Theatergoers are given a privileged, fourth wall view of a pair of troubled yet comic worlds in a totally engrossing production of The Quality of Life by Jane Anderson, continuing at Arena Stage (to 10/18).  Directed with a sense of musicality, the first act with brio, the second beginning furioso and concluding with an extended largo in the finale, Lisa Peterson finds all the pathos and humor in Ms. Anderson's script and shades them accordingly.  

The great thing about the theater experience is that you learn ways to empathize and cope; this serio-comedy gives you plenty of opportunities to reflect on both. Each of the two couples' separate tragedies - enough to immobilize any of us - is substance for a play in itself.  By combining them, the playwright risked muddying the waters irretrievably, but this amazing production manages to pull it off.

Dinah (Annette O'Toole) and her husband Bill (Kevin O'Rourke), still raw from the grief over the violent murder of their only child, travel from the Midwest to visit Jeannette (Joanna Day) and Neil (Stephen Schnetzer) in their California squat, an improvised yurt which functions as a temporary residence.  Their home's been destroyed by a fire, but as it turns out this is the least of their problems: Neil has terminal cancer. The scarred landscape with strewn remains of their former lives, imaginatively conceived by set designer Neil Patel, prefigures the mood.  Something's broken in these families, which all of their coping strategies cannot buttress.  Life events have forced the issues, which had been simmering below the surface all along.

The visitors are very much country cousins, in letter and spirit, to the well-traveled and educated California relatives and the conflicts start immediately.  Dinah and Bill have found consolation in religion while Jeannette and Neil find comfort in their imagination, which includes an idealized view of their lives and an exit strategy.   These boomers have one thing in common though, they've micromanaged their grief: the Californians for the moment, the Midwesterners for eternity.

Dinah and Neil arrive with more of a back story, which determines their acting choices, and helps to give clarity in their performance.  Ms. O'Toole plays her character as one who uses accelerated language to keep her thoughts at bay.  Socially Dinah, tries too hard and emotionally, while alive to the pulse of feelings vibrating around her, can only experience her own.  Except for one stoned interlude when everything comes barreling out - and Ms. O'Toole steals not only the scene, but the act - she's a bubbling fount of good intentions and you know where that leads. (What do you give a guy who's dying and his suffering wife, well, Dinah will show you!) Exceeded only by her grief-laden spouse, in a wonderfully flat-footed portrayal by Mr. O'Rourke, Bill's SOP to life is "just the facts Ma'am."  He's in his problem-solving mode, whether the difficulties are structural or spiritual, and he gets some of the best laughs - some unintentional - and all of the groans.  Whether it's the unexpected find, the pitch for salvation, the unwitting (and eye-opening) discovery, or the surprisingly crude insult, he's always raining on the parade.  The playwright has the archetype of the tone deaf, Eternal Engineer down pat, one that Mr. O'Rourke realizes completely. Bill's got no where to go but up; by the play's redemptive end he very much gets there .

The other couple is not so clearly defined. Perhaps Ms. Anderson was making a witty point: Californians don't have a past, only a present that they inhabit fully.  Mr. Schnetzer, who reminds me a little of Alan Arkin, played Neil with a mischievous twinkle and a forceful urgency, particularly in the second half, in sync with his "half-trickster, half-saint" persona.  Ms. Day's character keeps the show going, serving as the dutiful maestra in the unfolding score, looking for harmony where only discord reigns. A somewhat contrived plot twist at the end of Act one, leads to a firestorm of angry accusations when the action resumes in Act two. The actress is at her best here bringing great honesty to the portrayal of Jeannette, going toe-to-toe with first her cousin's husband, then with her own. 

Costumer Illona Somogyi pulls out many of the colors from Mr. Patel's set in a visually attractive wardrobe that suits the characters.  Lighting by Alexander Nichols captures the mood of this Autumn Sonata while John Gromada' sound and composition largely step back from human action but not that of the environment.

Life's precious moments come in many forms and Ms. Anderson reminds us again that these experiences are subjective ones: who's to say that a dead animal does not equal the loss of a child to those who survive, or that a sense of betrayal in the death of one spouse is any different than the emotional withdrawal of another, to those left behind?  Why is life tossed away by some while by others it's fought for tenaciously? Only our willingness to forgive and move on and celebrate the memories we retain defines us and gives quality to our lives.  

Dramaturgically, the first act appears in need of tinkering.  With a great deal of small talk, the actors' deliveries seem to have drifted into overdrive, probably to keep the audience's attention and get the laughs. Perhaps some restaging or sound effects would break the monotony and increase the tension.   But the third time's the charm for Ms. Anderson's play and we can look forward to the publication of a script sometime soon.  Maybe a movie version to follow as well!      

Sound check:  Subdued for the most part except for an extremely loud conflagration moment in Act I

Program notes; Excellent, Resident Dramaturg Janine Sobeck has rolled up her sleeves to provide an online resource called Virtual Dramaturg, consisting of interviews, background, a deleted scene (Neil's Last Lecture will remind you of Randy Pausch's) and more to enhance your theater experience

Applause meter: Highly recommended, 3 ½ hands

Photo credits: Scott Suchman

Runtime: The play clocks in at just over 2 hours with an intermission

Copyright by John F. Glass October 5, 2009

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