“Scintilla”

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of the Road Theatre Company’s production of Alessandro Camon’s “Scintilla,” directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, running through June 4.

The productions at the Road Theatre are events, and I mark them in my calendar guarding the dates jealously. The Road has a rarified habit of selecting plays that intricately explore the most fragile depths of our human condition, without the usual veil…and the effect of this alchemy is always stunning.

And so it is that their newest play, Alessandro Camon’s “Scintilla,” is a perfect partner with this singularly poetic ethos.  Peopled with characters so richly drawn as to be magically real, “Scintilla” is the story of a mother and her adult son’s cantankerous and heartbreakingly difficult relationship, put under the extreme stress of the impending ravages of her rapidly encroaching senility and a literal and looming forest fire.

As a mother of a son, I understand that eternally tricky business of being both worshiped and reviled. This particular mother and son have long unfinished business and it grinds away at the son Micheal played with a tightly wound boiling intensity by Kris Frost and it pierces the heart of Taylor Gilbert’s mesmerizing warrior “Marianne” as she ever so slowly tumbles into an acceptance of any kind future, the long journey or the short, the burning and the fading away. 

Her son brings his fiancée with him. “Nora” is a delightful soul, funny, clever and a bit restless, who of course admires Marianne. How could she not? She is played effortlessly by Krisna Smitha…a scene stealer to be sure. And then there is the neighbor Stanley. A one-time romantic entanglement of Marianne’s, played by David Gianopoulos as a fascinating blend of tortured Vietnam vet, philosophical genius and softly aging Adonis. And then there’s the local unhoused handyman, “Roberto.” A sweet lost soul, a bit of comic relief, looking for shelter from local thugs and then the fire. Carlos Lacamara brings him to life and somehow, with his only occasional words, we can barely look away from him. 

So there they all are. Stuck together in Marianne’s lovely home, with a fire rapidly approaching and tempers flaring, panic growing and Marianne refusing to leave, as if the fire could save her somehow…and perhaps to her it could.

This is a gorgeous play with many, many opportunities for actors to flex their muscles and charm us or woo us or break our hearts. And this wonderful group of accomplished actors do all of those things. Over and over again. “Scintilla” is so lightly and deftly guided by director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky that we are barely aware of a space between us and the stage. In spite of the inventive and beautifully imagined staging of the driving to and from the house and the intensifying and unmerciful flames. The play is one continuous motion of moments. Happening as it happens, paced in real time, and boy is that the most effective way of telling this story. I could barely blink for fear of missing something, so brilliant was the build from start to crashing finish. 

“Scintilla” is truly what theatre is all about – intense, unnerving, human and astonishingly real. The performances are as perfect and nuanced as anything I have seen at the Road Theatre to date. And believe me, their productions are hard to beat. A story worth telling with a more than worthy cast in a space full of magic and heart. I love the Road Theatre’s fighting spirit. How they bring us stories that make us think, feel, remember and transport us. “Scintilla” is another wonderful play partnered with a writer with a unique voice, and beautifully staged. Bravo!

“Scintilla” runs through June 4. But don’t be fooled by time, it will be over before you know it. Book your tickets and see this gorgeous play while you can.

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Cast

Taylor Gilbert as “Marianne,” Kris Frost as “Michael,” Krishna Smitha as “Nora,” David Gianopoulos as “Stanley” and Carlos Lacamara as “Roberto.”

Team

Scenic Design by Stephen Gifford; Lighting Design by Derrick McDaniel; Sound Design by Christopher Moscatiello; Projection Design by  Ly Eisenstein; Costume Design by Jenna Bergstraesser. The Production Stage Manager is Maurie Gonzalez. SCINTILLA is produced by Danna Hyams.

Tickets:

Home

When:

Running through June 4
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 2pm

Where:

10747 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601