Review: Pinky Swear's SAFE AS HOUSES Plays It Too Safe

Pinky Swear's production of Natalie Ann Piegari's new play SAFE AS HOUSES boasts an excellent cast, a well-designed set, and a gripping concept: what would you do if your husband, who vanished ten years ago, suddenly showed up at your house as if no time had passed at all? But the intriguing idea never gains forward motion. Due to an underdeveloped script, a plot never materializes, and the experience is stagnant and underwhelming.

The stage is done up perfectly for a storm, with cozy furniture and a massive window with a simulated downpour of rain on the other side (set designer Jessica Cancino), setting the mood for a tale of the mysterious and unexplained. Megan Behm directs the four-person cast, which plays a semi-dysfunctional family. Carolyn Kashner is Isabel, mother to "precocious" teen Nora (Annie Ottati). Isabel is about to celebrate 2017 Valentine's Day dinner with her second husband, Henry (Patrick M. Doneghy), when her first husband Jack (Jonathan Miot) walks through the door carrying groceries for 2007 Valentine's Day dinner. Jack had disappeared that day in 2007, during an equally powerful storm.

This science fiction moment is a catalyst for a torrent of emotions but not much else, especially in terms of plot. Jack is bewildered to find his home taken over by strangers, while Isabel has to face the fact that she told Nora and Henry that Jack was dead. The actors capture the pathos well. Ottati's Nora is halfway between ten and twenty, and she acts it, lending the character believable depth. The other characters are written almost two-dimensionally, with little development. But Kashner gives her all as a mother trying to do her best, Doneghy is endearing as a husband protecting his family, and Miot pours himself into the role of original husband, in searing pain over the sudden loss of life as he knew it.

The show attempts to explore the relationship between mother and daughter, as well as the broader theme of people's capacity for love. But clocking in at 90 minutes plus intermission, too much of the dialogue centers on everyone's surprise and confusion at what's transpired, and many of our questions go unanswered. The story goes in circles and leads to a less-than-satisfying conclusion that doesn't feel like an intentional end.

While SAFE AS HOUSES begins interestingly and features the most committed of actors, it ultimately needs retooling to make the most of a very promising concept.

Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.

Pinky Swear's SAFE AS HOUSES runs through November 11, 2017, at Logan Fringe Arts Space: Trinidad Theatre, 1358 Florida Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tickets can be purchased at www.capitalfringe.org.

Photo: cast of SAFE AS HOUSES, courtesy of Pinky Swear Twitter page.