PlayMaker Repertory Company’s “Love Alone” featured stunning split scenes and breakout performances from Master of Fine Arts students Sunday, but the brilliant script is bogged down by inconsistent emotional arcs and didactic deliveries.
PlayMakers’ is presenting the regional premiere of “Love Alone,” a story of grief and forgiveness by Deborah Salem Smith, until March 16. When a minor surgery goes fatally awry, a lawsuit ensues and the lives of the patient’s family and the attending doctor are wracked by anger and guilt.
The show had an unsteady start, opening with Dr. Becca Neal, played by Jenny Wales, delivering the news of 48-year-old Susan’s death to a bewildered Helen, the patient’s partner of 20 years, played by Julia Gibson. The exchange felt rushed and was not entirely believable — Wales seemed unrealistically aggressive and Gibson seemed more casually confused than deeply shocked.
This marked a trend that persisted throughout the piece — Gibson did not fully progress beyond that initial bewilderment to convincingly realize the stages of grief evident in the script.
Bereaved daughter and budding rock star Clementine, played by Arielle Yoder, initially leads the investigation into the hospital’s actions and serves as the moral compass of the play. Yoder’s portrayal of Clementine is enchantingly complex, striking a compelling balance between youthful angst and developing maturity.
Yoder’s versatility made Clementine’s emotional journey riveting. Her edgier costuming stood out, as did her tasteful tattoos and punk haircut that was worn more maturely in the second act.
Both Helen and Becca’s households begin to disintegrate as legal paperwork and medical histories get in the way of the healing process. This is most effectively depicted in the relationship between Becca and her patient husband J.D., played by Patrick McHugh, whose shared moments of tenderness and stress are beautifully believable. Their onstage chemistry — though not convincingly sexual — produced many of the play’s most memorable scenes.
Vivienne Benesch — director of past PlayMakers’ previous shows “Red” and “In The Next Room” — is the master of the split scene, and her dynamic sequences of concurrent action were a highlight of the production.
Benesch seamlessly eases the audience into the aesthetic, starting with fully separate staging and diminishing the distance until actors are playing the same space, even sitting at the same table. This effectively emphasizes how intertwined the lives of the two households become.
