'Rabbit Hole': A whole lot of heart

There's no recrimination like self-recrimination. And self-recrimination abounds in "Rabbit Hole," a quietly moving examination of loss, grief and guilt by David Lindsay-Abaire, a playwright best known for his absurdist comedies "Fuddy Mears" and "Kimberly Akimbo."

If a doting father hadn't bought his boy a dog; if only a loving mother had double-checked the latch on a gate; if on a fateful day, a teenager had taken another route home.

These are the "what-ifs" and "if-onlys" that underscore Abaire's 2007 Pulitzer-Prize winning drama about a couple struggling to cope with the loss of their young son who was killed in an accident eight months earlier.

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Less than a year after Goodman Theatre's Midwest premiere, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble debuts its version of the domestic drama. Ably directed by BTE's Connie Canaday Howard, this gentler version works despite some age incompatibilities between the actors and the characters they're playing.

The story centers on grieving parents Becca (a remote yet sympathetic Amelia Barrett, a tad old for the role) and Howie (a nicely restrained Brad Walker) whose marriage is failing under the weight of their sorrow.

Also feeling the pain are Izzy (a feisty Cindy Tegtmeyer), Becca's spunky sister who's more perceptive than anyone realizes, and their mother, Nat (Debra Rodkin, who's too young and less than comfortable in the role of colorful eccentric), still grieving the loss of her own son after 11 years.

Rounding out the cast is College of DuPage's Bryan Bosque, perfectly cast and entirely credible the appealingly awkward Jason, the young man who upends their lives and then helps right them.

Howard does a nice job establishing the unspoken tension within this family whose members walk on eggshells yet still can't help wounding each other. More importantly, she and her cast tread lightly.

That's especially apparent in the wonderfully subdued yet emotionally charged reconciliation between Becca and Jason late in the second act. It's a heartfelt scene with pitch-perfect performances by Barrett and Bosque. It illustrates the restraint that makes "Rabbit Hole" work. Too heavy a hand and this play turns into a mawkish melodrama. With the right touch, it emerges as an eloquent testament to enduring and surviving loss. They may not be the right ages, but these actors have the right touch.

"Rabbit Hole"

3 stars out of four

Location: McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn

Times: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays; runs Sunday through March 9

Running Time: About 2 hours and 10 minutes, with intermission

Tickets: $27-$30

Parking: Free lot adjacent to theater

Box office: (630) 942-4000 or www.atthemac.org

Rating: For adults, adult subject matter and language