Rabbit Hole
by David Lindsay-Abaire

January 11 - February 2, 2008

Directed by Rhonda Clark

Carpenter Square Theatre begins the New Year with the Oklahoma premiere of RABBIT HOLE, the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Becca and Howie Corbett seemed to have everything a family could want until eight months ago when a life-shattering accident turned their lives upside down. Like "Alice in Wonderland" plunged down the rabbit hole, they've been trying to make sense of their changed lives, but as each day passes they are drifting further and further apart.

Becca has withdrawn from her friends and family, while Howie makes new friends at a support group where one lady friend might just be a little too close. Soon we see that Becca and Howie are not the only family members grieving in radically different ways. Becca's younger sister Izzy perpetuates her wild child antics in local bars, striving to be the center of attention. Becca's mother Nat can't resist downing a bit too much wine at tense family gatherings and bluntly spouting her opinions, especially when no one seeks her advice.

However, the family members aren't the only people hurting and acting out. Jason Willette, a local high school boy who feels responsible for their tragedy, is having trouble at home and at school. His counselor and mother have urged him to contact the Corbetts. He writes them, requesting a meeting, and sends along a short story he has penned. In his science fiction story, Jason depicts a father and son who discover a rabbit hole, like a worm hole in the universe that provides an entrance to parallel worlds where there are infinite possibilities. When Becca finally meets with Jason, the young man and his story unexpectedly afford Becca some consolation and hope.

Thankfully, playwright Lindsay-Abaire doesn't try to wrap up his story neatly with easy answers for his characters, but we do witness them changing. We see his confused, reluctant survivors from all sides, and by play's end, they are starting to acknowledge their bonds and their need for each other.

All of David Lindsay-Abaire's plays seem to chronicle people who become displaced within their lives. His main female characters are suddenly forced to re-evaluate the roles by which they define themselves. However, such plays as FUDDY MEERS, WONDER OF THE WORLD, and KIMBERLY AKIMBO (all previously produced by Carpenter Square) are told in an absurdist comedy style peopled with quirky characters. In RABBIT HOLE, Lindsay-Abaire has made a radical departure into kitchen sink drama, and manages to fill it with honesty and melancholy laced with wit and gentle humor.