Review: BABY SCREAMS MIRACLE Intrigues at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Clare Barron's apocalyptic play BABY SCREAMS MIRACLE is, fundamentally, an interesting and exceptionally written exploration of the forces of religion and of nature on one small town American family dealing with its own kind of inner turmoil. A uniformly strong cast under the direction of Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz brings out the best of the already strong script at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

A storm brews outside of Carol (Kate Eastwood Norris) and Gabe's (Cody Nickell) house near Columbia Gorge. They live there with Carol's mother Barbara (Sarah Marshall) and their shy, young daughter Kayden (Mia Rilette, alternating nightly with Caroline Rilette). They've found God at some point in their lives and when we meet them, they're praying (amusingly so). The storm intensifies. Devastation is impending. The next day, Gabe goes out to do some work and has a bit of an altercation with a deer in his car, but it's not the last he'll be covered in blood or sustain an injury during this once in a lifetime storm.

An unexpected visitor descends upon the house, Cynthia (Caroline Dubberly). Like Carol, she's pregnant. It's an awkward welcome at first, and it soon becomes clear why. Cynthia - as we learn from her conversation with Kayden - is Carol and Gabe's oldest child, but they do not have a close relationship with her. As the power goes out, and another round of the storm revs up, the family huddles together in deep conversation about faith, God, and life choices. Cynthia experiences a spiritual breakthrough when Gabe shares his faith, which brings them closer together.

Time passes and the situation has not gotten any better. The family ultimately makes the decision to leave the house and seek shelter in a hotel. Cynthia offers for them to stay at her house several hours away. On the way, they experience the force of nature once again and their lives are changed forever. Faith becomes all that more important.

Barron does a yeoman's job in writing about multiple issues that could each be the focus of one play -religion/faith, family dynamics, the power of nature etc. As written, it doesn't come off as a "everything but the kitchen sink, here-there-and-everywhere" kind of play, which is a testament to her skill as a playwright. As someone of faith, I also appreciate that she explores Carol and Gabe's personal connection with Jesus is a non-judgmental and non-stereotypical way. Carol and Gabe are real people with many imperfect dimensions. They're certainly not cartoonish, which is a welcome change from many contemporary plays that tackle similar subject matter in one way or another. Kate Eastwood Norris and Cody Nickell do well to flesh out their characters in a real, natural way and have believable chemistry with one another, which is yet another reason why this production is so compelling.

Other actors also shine. Mia Rillette has a delightfully non-cloying, natural presence onstage and handles the challenges of this difficult play just as well as the far more experienced adults. I look forward to seeing more of her in the future. Sarah Marshall is perfect as the down-to-earth Barbara. She includes just enough humor and warmth in her performance. Caroline Dubberly, making her Woolly Mammoth debut following two productions at Keegan Theatre, impresses too, particularly as she balances Cynthia's exterior toughness with her need to feel wanted and loved.

Depicting an apocalyptic storm onstage is no easy task to be sure, but Woolly's creative team figures out a great way to do it. James Kronzer's scenic design involves using model size depictions of Carol and Gabe's residence, which go through several changes throughout the speedy 105 minutes. Jared Mezzocchi's video design and Palmer Hefferan's sound design work hand-in-hand to bring us into the center of the storm and devastation complemented by Autum Casey's lighting.

The strong script, tremendous acting, and spot-on production elements are just some of the reasons you should see this play.

Running Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission.

BABY SCREAMS MIRACLE plays at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company - 641 D Street, NW in Washington, DC - through February 26, 2017. For tickets, call the box office at 202-393-3939 or purchase them online.

Photo: Kate Eastwood Norris and Cody Nickell pictured; by Scott Suchman.

To post a comment, you must register and login.