Let Me In

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of “Let Me In,” written and directed by Brynn Thayer, produced by DSE Productions and Theatre Planners, runs through April 2 at Theatre 68 Arts Complex. 

Based very loosely on an event in the life of the writer and director Brynn Thayer, “Let Me In” follows three characters as they try to find their way out of a spiraling, heartbreaking day.  On what was supposed to be the day of his wedding, Bobby is burying his fiancé after a terrible car accident a week earlier.  His best friend Red, who was also his fiance’s best friend, is trying her best to get him out of the locked bathroom he has hidden in, into his suit, and on to the church where his family and friends are waiting…the same church that was booked for his wedding.

Red is a brassy, brilliant TV sports reporter and very determined to win this particular battle.  In her zeal to extricate Bobby from the bathroom, she has caused the neighbors to call the NYPD, from the loudness of her screaming and shouting and pounding.  Enter beat cop Hamilton, calmly strolling through the broken frontdoor of the apartment on his final day of work before his retirement.  And this is where we find them. In chaos, in grief, in despair, and in the kind of mood that is everything all at once and right between the eyes. 

As the day progresses and it seems less and less likely that the two old friends bound by grief will ever make it to the church, we find out more and more about their relationship, the accident, and their new found friend Hamilton’s life, coping with his own grief as he helps them with theirs.

“Let Me In” is hilarious, which is strange when you consider it’s about death. But then what else is there to be done when the end of the road is well and truly reached? When you are quite literally standing on the precipice gazing into the void. When all your plans and dreams are snuffed out in one poorly managed turn of the wheel.  This is also a comedy play, so there should be some laughs of course. But what struck me most profoundly about “Let Me In” after coping with my own losses, as many of us have, is how completely sane it seems. The laughter, the depths of despair and then the laughter once again. These people are all lost in sadness but they are also very, very human and they love each other and love has a way of reaching out and grabbing hold, even when we least expect it. 

The play is very cinematic, set as it is in one room of one apartment. It’s a really intense ride, as we navigate their dilemmas and their regrets. Each of them all hiding parts of themselves even at their most broken, open and vulnerable. Pain is a leveler. Death too. When all is said and done and the numbness wears off, we have to look ourselves and each other in the eye and make a choice. To live on or to fade away. This play is about that choice and how we come to it.

The performances are wonderful. Each of these fine accomplished actors are reaching high and hitting hard. I admit to a sniffle or two, or more and to lots and lots of laughter. But it’s important also to like these people I think. And I do. They seemed like the kind of people I would be friends with. Funny, flawed, clever, kind and strong. They are very well written and beautifully played. They created a world that we as an audience were totally immersed in and, when we emerged from it, we were changed a little. It’s a deeply thoughtful play that sneaks up on you and makes you care…which is an absolutely wonderful way to spend a couple of hours, in a dark space, surrounded by people all staring in the same direction and holding our breath, waiting to be moved.…don’t you just love the theatre?

“Let Me In” is running at the fabulous and newly reopened Theatre 68 for the next few weeks until April 2nd.  Don’t be slow to book your tickets, the place was packed!! How lucky are we in NoHo to have such amazing theatres producing incredible theatre!!

Tickets:

https://www.onstage411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=6297

When:

Through April 2

Where:

Theatre 68 Arts Complex

5112 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601

The Cast

Rachael Meyers (Famous; Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, recurring) stars as a high-voltage ESPN sideline reporter, Red Casey, along with Bryan McKinley (The Ghost and the Whale with Jonathan Pryce, Tippi Hedren) her best friend’s fiancé, Bobby Hawk. Also starring is Jorge Garcia (Lost, Hawaii Five-O, upcoming HBO Max Chuck Lorre series How To Be A Bookie) as veteran NYPD beat cop Hamilton Steele, who enters into their moment of crisis on what was supposed to be a routine night on the eve of his retirement.

The Creative Team

The creative team for “Let Me In” includes scenic designer Joel Daavid, lighting designer Gavan Wyrick, sound designer Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski and costume designer Mylette Nora. The production stage manager is Angelica Estevez. Misha Riley produces for DSE Productions and Theatre Planners.