Lord knows this modest effort isn't theatre on the scale of the Taper, but director/playwright James Andrew Oster's unpretentiously sweet and intimate family drama evidences a pleasantly heartfelt and admirably sincere mood that larger shows would be proud to possess. The play certainly isn't perfect, with the overly pat situations and too easily resolved relationships suggesting a literary immaturity and an occasionally irritating tendency toward soap opera. But the ensemble work is powerful and organic, with involving and immediate acting turns. And the writing is promising, if slightly slow paced and heavy-handed.
Handsome San Francisco sports journalist Brian (Matthew Dargert) returns to his small hometown because his mother is on her deathbed. Brian's older brother Michael (Oster) has been taking care of their father during this process, with some help from Brian's long-ditched girlfriend Nell (Emily Adams), who was dumped when Brian left to seek his fortune in San Francisco. However, Brian freaks out when he accidentally interrupts Michael smooching it up with his law student boyfriend Jason (George McConnell). And Michael's grief over his mother's imminent demise is mingled with shock over his being forced to come out of the closet at such a tragic time.
This is a sophisticated juxtaposition of themes to be tossing into the air, and it is to Oster's credit that the play packs as much of an emotional impact as it does. The family strains are explored with commendable realism and delicacy, and Oster's staging is simultaneously warm, compassionate, and fresh-feeling. On the other hand the pacing is laggardly, and there's an alarming tendency for many scenes to devolve into sentimental, hug-filled fuzziness that threatens to lure audience members into a snooze.
In addition, the wooden and rather lumbering Oster is miscast in his main role, and his presence onstage gives the work the faint whiff of a vanity production. Nevertheless, Dargert's bemused and grief-struck brother, Adams' wonderfully supportive gal pal, and McConnell's idealized gay boyfriend win us over.