BWW Reviews: SpeakEasy Stages a Crisp NEXT FALL

Written by Geoffrey Nauffts; directed by Scott Edmiston; scenic design, Janie E. Howland; costume design, Carlos Aguilar; lighting design, Karen Perlow; original music and sound design, Dewey Dellay; production stage manager, Amy Weissenstein

Cast in order of appearance: Holly, Deb Martin; Brandon, Kevin Kaine; Arlene, Amelia Broome; Butch, Robert Walsh; Adam, Will McGarrahan; Luke, Dan Roach

Performances: Now through October 15, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston; tickets at 617-933-8600 or www.BostonTheatreScene.com

Next Fall, making its Boston area premiere at the SpeakEasy Stage Company now through October 15, is a cunningly deceptive little play that starts out as a standard issue urban sit-com but morphs seamlessly into a drama of real substance and beauty. The first full-length stage play by actor, director and screen writer Geoffrey Nauffts (perhaps best known for his work on the TV series Brothers and Sisters), Next Fall packs a powerful punch - but in ways that are both funny and unexpected.

Examining the improbable relationship between a closeted twenty-something gay Christian man (Luke) and a self-deprecating forty-year-old gay atheist (Adam), Next Fall successfully explores the divide between fundamentalism and homosexuality without ever resorting to stereotypes or, even more impressively, preaching or partisanship. Yes, there is an ostensibly thick-necked, all-American, bible-thumping father (Butch) and a brow-beaten, addle-pated, Southern belle of a mother (Arlene) who often spew unintentional racial and ethnic epithets borne more of ignorance than antipathy. There's also the no-nonsense, ever-faithful, self-described "fag hag" (Holly) who leaves no incisive quip unspoken.

But as the play progresses, these seemingly stock characters' superficial veneers slowly, imperceptibly melt away to reveal the scarred hearts and frightened souls of good people trying to do the best they can in a complicated, unpredictable world. Neither heroes nor villains, they hang onto the beliefs that make them feel safe, even if the line that defines those beliefs gets more than a little blurry at times.

Butch, Arlene, Holly, Adam, and Brandon (an enigmatic friend of Luke's whose past relationship is not quite clear at first) have assembled in a hospital waiting room following a car accident that has left Luke in a coma. The action alternates between the present and the past five years, the time span in which Adam and Luke have been together. Through clever and comical flashbacks, we watch the couple's relationship deepen and grow, but we also see the obstacles that each places in the path of true commitment. For Luke, it's his unwillingness to come out to his parents. For Adam, it's his inability to have faith that love can be real or lasting. For both it's the very human foible of failing to recognize how precious each moment is while living it. And that is the real gut-wrenching tragedy underneath the blistering comedy in Next Fall. We may not be here to make good on our promises if we keep putting things off till "next fall."

The always insightful and heartfelt direction of last year's Elliot Norton Award honoree Scott Edmiston is in full evidence here as he teases out skillfully layered performances from his entire cast. Never heavy handed, Edmiston lets the ambiguities in Nauffts' deft script hang in the air on a delicate pause or subtle introspective glance. He leaves it up to the audience to decide if his characters know more than they are telling. As in life, there is often more power in what is left unsaid than in what is spelled out in black and white.

Edmiston's cast is led by Boston stalwart Will McGarrahan as Adam, a perfect balance of bitterness and vulnerability. Seemingly always on the verge of destroying the very relationship that can finally bring meaning into his life, McGarrahan's Adam nonetheless holds on with every taut sinew in his body and every neurotic vein that pulses in his head. His scathing curmudgeon's humor dances deliciously on the tip of his tongue while his little boy's longing heart is worn palpably on his sleeve.

Dan Roach as Luke is in contrast an innocent who exudes true love and kindness. His faith in Jesus is totally believable and unwavering, even if his faith in his own goodness is a little shaky because he sees homosexuality as a sin. Swathed in a giant Christian comforter of forgiveness and denial, however, Luke's own hypocrisy escapes him, at least until his carefully constructed cognitive limbo is threatened by Adam's badgering logic or his parents' discovery of his secret.

As Southern Baptist parents Butch and Arlene, Robert Walsh and Amelia Broome flesh out characters who could easily be one dimensional into sympathetic victims of their own repressive upbringing. Walsh at once wants desperately to love but not truly know his own son, while Broome finds a way to connect with Adam, and therefore her dying Luke. Walsh's struggle results in the most emotionally harrowing moment of the play, a crushing collapse at the weight of what's been lost to rigid dogma. Broome's understanding and unspoken acceptance result in her personal transformation and release - from societal expectations and religious doctrine that clearly suffocated rather than nourished her eccentricities and free spirit.

Deb Martin as the steadfastly supportive gal pal and shop owner Holly successfully holds an unflinching mirror up to friend and employee Adam while dodging her own reflection with wise cracks and new-age mantras. Although her character is the one that Nauffts seems to have neglected a bit in his writing, Martin suggests in her performance that Holly seeks the emotional intimacy in her friendships that she isn't able to sustain with her romantic partners.

The most tragic character in the play is the one we come to know late in the story: Brandon (Kevin Kaine), an uptight businessman who literally clings to his well worn bible, a tattered, dog-eared, leather bound life preserver that has sticky notes inserted as bookmarks in countless passages. A friend of Luke's, he obviously cares for him deeply, but his repulsion at the thought of two men loving each other is a source of endless torment for him. Kaine plays Brandon's tortured ambivalence as a force of silent regret that tears him apart from the inside out. He is a man trapped by the behavioral lines he has drawn for himself in the sand. While he may justify the occasional sexual dalliance with another man through some quirk of magical thinking, his Christian beliefs would never allow him to commit to a relationship and feel real love.

Next Fall is a funny, tender, potent and thought-provoking new play that garnered Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle award nominations on Broadway in 2010. Given this sparkling SpeakEasy production, it's easy to see why.

PHOTOS by Craig Bailey: Dan Roach as Luke and Will McGarrahan as Adam; Robert Walsh as Butch and Will McGarrahan; Amelia Broome as Arlene and Will McGarrahan; Will McGarrahan and Dan Roach