BWW Reviews: OC Premiere of THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED

Originally produced off-Broadway in 2006, Keith Bunin's complex THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED is now enjoying an excellent regional revival courtesy of Theatre Out, Orange County's Gay and Lesbian Theatre company, with performances playing through February 5 at the Empire Theatre in Santa Ana. Theatre Out's intimate setting, coupled with a trio of great performances from its cast, both serve this intelligent, engaging drama quite well.

Exploring issues of faith, death, and its tug-of-war with family dynamics, Bunim opens the story with Hannah (Katherine Curci-Prenovost), a widowed Episcopal minister and a noted theology scholar conducting a philosophically-heavy job interview with bookish-looking Brandt (Ben Green). She's looking for an assistant—a ghostwriter, really—to help her author her latest book, which aims to translate a newly-found set of gospels from Thomas the apostle, which could possibly pre-date the well-known bible texts that chronicle the life of Jesus.

Battling her own dual inner struggle, Hannah is a highly-educated intellectual, who also happens to be a stringent, firm believer in her faith. She likes the idea that Brandt—admitting honestly that he's unqualified for the position—can be objective with the project because he's an agnostic. Brandt appears hesitant, but needs the job, if only to keep him busy, employed and distracted from the events in his personal life: not too far away, his father is in the hospital suffering from a debilitating brain tumor. He agrees to take it on, to Hannah's delight. We later learn that Hannah also has other plans for Brandt besides helping with the book.

Those plans involve her ne'er-do-well 26-year-old son Thomas (Michael Rachlis), an aimless atheist with a great mind and a penchant for risky, impromptu adventures. Hannah clearly loves her son, but Thomas pushes her away at arms length, choosing to shun her beliefs and affections at every turn. Mother and son have been adversely affected by the mysterious death of Thomas' father, himself a minister who one day decided to walk into the ocean and drowned before Thomas was even born. The reasons for the death remain inconclusive, whether or not it was deliberate or accidental. Thomas, we learn, returns to his mother's home only to peruse the piles of old bound manuscripts that belonged to his dead father, hoping that clues might be gleaned from their margins.

Thomas half-heartedly promises his mother to build her bookshelves for the library, but clearly the carpentry work is just an excuse for him to hang out and wax philosophical with Brandt. Timid but alluringly well-spoken, Brandt is smitten, enjoying his conversations with the young man as their palpable attraction bubbles to the surface, despite his efforts to conceal his feelings.

Hannah, as any observant mother often can, detects this instant electricity between her gay son and his newly-hired gay ghostwriter. Rather than allow her faith to dictate the splitting of this pairing, she surprisingly encourages it—a plan she hatches in hopes to keep her vagabond son safe and less inclined to leave again. Hannah feels Brandt will be a good, stable influence on her son. She openly proposes the idea on his assistant, but Brandt, hedging a bit though clearly enamored with Thomas, is clearly a walking zombie shell of a man, afraid to open himself up to love as he tries to deal with his aching feelings for his ailing father.

Under the nicely understated direction of Carlos Martin, this intricate, thought-provoking drama presents itself as an eloquent character study that provides a unique approach to the debate between blind faith and unconditional love. Bunim's dialogue exchanges are richly textured, which can be challenging but remarkably rewarding for the attentive. The high-brow word play traded between characters is less colloquial than, say, a similarly verbose Aaron Sorkin or Amy Sherman-Paladino script, but is still tremendously accessible. There were a few instances, however, where I do long for a bit more, well, "hushed" moments where the actors are allowed to act and react with their faces and body gestures alone, rather than with their line readings, excellently delivered as they may be.

Once again, the now frequent presence of Green automatically elevates the material. He is a completely riveting actor to watch as he was in his less subtle roles in last year's Theatre Out productions of Bent and Edward II. Here, he does fine, appropriately nuanced work as a young man struggling with inner turmoils, aching with pathos colored by his self-imposed apprehensions. Every glance, every line reading, every quiet moment, and even every reaction feels carefully thought out without a hint of overacting in either direction. As Hannah, Curci-Prenovost effortlessly takes on Bunim's rich word play while creating an excellent portrait of a woman whose love of God and family are in constant odds. Rachlis may tend to get more tongue-tied than his co-stars with Bunim's text, but manages to make it a charming characteristic of his role in the process. When Rachlis and Green finally share a kiss, finally "outing" their relationship with the audience, there's a wonderful sweetness and underlying tension that's interesting to watch.

The title, a memorable phrase taken from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, is a believer's plea for God to grant eternal peace upon one's demise. Ultimately, all three characters in THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED are themselves forced to examine the role of faith in the face of death (impending or not), while still being a part of the living. Thanks to the great performances from the production's three actors, dramatizing an intensely thought-provoking, rapid-fire script, this HUSHED world's eloquent words are appropriately given a voice.

Photos from THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED by Bill Boland/Theatre Out.
Top (Left to Right): Michael Rachlis, Ben Green, & Katherine Curci-Prenovost.
Middle: Katherine Curci-Prenovost. Bottom: Michael Rachlis & Ben Green.

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Tickets to Theatre Out's production of THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED are priced $18 (adults) and $15.00 (students with valid student ID). Special prices are available for select performances. Remaining performances are scheduled as follows: Thursday, Jan 27 @ 8:00 pm; Friday, Jan 28 @ 8:00 pm; Saturday, Jan 29 @ 8:00 pm; Sunday, Jan 30 @ 2:00 pm; ; Thursday, Feb 3 @ 8:00 pm; Friday, Feb 4 @ 8:00 pm; Saturday, Feb 5 @ 8:00 pm.

Keith Bunin's THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED is directed by Carlos Martin with Scenic Design by David C. Carnevale and Lighting Design by Daphne Mir.

Approximate Running Time: 2 hours with one intermission

Theatre Out's home is The Empire Theatre in the Artists' Village in downtown Santa Ana, located at 202 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA. Tickets are available online at www.theatreout.com or by calling the Theatre Out Box Office at (714) 826-8700.

Visit www.theatreout.com for more information.

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