Some University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Theatre students are digging deep and confronting weighty roles in their new production of “Rabbit Hole,” the story of a family reuniting after unimaginable tragedy.
Join Theatre UAB in a beautiful telling of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. nightly Feb. 19-22, with a 2 p.m. show on Sunday, Feb. 23, in the Sirote Theatre at UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, 1200 10th Ave. South. General admission tickets are $12 and $15; student tickets are $6; and UAB employee and senior citizen tickets are $10. Call 205-975-2787 for tickets or visit Theatre UAB at www.uab.edu/cas/theatre.
“Rabbit Hole” begins with the lives of Becca and Howie Corbett, who, just eight months before, were a happy suburban couple with everything they desired. A shocking, sudden loss derails their domestic bliss, forcing them to confront grief in markedly different ways. “Rabbit Hole” is painfully honest, hopeful and unexpectedly witty.
“Of all tragedies that may befall us in our journey through life, it may be difficult for some to imagine one more devastating than the loss of a child,” said Director Dennis McLernon. “What is the capacity for the human spirit to endure grief? What can one do to absorb such an unimaginable loss? And how is life ever the same again?”
In the play, the characters explore the many facets of grief and how each individual endures it. When does surrender to peace ever come? Playwright Lindsay-Abaire explores this territory of the heart in his play, McLernon says.
“What comes forward in such compelling detail in this remarkable play is that the process of grief is a personal journey for each, and that journey involves tears, laughter, resistance, surrender, and, possibly, some peace,” he said. “The journey is remarkably human, remarkably personal and remarkably our own.”
The cast includes Calvin Neilsen of Budapest, Hungary, as Howie; Renita Lewis of Birmingham as Becca; Nya McCoy of Birmingham as Izzy; Markeitra Gilliam of New Orleans, La., as Nat; and Blake Tanner of Corner, Ala., as Jason. Student stage manager for the production is Victoria Morales of San Jose, Calif., with student assistant stage managers Wyatt Silman of Prattville and Kara Ward-Tobin of Mobile. The production’s scenic designer is student Angela Carstensen of San Francisco, Calif., and the lighting designer is student Daniel Walker of Adamsville.