Review: LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC at Washington Stage Guild

If you like your theatre a little less splashy with stories that put you back to a kinder simpler time in this country, than the Washington Stage Guild's current production is definitely for you. Last Train to Nibroc, by Arlene Hutton, is a textbook study of what happens when you concentrate on using the acting to tell a story without bombarding your audience with a large production.

Our journey starts in 1940 on a train heading to NYC. May (Lexi Langs) is a good Christian woman minding her own business when a serviceman named Raleigh (Wood Van Meter) approaches her and asks if the seat next to her is open. He flies planes for the military and is also a writer. He is particularly excited that F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West are on this particular train. Mind you it's the coffins of these two famous writers, but that doesn't matter to Raleigh. Through the course of the first scene you come to realize that these two strangers have things in common. They are both from the same area in Kentucky and Raleigh is the cousin of one of May's neighbors. You also find out that Raleigh is going to NYC because he can't go home to face his family. This is because he has been discharged from the service because of "fits," which is later found to be the result of epilepsy. Raleigh promises May that - if he does come home - he will take her to a local festival (the Nibroc Festival)

The second scene takes place about a year and a half later in the summer of 1942. This is the first time that May and Raleigh have seen each other since May had dinner with Raleigh's family following his return. May tells Raleigh her little brother Charlie is going to enlist and she is now a teacher. She also has a new man in her life - a preacher. Raleigh's seizures are still happening and he's disillusioned with life. When he has an episode in front of May, she can't take it and runs off.

The last scene is set in the spring of 1943 on May's porch. Raleigh was wrongfully put in a psych ward for his seizure condition and May has been promoted to principal at the local school. I think you might know how this ends, so let's leave our couple here.

As you may have guessed, this script is one of innocence. It is presented in a style that most companies wouldn't dream of doing now. The set by Jingwei Dai consists of two projection panels, a painted rectangle down the center of the stage, and three pieces of furniture (one per scene) for the actors to sit on.

Washington Stage Guild's Artistic director Bill Largess gets every ounce of heart out of his two performers. His direction just allows the material do its thing. The result is a genuine AWWW!.

Making a strong DC area debut, Lexi Langs has all the qualities of the girl next store as May. If her performance is any indication, Langs is going to be a key player in the DC theatre community in the coming months and years. Her performance is so natural that you almost forget it's a performance and not just someone having a conversation.

The same goes for Wood Van Meter as Raleigh. His towering presence is the perfect complement to Langs and you are rooting for the couple to get together from the first time they meet. His performance of a slightly conflicted serviceman is very engaging.

Marianne Meadows provides the subtle, but effective lighting and Sigrid Johannesdottir provides appropriate period costumes.

All in all, I encourage you to take a trip on the Last Train to Nibroc at Washington Stage Guild. It's guaranteed to warm your heart in these ever changing times and helps us remember how uncomplicated things used to be.

Running Time: 95 minutes with no intermission.

Last Train to Nibroc runs through February 19, 2017 at the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church which is located at 900 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC. For tickets, click here.

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