Review: THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE at A Public Fit

Andrew Bovell's Things I Know to Be True at A Public Fit is staggeringly theatrical, exquisitely staged, and a joy to experience.

When this critic arrived in the space before the show, she was skeptical. The spare aesthetic was striking and lovely. More often than not, in this curmudgeon's experience, performances rarely live up to the promises of beautiful visuals, but, for the first time in a long time, she was compelled to sit forward in awe and never sit back until the house lights rose at intermission.

Co-directors Ann-Marie Pereth and Joseph P. Kucan have created a breathtaking production that could be absolutely dreadful in less capable hands.

Bovell's text is both fierce and delicately passionate. The expeditious pace the directors establish at the top of the show never lets up, and the actors' energy never waivers. The lighting and sound designs are outstanding.

The piece takes place in a suburban Australian rose garden where the Price family lives a year of frenzy and devastation. The youngest, Rosie - stunningly played by native Aussie Coco Lane Rigbye - is reeling from a brutal heartbreak. Father Bob - played with deep humanity by Timothy Cummings - retired early from his automobile manufacturing job, and Mother Fran - presented with solid assurance by Karen McKenny - continues to work as a night nurse. As disparate as timid and brash - fervently rendered by Andrew Calvert as Mark/Mia and Jake Staley as Ben - the brothers struggle for acceptance and success in a mean world that sends them running alternately to and away from their home and garden. Betsy Norton is Pip, the eldest child and the daughter who struggles with Mommy issues that illuminate the turbulent childhood she hopes to not pass on to her own children as she moves toward divorce and a new life across the sea. Norton's presence is delicious, and one wishes she'd never leave the stage.

Highly recommended.

This production runs through April 25th.

THE USUAL PLACE
100 S. Maryland Pkwy.
Las Vegas, NV 89101

TICKETING INFORMATION

tickets@apublicfit.org
702-735-2114