Grayce (Kate Stratton), the main character in writer/director Bekah Brunstetter's new play "Exit Plato," has the luxury -- or burden -- of being both deceased and able to set things straight in the realm of the living.
The play takes place a couple of months after she has died in a house fire. But Grayce has found herself stuck between life and death, both incapable of interacting completely with her loved ones and unable to find permanent rest.
Her husband, Frank, (Cory Graham) refuses to take her off the pedestal. Her daughter, Ellie, (Erin Sullivan) is lost in trying to emulate her beauty, and her father, Henry, (Miles Masci) still sees her as a girl who was too young to have a family.
The play's set emphasizes them individually, allowing for Grayce to deal with them one at a time. A table and a suspended window are the only foreground objects. In the background, there is a platform for each family member.
As the story progresses and confrontations mount, the play accumulates power like a rolling snowball. "Exit Plato" contains many instances of emotions being stripped and dealt with in a raw fashion.
Frank's dilemma is heart-wrenching -- Grayce tries to pull him outside for a frolic in the snow, but he is mortified that such an action will free his wife from his world.
Likewise, the duel of words and feelings between Grayce and Ellie cuts deep, especially when they reveal how they have betrayed each other. And there is more to Henry than the character's comic exterior. Even as he rings off facts that he read in books, the issues involving Grayce lurk beneath the surface.
Stratton is a revelation as the woman who is not quite there. She reveals more about the character in flashbacks involving Grayce's own mother -- the cold, condemnatory Josie (Erin McCarson).
The actors fill out their roles well, but the greatest strength of "Exit Plato" is the writing. The play won the 2002 Samuel Selden Award for Playwriting -- conducted by Studio 2 -- and its quality shows.
