Mahoney leads extraordinary cast at Northlight

Gunner, the character at the heart of “The Outgoing Tide,” is definitely not — in the words of poet Dylan Thomas — going gently “into that good night.”

He has Alzheimer's, and going gently means accepting his fate and his wife's plan for their future: a senior living center with a “personal care” wing where Gunner would eventually wind up. That's the last thing he wants. But whether Gunner has the right to refuse — when his loving wife clearly can't continue to care for him — is just one of many issues raised by this thoughtful, and thought-provoking, world premiere at Northlight Theatre.

With millions of Americans experiencing the ravages of Alzheimer's, the timing is clearly right for Bruce Graham's new drama. And under the direction of BJ Jones, Northlight's cast is more than right for bringing this powerful work to the stage: It's pretty much perfect.

Gunner (the indomitable John Mahoney) has asked his son Jack (the appropriately low-key Thomas J. Cox) to come for a visit to the home Gunner shares with his wife Peg (Rondi Reed) on Chesapeake Bay. Gunner first sees Jack on the beach — but doesn't initially recognize his only son.

What Gunner does recognize, however, is that time is running out. He's getting worse. He repeats himself, grasps for words, slips back into the past. When he's lucid, we get flashes of the strong, opinionated and difficult man Gunner was — and still is.

That evening, Gunner gathers his family to share with them his plan for their future, to tie up “loose ends” before he no longer has the ability to do so. And in the course of that night and the next day, we see three people whose souls are laid bare.

“The Outgoing Tide” raises serious questions about life, death and the nature of love. Playwright Graham does so with a delicate balance of dark humor, respect for his characters and insight into family dynamics. When Peg rails about how she wants to take care of Gunner, she reminds us of so many women of her generation. They took care of their children, their husbands, their ailing parents. It was what they did. It was who they were.

As Peg, Rondi Reed captures that beautifully. Reed — so funny now on TV's “Mike & Molly” — delves deeply into this role, making Peg so much more than the dutiful wife and loving mother.

She finds a brilliant partner in the amazing John Mahoney. He brings great complexity to what could have been a one-note portrait of a man mentally slipping away. Instead, Mahoney allows us to see Gunner's strength and, ultimately, his humanity.

There is so much to admire in “The Outgoing Tide,” including Brian Sidney Bembridge's sun-dappled cottage set and moments of knowing humor. But it's the actors and the characters — Gunner, Peg and the middle-aged son caught painfully between them — that give “The Outgoing Tide” its power.

<b>“The Outgoing Tide”</b>

★ ★ ★ ½

<b>Location: </b>Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, (847) 673-6300, <a href="http://www.northlight.org" target="_blank">northlight.org</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday (except June 7); 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday (except June 5 and 19). Through June 19.

<b>Running time: </b>One hour, 47 minutes with intermission

<b>Tickets: </b>$30-$50

<b>Parking: </b>Free parking in lot

<b>Rating:</b> For adults