Review: RTW'S LUNA GALE Exposes Heartbreaking Truths of Contemporary Life

For any two young adults, caring for an infant can be a daunting responsibility. For Karlie and Peter, a young couple trying to kick a meth addiction, an infant can be overwhelming and sometimes forgotten in light of their personal circumstances. Renaissance Theaterworks presents Rebecca Gilman's provocative play LUNA GALE, which relates how the tiny baby Luna Gale is removed from Karlie and Peter's home because of neglect, despite the fact they love each other and their child. On stage in the Studio Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, LUNA GALE asks veteran social worker Caroline to give this couple who want to raise their child another chance while Caroline temporarily places Luna Gale in "kin care," a type of foster care that relies on a close relative.

In the heart wrenching play, Tami Workentin plays Caroline with compassion and a frustration born of how complex drug addiction and foster care can be, especially when the child involved, Luna Gale, has no voice, and needs Caroline to determine her future for her. Caroline places the child in the arms of Karlie's mother, Cindy, a determined and faith based Laura Gray, while Karlie opposes this choice because of her own unresolved childhood events. Cindy believes Karlie will never be clean from drug abuse, and Cindy's committed Pastor Jay, a very confident and unyielding Matt Daniels, attempts to plead Cindy's case to Caroline. To add to Caroline's concerns, her supervisor, Cliff, the professional and unrelenting David Shapiro, opposes Caroline's professional decisions in this particular case where an overloaded schedule of needy foster children tugs at Caroline's physical and mental well being.

To add to this complex social circumstance, Caroline sends a foster care graduate into the world--Lourdes, debuting actress Solana Ramirez-Garcia, and hopes that the 18 year old survives the test of being in college, she has potential. Everyone in Gilman's play hopes for their potential to be reached, and yet, the human condition often escapes ascending to that potential. When the audience watches Gilman's scenes unfold and this couple who love each other and their child Luna Gale, past events transpire to change the course of everyone's lives. Gilman develops a realistic picture of addiction, yet the overlapping "Christian faith" issues" within the play can be confusing.

Marques Causey's Peter and April Paul's Karlie rivet the center in the compelling production, and together with Workentin mesmerize the audience's attention on this social angst. However uncomfortable these events appear, modern reality proves this play occurs frequently---too frequently. Statistics in Wisconsin show that since 2005, drug abuse and related events have soared 70 percent per the claims of the state's Department of Health Services. More people die from drug overdoses than car accidents. On the Labor Day 2016 weekend alone, their were 12 deaths in the Milwaukee area, which includes a 52 year old man to a 28 year old man dying in their homes, and that was merely in Milwaukee county, which unfortunately can be fairly normal during any given month. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said, "The youngest were two 26 year old men...one had a history of abuse, the other was trying heroin for the first time."

These disheartening statistics include abuse of heroin, cocaine, prescription medication (0pioid or pain killers) and all could be laced with Fentanyl, as can weed. Meth research has been shown that the drug permanently changes significant connections in the brain, and can be the one of the most difficult addictions to overcome, while all the drugs are easy to acquire on the street. A local news report claimed Milwaukee County is on track to see 200 percent more Fentanyl-related deaths this year than last, with Fentanyl being 200 times more powerful than heroin.

These statistics would be multiplied across the country because Wisconsin nears the middle numbers of America's drug overdoses and related drug use that crosses over the cultural and social status quo. Which ultimately means, cases such as Peter's and Karlie's along with the stresses placed on social workers, medical facilities and agencies increases substantially in numerous states, and young children, such as Luna Gale, have no voice to decide what's best, or what happens when their parents overdose. Then they need to eventually be told their parents chose drugs over their wellbeing. No one wishes to admit or discuss this, or when little Joey injures himself in soccer, the doctor prescribes a painkiller, which increases Joey's chances of becoming addicted. Anyone living this story in real life understands this can be ten times more heartbreaking than when seen on stage, or when this is a child dear to you, the stakes increase substantially, and America needs to discuss these issues---now.

While there are too many twists and turns in Gilman's play that also influence her characters, RTW presents a complex theatrical evening, desperate to be heard in today's society. Director Mary MacDonald Kerr keeps her actors in the middle of the social frey where the intimacy of this theater keeps the tragedy right before the audience's eyes. Lisa Schlenker's scenic design, the barest minimum, emphasizes the complexity of the characters and their stories---A perspective which lets the compassion and heartbreak shine through the dark interiors of the sets.

After the play ends, will Luna Gale survive and thrive after the circumstances into which she was born? Or will she become another statistic like so many others to follow, finding drugs in middle school or her teens, and continue this vicious cycle? Or will society somehow seek to discover a way to stop these horrible truths in a struggle to find a way to ease another person's emotional or physical pain? Because every human being matters, and great human potential is being lost to drugs, with families being destroyed, while miracles still do occur and people can be redeemed. These are the crucial questions audiences need to contemplate and wrestle with after an evening with the provocative and powerful LUNA GALE.

Renaissance Theaterworks presents LUNA GALE in the Studio Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center through February 12. On Monday, March 27, Renaissance Theaterworks kicks-off their 25th season. For further information on special events, play club, performance schedule or tickets, please call: 414.291.7800 or www.r-t-w.com.