriately nonrealistic lighting for the play’s otherworldly scenes. For instance, Nelson bathes the mysterious being with an intensity that enhances the visitor’s mystery. And Nelson’s depiction of a starry night sky is gorgeous. The designer contrasts such moments with realistic lighting for other scenes.
Costume designer Ellis Tillman effectively differentiates the mysterious being’s outfit from the other characters’ everyday clothing. Specifically, Tillman designed a shimmering costume for the mysterious visitor, reinforcing her angelic quality.
Sound designer Reidar Sorensen’s foreboding effects and ethereal-like music reinforce the production’s otherworldly quality. And at least once, a harsh-sounding effect reinforces an uncomfortable moment between the characters.
“A Rock Sails By” is honest in its focus on dementia. Indeed, Grennan never pretends that the disease is not as bad as it really is. However, he suggests that one’s outlook can soften the blow of difficulties that life throws at us. Listen, for instance, to Cummings as she discusses her future with her daughter: “Remember how I told you about that afternoon we had on the couch, when you were a baby, and we were just floating? Honey, slowly, finally, I’m going to be the baby. Think about that.”
After a beat, Olive responds: “Then we’ll pick up where we left off.”
If You Go
- What: The Florida premiere of Sean Grennan’s dramedy, “A Rock Sails By.”
- When: Through June 9. Evening performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with matinees at 3 p.m. Sunday.
- Where: The Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables.
- Tickets: Ticket prices range from $40 to $75. You can purchase tickets by calling (305) 444-9293, visiting www.actorsplayhouse.org, or visiting the box office at 280 Miracle Mile. The theater offers 10 percent off all weekday performances for seniors and $15 student rush tickets to any performance 15 minutes before curtain with identification. The company offers group discounted rates for 10 patrons or more through the group sales department at (305) 444-9293, ext. 2 or at www.actorsplayhouse.org.