Stage Review - Colder Than Here (As If Theatre)
Stage Review - Colder Than Here
Presented By: As If Theatre - Kenmore Community Center, Kenmore, WA
Show Run: March 14 - March 30, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, March 15, 2024 (Opening Weekend)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
The tagline for As If Theatre’s latest production is “A Grave Comedy”. The company also lists a description for Colder Than Here, directed by As If co-founder Cindy Giese French and onstage through March 30 at the Kenmore Community Center in Kenmore, WA, as “A comedy about a woman and her family dealing with secondary bone cancer.” My first thought was, “Really? A comedy?” I don’t necessarily think I’d call British playwright Laura Wade’s debut a comedy, though it’s not a tragedy either. A tragic comedy? A comedic tragedy? I mean, I get it, calling it a comedy is going to get some attention and using the word comedy in the same sentence as “bone cancer” is most definitely intriguing, but the thing is, rather than any of those labels, I’d describe it as simply “human”. The act of living is a series of ups and downs, joy and suffering, laughter and tears, and this struggle is displayed as a microcosm when someone is dealing with a disease as debilitating as cancer, and as ruthless as bone cancer. Not just for the person with cancer, no, it’s something that everyone goes through together, and in their own way. Colder Than Here is an encapsulation of life, of family, of suffering, and of joy. As anyone who has been on either side, the suffering or the care taking, will tell you, it’s a process that involves all of the steps of grief, and yes, there is laughter, there are tears, and there is reconciliation. So, yes, Colder Than Here will make you laugh, it’ll most likely make you cry, but at the end of the 110 minutes, what you’ll mostly feel is human.
This story focuses on Myra and her family. Myra, played by Amy Gentry, is suffering from bone cancer, and only has a few months to live. Her husband Alec, Bradley Goodwill in this show, refuses to accept that his wife’s fate has been set, while their daughters Jenna (Josephine Cessna) and Harriet (Katie Dreessen) are clearly handing this situation, or not handling it, in their own way. Each of these characters are in different mindsets around Myra’s diagnosis, and each actor really captures the essence of their work nicely. The show centers of course on Myra, and Amy’s work here is stellar. The diagnosis and subsequent suffering is an up and down battle, sometimes to the extreme. Good days can be really good, bad ones I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Amy’s work here in the physical portrayal of both ends of the spectrum is spot on, and the her display of the emotional toll this has taken on her character just wonderful. The audience feels what she feels, devastated when she walks into the living room clearly in pain and understandably short tempered, and giddy when she feels good enough to joke around with her family. It’s a performance that pulls the audience in to the story, which is clear if you take a minute to look around at other audience members in attendance, wiping tears away or sliding to the edge of their seats.
Myra isn’t the only one suffering, of course. Husband Alec just won’t give into the fact that this is happening. While Myra, even with her ups and downs, is generally resigned to her fate, so much so that she takes her daughters grave hunting, looking for the perfect spot for a “green” burial, Alec isn’t there yet. Bradley’s characterization is accurate on so many levels, from his resistance and reluctance to “give in” to his use of humor as emotional protection. Some of the best jokes, one liners, and sarcasm come from Alec, he’s got a keen knack for comedic timing, but Bradley displays a nice serious side as well. Meanwhile, Josephine’s Jenna, who is on and off again with relationships and hasn’t quite found her way in life, seems to be the more well adjusted emotionally. She poses the question to her sister Harriet and father if they “miss (their mother) already”, and the two seem like they haven’t given it much thought, while Jenna is clearly moving more swiftly through the stages of grief. She takes a more active role in Myra’s search for a burial site, is more accepting of her mother’s wishes, and more willing to help. Josephine’s character is complex, dealing with both her family’s struggle as well as her personal relationships and life, and I enjoyed watching her try to balance it all, no matter how thin the wire. Harriet, meanwhile, is the older sister, the wise one, the responsible one. Katie’s portrayal is borderline annoying at times, and I mean that in a good way. I should say the portrayal isn’t annoying, the character is. And that’s because of the walls that she’s built up, it’s only when she and Josephine’s Jenna spend more time together that Harriet starts to soften a bit, this shift is very well done. These are all transformative performances here, and the beauty of them lies in the pace of change, each one goes through these experiences at their own rate of speed, in their own way, but they all get to where they need to be. What is more human than that?
Cindy has gotten a good deal from her actors, and her design and presentation are both very well thought out. I’m continually curious to see how directors and scenic designers handle small spaces. There are no wings at the Kenmore Community Center, so the set is usually “what you see is what you get”, meaning that there really aren’t a lot of options for moving set pieces on and off stage. Here, Chandra Danelle’s set is staged with two levels, the lower part toward the audience is the living room at Myra’s house, replete with furniture and all the trimmings, and another piece that is raised and placed to the rear of the performance space. This area is used as the sites for Myra’s potential burial, each differentiated by projections with different backgrounds. This is the one area of this production that could use some improvement for my part, the projections. Some look like stock photos from a funeral home or cemetery advertisement, and others seem a tad out of focus, but otherwise Chandria’s set fits very well with Cindy’s vision for this production of Colder Than Here. Lighting is extremely important here, especially given the two discrete locations that require focus at different times, and Gwyn Skone’s design and execution makes the transitions seamless and tone what it needs to be for the overarching mood of the show. Add to this William French’s original music underscoring this piece, and Amy Hockman’s costume work, and it’s clear that Cindy has continued her trend of putting together a crack cast and creative team to present a show that hits on all emotional cylinders. Putting a finer point on Amy’s costuming, what I like about her work here is that there is a consistency across the family, a certain base style on top of which each character can add his or her own personality through their wardrobe, especially with Amy’s Myra, who has unique requirements for dress given her situation. Each of the designs are relatively understated, but help create the overall theme and tone of this production. Well done to all.
Colder Than Here may be called a comedy, but given its subject matter and the way it is presented by As If Theatre, I’d rather it just be called “human”, a human story of family, love, sorrow, and joy. With a talented quartet of actors, led by Amy Gentry in an absolutely marvelous performance and under the direction of Cindy Giese French, Colder Than Here hits every human emotional note, and engages the audience like few other shows out there. You will laugh, you will probably cry, but more than anything, you’ll walk away having experienced something that will make you feel essentially human.
The As If Theatre production of Colder Than Here runs on stage at the Kenmore Community Center in Kenmore, WA through March 30. For more information, including ticket availability and purchase, visit https://asiftheatre.com/.
Photo credit: Christine Mitchell
