Review: LIFELINE at The Road Theatre

In Robert Axelrod’s world premiere LIFELINE, a motley group comes together for training at an LGBTQIA+ suicide prevention hotline, changing the lives of everyone involved. Two trainers are assigned to them: Drew (Tommy Dickie), who is painfully upbeat, and Jen (Brittany Taylor Visser), who is on her first day back after an unnamed leave of absence. They welcome pragmatic Maya (Xoë Sazzle); sassy Kai (Clifton J. Adams); stridently woke Sarah Beth (Naomi Rubin); and flustered, middle-aged Patty (Amy Tolsky). While the training continues, each of them learns more about who they are as well as understanding that the others have more depth than it might at first appear.

The material is provocative and heavy but Axelrod infuses enough humor into the characters that this dramedy, even when it’s emotional, pulls back before falling into despair, weaving dark and light so effortlessly, the tapestry he creates is engrossing. His writing is sharp and smart and in the end he gives us, if not hope, a sense that, for as bad as things can get, we can power through.

Director Ken Sawyer keeps the energy up but also manages to avoid it achieving a manic sensibility. The themes are fragile so the project needs a gentle yet firm hand and it finds that in Sawyer. By sitting some of the audience on the stage and addressing them as well as those in the traditional seats, we all become part of the story; we’re all complicit.

The ensemble is sterling, each of them offering barbs and pathos, sometimes at the same time. Their characters are all bruised but not broken, striving to better themselves as well as help others through the hotline. Rubin’s Sarah Beth is so gratingly earnest, she steals a lot of moments with her desperation to cling to (and preach) inclusivity. Dickey and Visser are standouts, keeping the group together as well as battling their own demons. Joh Chase offers reflective musical interludes as a sort of guitar-strumming troubadour, adding to immeasurably to the atmosphere. And Tolsky is always a treasure. The set design by Desma Murphy is fantastic, as are the costumes by Mary Jane Miller (especially a fabulous jacket Adams gets to wear).

With so much going on the world these days, many of us are feeling helpless and distressed, so we might find a lot to identify with in LIFELINE, which is another feather in the Road Theatre’s cap. The Road never shies away from pushing the envelope and this show is no exception to that.

Photos by Ken Sawyer