Written by Alina Mae WilsonÂ
Stories with mentally ill people have a good track record with me. Let me be clearer –I have yet to come across a story featuring a (potentially) mentally ill person failing to capture my undivided attention before the show is over.  Robert Riemer’s Grace Note is no different.  What starts out as a somewhat bland family narrative successfully becomes a dark comedy about life, death, and reality as we know it.
Our family is made up of Mama, Dad, Chris, and Michael.  Mom is sweet but a bit dippy. Dad is gruff but a bit loopy. Chris is seemingly

Family reunion: Christopher (Tyler Koster) is back in town, off the streets, escaped from … Abyssinia? … and home with Mom (Jennifer Novak Chun) and Dad (Paul Thomas Arnold) in Grace Note. | Photo by Stephen Rack
damaged beyond repair.  Meanwhile Michael is nice, friendly, helpful, and everything a loving son should be.  Chris arrives home after taking a long period of absence with his brother Michael’s girlfriend Lauren.  Dad’s drinking buddy Norman stops by, and despite their alleged friendship, takes continual pleasure in making Dad feel like crap.  As the night wears on we find ourselves on an assortment of twisted paths made up of truth, lies, and that mysterious gray area, which is neither lunacy nor sanity. Continue Reading