Rabbit Hole explores the grieving of a Westchester family stricken by the senseless, random death of their four-year-old boy Danny. Alas, the exploration—at least in this production—doesn’t dig very deep.
While Danny’s father Howie (sturdy Paul Morella) turns to external ways to deal with his pain—group therapy, and (it is hinted) some extramarital support—his wife wife Becca (Deborah Hazlett) copes with the loss by more subtle, effacing means. She “accidentally” erases a home movie of the boy, puts the family home on the real estate market, and just tries to forget.
Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire is better known for his offbeat comedies (Wonder of the World, Fuddy Meers), so the character of Izzy, Becca’s kid sister and general screwup, comes to his keyboard easily. She pumps some energy into the piece, especially as played by Megan Anderson. Izzy starts the show looking into the refrigerator, and is never far from the kitchen, scarfing bites of torte from the pan or washing down creme caramel with orange juice. Izzy, in time, accomplishes some growth of her own along with Becca and Howie.
But apart from a well-crafted monologue for Becca’s mother Nat, there isn’t too much that’s flashy in the writing of this piece. It proceeds in its own quiet, suburban way.
- Rabbit Hole, by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Mitchell Hébert, Olney Theatre Center, Olney, Maryland