Theater review: ‘In All Honesty’ at Rubicon Theatre
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The tortuous path to adulthood is lined with so many emotional pit stops that chronological age alone is often a poor indicator of maturity. It sometimes takes an unlikely encounter to break free of developmental ruts, as it does for the pair of misfits at the center of “In All Honesty” at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre. An engaging coming-of-age comedy with some quirky twists, the well-cast show plays to the strengths of promising young playwright Quinn Sosna-Spear in her professional debut.
A British train station is the play’s metaphorical setting for the intersection of lonely life trajectories. When persistent car troubles force socially maladroit thirtysomething Richard (Dan Gunther) to reluctantly adopt public transportation to get to his dead-end job as an insurance claims processor, he winds up sharing a platform bench with somewhat younger free-spirit Eileen (Carla Tassara), whose opposite temperament and in-the-moment philosophy challenge the unexamined life he’s been leading.
In nicely-modulated arcs tracing the deepening romance between this randomly paired couple, Gunther and Tassara illuminate Sosna-Spear’s assured instinct for idiosyncratic characters and sharply-observed detail. Likewise the supporting performances from Nancy Nufer and Robert Lesser in multiple supporting roles, notably their respective self-absorbed mother and emotionally absent father who do much to explain Eileen’s own form of paralysis.
Devin Scott’s minimalist staging trusts skilled performances and good storytelling to sustain momentum through rapid scenes that tend to telegraph rather than explore the couple’s journey of self-awareness and maturity. Lack of specificity (particularly in Richard’s workplace) reflects the kind of overreaching beyond life experience typical of an emerging playwright, but Sosna-Spear has a better excuse than most: she was only 16 when she wrote this precociously charming piece.
-- Philip Brandes
“In All Honesty,” Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E, Main St., Ventura. 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Ends Sunday. $39-44. (805) 667-2900 or www.rubicontheatre.org. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.