Review: THE COMEUPPANCE at Wilbury Theatre Group
This production runs through April 12th.
In the 1983 film, 'The Big Chill,' starring Glenn Close and Kevin Kline, a group of middle-aged, lifelong friends are reunited at a funeral after a member of their college clique commits suicide. The character Chloe, played by Meg Tilly, asks, “I haven’t met that many happy people in my life. How do they act?”
Flash forward five decades—after the effects Columbine, 9/11, and COVID—to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ introspective drama, ‘The Comeuppance,’ now at Wilbury Theatre Group, where five friends gather for their 20th high school reunion. Unlike ‘The Big Chill,’ when the guests are joined together for a somber occasion, these five troubled individuals meet for what is supposed to be a joyous—or at least celebratory—event, but they soon learn that time hasn’t healed old wounds and some of the sentiments from back then are still very much in the present.
The intense, preoccupied Emilio (Rodney Witherspoon, delivering a beautifully haunting, pained performance), a burgeoning artist living abroad for more than a decade, is the first to arrive at the home of his seemingly carefree former classmate, Ursula (Christine Treglia, buoyant and endearing), whose diabetic condition has affected her vision and spatial awareness. Since Ursula doesn’t plan to attend the reunion, she invites her besties for a pre-party to get their drink on and smoke a little weed.
As Emilio and Ursula catch up—and angrily lament the news that their friend, Simon, has canceled—they eagerly await the arrival of Caitlin (Jenna Lea Scott, effectively anxious and overcome) and Kristina (an eloquently distressed Francesca Hansen-Dibello), the remaining members of their Multi-Ethnic-Reject-Group (or MERGE), which was how they proudly identified themselves.
When Caitlin appears, after a few pleasantries Emilio is quick to judge her MAGA supporter husband, but his discomfort is heightened when Kristina, a medic with a boatload of children, shows up with her cousin and fellow alumnus, Paco (Marcel A. Mascaró, equally frail and feisty), an Iraq war vet suffering from PTSD. As the liquor flows and the conversation turns, each member of the cast has a catharsis of sorts where secrets are revealed, unresolved feelings arise, and harsh, unwelcome opinions are voiced. Perhaps most importantly, there is a sixth cast member, Death, that takes turns speaking ominously through each of them, reminding the audience of its looming threat and potentially grim outcome.
The script is a bleak, albeit powerful, profound meditation on the choices we make, the lengths we’ll go, and the pain we’ll endure, all in the pursuit of happiness. We have all heard the saying, “you never truly leave high school,” and that especially rings true here, as the playwright introduces those approaching midlife who know they are responsible for their actions, yet still want someone or something to blame when things haven’t gone according to plan. Their unsettling dispositions are indisputably adolescent—even infantile—yet common, relatable, and undeniably human.
Don Mays’ direction is sharp, and the entire cast works incredibly well together as an ensemble. There is a palpable friction among them throughout the uninterrupted two-hour running time that continuously builds yet effectively breaks on occasion with moments of silliness and affection—like motioning to crack each other’s necks when whoever is speaking gets too serious—that can only be shared with lifelong friends. Having the action take place on the front steps of a house (exquisitely represented by set designer Scott Osborne) cements the bond between them, where they can't help but feel completely at home with each other—for better or worse.
Witherspoon capably portrays Emilio as intimidating, but his performance shines brightest when he lets his guard down while talking about his newborn child. Despite her health issues, Ursula has the most positive outlook of everyone, and when she explains why, Treglia provides one of the show’s most unforgettable—and few heartwarming—moments. Scott appears to be uncomfortable, and I mean that as a compliment, since her character, Caitlin, is so demonstrably constrained.
I couldn’t help but feel sorriest for Kristina, the one who supposedly did everything right (career, marriage, children), and Hansen-Dibello expertly illustrates her character’s true self during a drunken spiel that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. As the most clinically damaged—and conceivably reprehensible—member of the company, Mascaró portrays Paco persuasively and with resolute temperament.
I am a huge fan of Jacobs-Jenkins—I’m still recovering from last year’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘Purpose’—and while ‘The Comeuppance’ isn’t my favorite of his works, it certainly left an impression, because I haven’t stopped thinking about it. The fact that we can see ourselves in these characters and their misfortune is either a testament or detriment, depending on your viewpoint. In either case, it makes you think, as great theater should.
‘The Comeuppance’ runs through April 12th at Wilbury Theatre Group located at 475 Valley Street in Providence, RI. For tickets and information, call 401-400-7100 or visit thewilburygroup.org.
Photo by Erin X. Smithers
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