Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole

By David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Paul J. Potenza

Jun. 4 – 21, 2009

Thu. – Sat. 8pm, Sun. 4pm

Tickets: $24.50

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center for the Performing Arts

On This Page

Distinctions

Creative Loafing Best of the Bay

What It's About

A Tampa Bay premiere!

“The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.” – Louis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Rabbit Hole, which earned five Tony nominations (including a Best Actress win for Cynthia Nixon) in addition to the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, tells the story of Becca and Howie Corbett, a typical suburban Westchester County couple whose four-year-old son, Danny, was fatally hit by a car eight months earlier.

Struggling to cope and unable to reconcile their different methods of grieving, Becca and Howie’s relationship begins to unravel: Becca is trying to forget the pain, Howie is holding onto his fading memories. The presence of Becca’s well-intentioned mother and off-kilter sister only complicates the situation. Everything again changes when Jason, the teenage boy driving the car that killed Danny, comes into their lives searching for his own closure.

A quietly moving play that’s also witty and warm, the story explores the reconnection of relationships and the possibilities of hope after great tragedy. The play ultimately follows Becca and Howie’s struggle back to the light of day, with Lindsay-Abaire showing the conflict, the anguish and the healing effects of humor with what the New York Times called, “meticulously mapped empathy.”

Without sentimentality or mawkishness, Lindsay-Abaire weaves a simple and honest tale of loss filled with brilliant dialogue, all-too-familiar characters, unexpected laughter and finally a sense of hope for Becca and Howie’s uncertain future.

David Lindsay-Abaire has crafted a drama that’s not just a departure but a revelation – an intensely emotional examination of grief, laced with wit, insightfulness, compassion and searing honesty. – Variety

Meg Heimstead and Christopher Rutherford in Jobsite's Rabbit Hole. (Photo: Brian Smallheer.)

Critic Reviews

... Poignantly engaging ... the truth is beautiful, even when it’s about a recalcitrant grief ... it offers all the pleasures of art. – Creative Loafing

The material gets the kind of nuanced and powerful production it deserves ... Paul Potenza leads a cast through almost uniformly stunning performances. – St. Petersburg Times

News

Cast & Crew

  • Paul J. Potenza – Director
  • Xylina Golding – Stage Manager

Cast

  • Meg Heimstead – Becca
  • Brent Reams – Jason
  • Diana Rogers – Nat
  • Christopher Rutherford – Howie
  • Katrina Stevenson – Izzy

Crew

  • Karla Hartley – Lighting Designer
  • Shawn Paonessa – Sound & Video Designer
  • Brian M. Smallheer – Scenic Designer
  • Katrina Stevenson – Costume Designer

Patron Reviews

Great show. I hope your reviews are good and lots of people attend. Please express my congrats to the cast and crew. – Deborah Kobritz

Here’s my advice to you: if you to nothing else in the next 2 weeks – go see Rabbit Hole. – Summer Bohnenkamp

Definitely a must see! I wish I could go again! – Christina Joy Rutherford

This was a magnificent play – wonderful evening … I really felt that this is one of the best productions that I have seen. The actors and story line were so effective in carrying a sensitive, tender, meaningful story forward so professionally that you didn’t walk away feeling totally destroyed, yet you felt the pain and know the pain of losing a child. Give my best to the wonderful cast, director and all of those behind the scenes that make our evening so pleasurable. – Jan McCarthy

Saw Rabbit Hole last night and it was wonderful! Loved everything about it… the writing, acting, directing, sets, lighting…. Wow! This has been the best season. – Kim Smallheer

Saw Rabbit Hole. Empty seats made me angry. Chris Rutherford was amazing. See it or die. – David Hood

The play was excellent!!! The acting superb and direction superb! Congratulations on a fine evening. The Stagesetters loved it too!! – Andrea Graham

Superlative on all counts. Well done, Jobsite. Bob and I both loved it. – Pat Forsythe

Rabbit Hole was excellent! Beautiful portrayal of grief and how family members grieve differently and at different rates. – Nancy Bell

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