“Out Here”

What seems a bit strange is that this house has on the second floor , a small band , and one of its members, Martin ( as always, a wonderful character created by Alex Goodrich) who also serves many other functions, as he is not just a musician as we find out as the story unfolds. The family is composed of a father, Brian (brilliantly done by Cliff Chamberlain), a mother, Dawn ( played to perfection by Becca Ayers) and their daughter, Cleo ( deftly handled by Ellie Duffey). They seem happy as can be and very typical as they open the show telling us, the audience, about their house.

As they talk about their lives and their house, we learn that there are some family situations that need to be looked at. It seems that Dawn has not been who she was supposed to be and she needs, and wants more than she can get from Brian and Cleo. In her past, there was a lady love, Robin ( Bethany Thomas is a powerhouse), who just so happens to be sitting amongst us in the audience. Dawn wants to change her life which of course will change the lives of her daughter and husband as well. She wants a divorce and wants to dictate the rules that go with it. Martin is a mediator and gets involved with the divorce/separation, causing Dawn to think clearly about the future.

Of course Brian is caught between a rock and a hard place, but if that is who Dawn is, then let her do her thing, and he will do his. Here, a few things take place that I would rather not talk about in detail, but I will tell you that Brian does pick a lady in the audience to be his new amour and later we meet a child that comes with Robin, Jeff ( Z Mowry). There is one more performer to mention, Amanda Pulcini as Gina. She is sparkling and adorable.

This slick production is directed by Chay Yew on a delicious set by Andrew Boyce and Lauren M. Nichols. It is very cool and in the final scenes, you will truly see just how creative this design is. Christine Pascual’s costumes work for the characters and the lighting (Lee Fiskness) and sound (Mikhail Fiksel) work to a tee. The intimacy choreography by Sheryl Williams helps to set the tone and the movement direction by Breon Arzell, perfect for these characters.

Part of what this play and its story bring to the stage are things that many families must deal with in their lives. Facing reality when mistakes take place, learning that as the years go by, people can and do change, and while a  leopard can’t change spots,  a person can change their life. In this story, we see that Dawn after some see-saw feelings opts to do the right thing and give up her power over her family. Once again, this is a new work, recently designed for this opening, and you can help it grow, just by being there .

“Out Here” will continue thru May 10th with performances as follows: