Written by Alina Mae Wilson
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 as a somewhat bland family narrative successfully becomes a dark comedy about life, death, and reality as we know it.
Our family comprises 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 is 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 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 of truth, lies, and that mysterious gray area, which is neither lunacy nor sanity.
Grace Note is completed in just over an hour in a simple environment that befits its brevity. We in the audience are accommodated in a nice black box nearer the back of the Waltmar Theatre. With only two rows of chairs lining the theatre walls all the way around, it would be very difficult to find the “bad seat” in the house. The set is effective as a house’s kitchen and bedroom, and the staging is clear. Because the blocking is well done and the cast list is six people long, there are no problems understanding the plot. Simplicity wins the day again.
As is often the case with plays, Grace Note has a hard time taking off. A good twenty minutes is committed to setting the scene for us, and it’s a drag –despite the cast’s fantastic performances. Enthusiastic arguments about people we don’t yet know are hardly riveting, but it’s worth being patient. Sit there thinking, “They’re upset about this person…why do we care…why do we care…*person shows up* oh THAT’S why we care…” Bear with them because the excitement does come.
Speaking of excitement, let’s talk about the performances: wonderful, strong, and featuring many insane people running around onstage, so there’s little time to laugh/hang your jaw to the floor in shock. My biggest issue stems from the direction given to Michael’s character–he is supposed to be “normal.” One of the two lines referring to him mentions that he is the most pleasant and normal member of the bunch, yet that is not how his character comes across. From the beginning, he seems awkward, stiff, and ill at ease, which could have something to do with his environment. It’s hard to imagine anyone seeing him as a social human being. Perhaps the rest of the world sees him as weird, and only his family views him as totally sane. This could be the case, but if this is what Director Sebastian Munoz is going for, he should probably consider stating it more explicitly. Michael’s shining moments occur when he gets to express sheer panic.
The cast, playwright, and directors. Front row: Courtney Drumm, Paul Thomas Arnold, Jennifer Novak Chun, Ian Heath. Back row: Tyler Koster, Sebastian Munoz (dir.), Angelia Weitzman (asst. dir.), Robert Riemer (playwright). | Photo by Stephen Rack
The rest of the show is smooth sailing. Special mention goes to Jennifer Novak Chun (Mama) and Tyler Koster (Chris) for their fantastic performances. Chun’s Mama is caring and tender, but we can’t help but wonder what precisely is wrong with her that caused her to be so eerie. She reminds me of Diana from the Broadway musical Next to Normal. Koster manages to be alarming without getting annoying. He is funny, sympathetic, and dangerous at all the appropriate intervals.
This is a fun show and introduces some interesting concepts to the audience. Not overly deep, but not a hunk of time-wasting cheese either. Go out and enjoy some lunacy.
Location & Time:
Moulton Center Studio Theatre
300 E. Palm Ave., Orange, CA 92866
Thursday, August 27th at 8:00 pm
Friday, August 28th at 8:00 pm
Michael
Robert Riemer
Sebastian Muñoz
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