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| Kate Levy and Amelia McClain. Photo: Lanny Nagler |
Exploring the Inner
Places of The Other Place a Mind Can Go
By Lauren Yarger
Where does a woman who is an expert on dementia turn when
everyone around her tells her she’s losing her mind?
The complex answer comes in various parts in Sharr
White’s complex psychological study The
Other Place, getting a run at TheaterWorks in Hartford.
Kate Levy plays Juliana Smithton, a neurologist and expert in the subject of dementia who is a
spokesperson for Identanyl, a new treatment for the disease. She’s been under a
lot of stress and has been having some “episodes.”
Husband, Ian (R. Ward Duffy) is leaving her. The
couple have never quite recovered from the disappearance of their headstrong
daughter, Laurel (Amelia McClain). They hope she ran off with Juliana’s
assistant, Richard (Clark Carmichael) after an argument, but they haven’t heard
from her again and have feared the worst – until Juliana starts getting phone
calls from her.
Laurel and Richard have married, Juliana learns
and have twin girls whom she can hear in the background as she chats with
Richard. Laurel is reluctant to come to the phone, but when she finally does
speak with her mother, Juliana tells her she’s having some tests regarding the
“episodes” and that she thinks it might be brain cancer.
Oncologist Ian and Juliana’s doctor (also
McClain) aren’t so sure. Nothing shows cancer, but Juliana’s behavior,
including rages, repeated conversations and a sort of breakdown at a medical
conference seem to indicate something else.
Ian doesn’t even believe that Juliana has finally
tracked down Laurel. In her confusion, Juliana returns to the one place that
represents stability and peace in her life – the family’s summer home on Cape
Cod which they call “The Other Place” (Designer Luke
Hegel-Cantarella’s set nicely morphs from the sterile doctor’s
office and lecture stage to the warm, memory-filled beach house). There, she
finds extraordinary kindness and understanding from a stranger (also McClain)
and finally is able to figure out what’s going on.
Director Rob Ruggiero neatly directs the
character-driven piece with the addition of video projections (design by William
Cusick) that give a glimpse into the mind of Juliana. Images of a rainstorm, for
example, combined with lighting effects designed by John Lasiter, brilliantly produce
the same tempest taking place in Juliana’s mind.
Levy shows a wide arc of emotions as the
character goes from educated woman in control of her life to someone not quite
sure who to trust, including herself. She tends to play all of the ranges,
unfortunately, with a ferocity that doesn’t allow us to see enough of Juliana’s
fear and vulnerability through the process. In addition, chemistry isn’t quite
there with Duffy, who gets blown away by the intensity of Levy’s performance.
We’re not quite sure whether to feel sorry for him or Juliana.
McClain stands out, first as the
sympathetic, but fascinated doctor, then as an empathetic stranger who puts her
own worries aside to try to help Juliana find answers about what happened to
Laurel and to whether or not she’s losing her mind. This scene, while giving
Levy some of her most dramatic moments, stands out in the White’s script as not
quite plausible, however.
Overall, The Other Place is a fairly intense and moving 90 minutes of
theater. It plays through April 19 at TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays: 8 pm; Weekend Matinees at 2:30 pm. Tickets $15-$65; 860-527-7838;
www.theaterworkshartford.org.
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