[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Sunbreak written and directed by Jonathan Goetzman at the Whitefire Theatre through August 1.
The Whitefire Theatre is the perfect place for new original work. It’s a safe space. Nurtured by people who love stories and value artists. Sunbreak is the latest new play on its stage and the first by filmmaker Jonathan Goetzman. For a first foray into theatre, Sunbreak is remarkable and Goeztman’s chosen subject and the characters he creates a world for are beautifully strange, raw and utterly believable.
Two sisters are alone in their dead mother’s house post funeral. The first, Madeline, is the levelheaded, almost pathologically organised older sister. She is packing up the house, day drinking and nervously semi-smoking. The second sister Dylan shows up late. She missed the funeral and is apologetic and also nervous…but for very different reasons.
Dylan is a recovering addict. She has been for most of her life and, of course, the impact has been profound on her family, although family can be part of the reasons for a person with a vulnerable personality to lose themselves. It certainly seems as though Dylan’s struggles can be traced back to her relationships with her mother and sister. Although she doesn’t at all blame them.
The play is a deep exploration of why we push away the ones we love the most when we hate ourselves so much. Both sisters can vouch for that, in different ways. They argue of course, but it is Dylan who keeps reaching out to her sister in spite of everything she has put them both through. Madeline has decided to sell the house, Dylan doesn’t disapprove, she only seems to be there to rekindle their relationship. But when Madeline begins to fall apart and the energy shifts, she becomes the strong one at last.
The whole play is this riveting, steady unfolding. It’s sweet and slow and very intimate, in the way cataclysmic events can shake everything up and force us to be real. The mother’s death was very sudden, neither of them was at all prepared and this abrupt adjustment to their lives sends them both spinning. Yet, as they find reminders of their former lives in amongst their mother’s things, they unlock the love they need to survive it.
It’s a truly wonderful play. The characters are beautifully written and brilliantly played by these two incredible actresses. They seem like sisters. They look so deeply into each other as they share the stage I was almost unnerved to be there, as if I was an uninvited observer. But then, as an audience, isn’t that the best feeling imaginable when sitting in a theatre full of silent souls hoping to be moved and changed a little? It’s the absolute ultimate result, in fact.
I don’t know Jonathan Goetzman as a filmmaker, although I might look him up now! What I can tell you is that, as a playmaker, he has that singularly special essence, that lightest of touches where what you see is so real and so raw that it bounces around in your brain for days and days to come. Reminding you of important moments in your own life and having you ponder, wonder and reconsider them.
This is very powerful stuff…excellent writing and beautiful performances. Highly recommended!!! How lucky we are in this town to have access to such art in our magical little neighborhood theatres.
When:
June 27, July 11, July 18, July 25, August 1 at 8:00 PM
Where:
Whitefire Theatre
13500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sunbreak-an-original-play-tickets-875655468077?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
CAST:
Bella Balsamo – Madeline Moss and Melany Smith – Dylan Moss
TEAM:
Produced in partnership with Bella Balsamo, original music by Alex Mansour, lighting design by Ella Nelson, sound by Maisie May, costumes by Kaylin George, poster illustration by Mae Waite, set design by Hannah Freeman, and Noah Dains. Stage Managed by Mitch Rosander and Miles Berman.