Review: 'Grace' at The Gamm

Grace is a play about "belief formation" according to its co-author Mick Gordon. The drama explores how we deal with others who question our beliefs, and how we handle our own self-doubt.

The title character Grace (Wendy Overly) is a university professor who has made a career debunking the myth of spirituality. As rigid as she is brilliant, Grace has been happily married to her affable husband Tony (Jim O'Brien) for decades. Their son Tom (Kyle Blanchette) has decided to ditch his career as an attorney to become an Episcopal priest. Tom believes that moderate, liberal, religions need to be stronger to fight the religious zealots of all faiths. He has made the decision to enter the seminary over the strenuous objections of his mother and the doubts of his pregnant fiancé Ruth (Karen Carpenter).

Through a series of brief flashbacks, brought on by a university study that is trying to replicate a "religious experience" by stimulating different brain hemispheres, we see cracks in Grace's tough veneer of atheism. In this 90 minute production, Grace's agitation turns to anger, with that anger eventually turning inward. In dealing with the death of her son in a terrorist attack, the analytical Grace becomes biblically anguished nearly renting her clothes, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, almost begging to be stoned to death for not being able to keep her son from his tragic death.

The writing is quick and intellectual; the pace slows as the characters are forced to deal with grief and loss. Grace's continual monologues about the evils of organized religion and the folly of faith tiptoe right up to the line of being grating, but back away nearly every time.

Director Tony Estrella has finessed four strong, solid, nearly perfect performances out of his cast .

Wendy Overly's performance is without ego, stripped bare of every corporeal item until there is only the essence of Grace. We find that at the core of our being, we may be only our memory and the memory that others have of us.

Kyle Blanchette steps into young and earnest Tom's skin with ease. Whether sharing quiet moments with his fiancé and their unborn child, sharing a pint with his dad at the pub or having a shouting go 'round with his mum, Blanchette's Tom seems entirely authentic.

Karen Carpenter turns in a fine performance in the role of Ruth. The hurt and betrayal seem to be just under the surface, as close to coming out as the pools of water are from rolling down her cheeks.

As Grace's husband Tony, Jim O'Brien constantly brings a bit of light-heartedness (not to mention level-headedness) to the family. O'Brien plays breezy as well as he played brooding in last season's Nixon's Nixon.

This production is true, engaging, compelling theater. Its themes are haunting and seeing Grace calls for at least a moment of self-reflection.

Photo: Kyle Blanchette as Tom, seated; Wendy Overly as Grace and Jim O'Brien as Tony

Photo Credit:  Peter Goldberg

Grace runs through April 5 at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre which is located at 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, RI. Tickets range from $24-$39 and can be purchased by calling ArtTix at (401) 723-4266 or visiting www.artitxri.com.

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