New Rep begins 2011 with a premiere of a new play, afterlife: a ghost story. In the first act we meet a couple, Danielle and Connor, who have just returned to their beachfront property to prepare the house for an impending storm. We slowly learn that their 3 year old son got lost in the ocean and is presumed dead. The premise reminded of the play Rabbit Hole, but that may have been due to the fact that I saw the movie last week. Getting back to Danielle, she has not yet accepted that her son is dead – she still sees him and hears him. Her husband, while still grieving, comes to accept the loss of his son. The first act ends as the storm finally arrives taking everything in its path.
The second act brings us to the afterlife of the three characters (we meet the son now, although a bit older). The act incorporates ideas of the afterlife from various traditions. Many questions are raised in the second act and you can tell that the playwright is trying to address deeper issues, although it is sometimes confusing. The character that brings some levity to the second act is The Proprietress (Adrianne Krstansky) who is a personification of the ocean. Danielle stumbles upon this place and is invited in by the Proprietress to a sort of tea ceremony. It is here where Danielle is finally able to come to terms with all that has transpired. We meet a few other characters that are there to help on this journey. The play ends with many questions unanswered. I felt the play to be somewhat uneven and while the second act seems like a logical place to start after what happens right before intermission, it is rather jarring and feels disjointed – this may have simply been the author’s intent.
Kate Warner assembles a solid cast including Marianna Bassham as Danielle. From the moment she appears on stage you can feel her unease and anguish. She is able to convey emotion to the audience that serves to draw them in. Thomas Piper is great as the husband trying to deal with the loss as best as he can. In the second act, Adrianne Krstansky provides a great performance delivering some of the best lines in the show. She also incorporates great background action making you want to occasionally glance at what she is doing. I would be remiss if I did not mention the sound designer, David Remedios’ work. In the first act the audience is constantly aware of the ocean and the impending storm – in some shows the sound will be there at the beginning of the act but then fade away; however, in this work it is so central that you always are aware of it in the background. Also, kudos to the entire technical team for the theatrics at the end of the first act, the whole effect was very effective and well done in New Rep’s space.
-Frank Furnari
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