Thursday, September 6, through Saturday, September 8
St. Ambrose University Studio Theatre, 2101 North Gaines Street, Davenport IA
Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a 2006 Tony Award for star Cynthia Nixon, David Lindsay-Abaire's moving, haunting, unexpectedly funny family drama Rabbit Hole enjoys a September 6 through 8 staging at St. Ambrose University's Studio Theatre, the New York Times praising the work for its “honesty, accuracy, and humor” while adding that the show “inspires such copious weeping among its audience that you wonder early on if you should have taken a life jacket.”
Rabbit Hole concerns Becca and Howie Corbett, a pair of young marrieds who shared a picture-perfect suburban existence in New York until a random, tragic accident took the life of their four-year old son. While the couple tries to move on in the face of their tragedy, Becca’s younger, irresponsible sister Izzy announces that she's pregnant, and as Becca and Howie grow further and further apart, Becca’s mother Nat badgers Becca about how she's handling the grieving process. Meanwhile, Jason, the young driver who killed their son, shows up to ask forgiveness, and together, Lindsay-Abaire's characters find themselves on a bumpy road to healing with no road map in sight. Rabbit Hole delves into the complexity of a family navigating deep trauma and learning what it means to live a fruitful life when things fall apart, with Variety magazine deeming the work “an intensely emotional examination of grief laced with wit, insightfulness, compassion, and searing honesty.”
Directing St. Ambrose's first studio production of the academic year is SAU junior Jessica Karolczak, whose acting credits include roles in Cinderella, The Tempest, and Catch Me If You Can. Sophomore Ellie Larson portays Becca, her recent stage credits including St. Ambrose's Cabaret and the Mississippi Bend Players' world-premiere presentation of Beginner's Luck, with Howie played by junior T.J. Green, a recent performer in Quad City Music Guild's Shrek: The Musical and the QC Theatre Workshop's Reefer Madness. Rounding out Rabbit Hole's cast are fellow students Sarah Goodall (A View from the Bridge) as Nat, Rebecca Moews (Richard III) as Izzie, and Jeffrey Harper as Jason.
Rabbit Hole runs September 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m. and September 8 at 3 p.m., with performances in St. Ambrose's Studio Theatre in the Galvin Fine Arts Center. Admission is $6, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)333-6251 or visiting SAU.edu/rabbit-hole.
