MORNING AFTER GRACE

MORNING AFTER GRACE – Written by Carie Crim; Directed by Abby Apple Boes.  Produced by Miners Alley Playhouse (1100 Miners Alley, Golden) through March 2.  Tickets available at 303-935-3044 or minersalley.com. 

I love it when a play doesn’t seem like a play; when it seems like a conversation and discoveries being made for the first time in front of our eyes.  That’s exactly what happened on a recent night at Miners Alley between the three players in MORNING AFTER GRACE. All three actors have gotten caught in a situation and spent the day talking about what they were going to do about it and how they felt in general about where they were in life.  They had a lot to talk about:  Angus (Kevin Hart) just found out that his recently deceased wife had been having an affair; Abigail (Tammy Meneghini) is a divorcee just beginning to date again; Ollie (Dwayne Carrington) is a gay man whose disapproving father is coming for a visit.  Angus and Abigail had just spent the night together when Ollie walked in on them.  Ready – Set – Go!! 

What follows is one of the funniest, sweetest, most thoughtful, conversations you will ever witness.  Ms. Crim, the playwright, has a bullet-like precision to her dialogue.  It is authentic, realistic, natural, and funny all at once.  The actor’s use of pauses and changing direction in the middle of a speech, as they changed their mind about where the conversation was going, was exactly like the talks you had with your best friends over dinner last weekend.  Abigail has a special job that helps both men express their inner doubts and anger without censure.  Absolutely amazing work by all three. 

Kevin only does a show every couple of years; his presence always knocks a good script out of the ballpark.  His comic timing is impeccable.  But he met his match with his cast mates.  Tammy’s personal sense of humor and body confidence is present in each scene.  She lounged on the sofa, eating grapes, and guiding a counseling session with total ease. Dwayne’s anger toward his bigoted homophobic father was coaxed out of him in the most comic of ways.  They all found a resolution for their personal problems.  They came a long way in one day. 

The setting is Angus’s condo in an independent living village complete with a working fridge and running water in the sink.  He makes a pan of brownies during the day; I fully expected him to pull them out of the oven completely cooked and ready to eat. The comfortable living room et was built by Jonathan Scott-McKean and dressed by Samantha Peel. Abby Apple Boes has added to her resume of perfectly directed shows.  Folks, this is one not to miss. 

A WOW factor of 9!! 

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