In small-town Texas during the 1940s, Georgette (Tara Battani) fell in love with Henry Thomas (J. Scott Shonka) and married him with reckless speed. He soon proved to be a born loser, full of good intentions that he can't live up to and prone to drink when his problems overwhelm him. While liquored up, he turned violent and was sent to prison, leaving Georgette pregnant with his daughter, Margaret Rose (Michaela Rose Haas).
The play begins seven years later, when Henry is due to be released from prison. Georgette arrives in his hometown, Harrison, Texas, to meet him and introduce him to the daughter he has never seen. But her hopes are shattered when she learns that Henry lied to her about his release date, and he has been working for weeks for Mrs. Tillman (Lori Berg), a local woman who thinks she can "save" alcoholics. When Henry goes off the rails again, Georgette is befriended by a covey of friendly neighbors, including lonely widower Slim (David Atkinson).
Director Linda Kerns has cast the piece well but fails to mobilize the dynamics that might make a quiet genre piece into gripping drama. Battani's Georgette is credible and charming but lacks the intensity and desperation needed to drive the action. As Margaret Rose, 7-year-old Haas is engagingly straightforward and mercifully free of child-actor mannerisms.
Shonka's Henry is credibly weak but so lacking in charisma that we don't know why Georgette married him. Atkinson wields quiet authority as reliable, good-hearted Slim. Brenda Ballard provides comic relief as the feisty, trouble-making neighbor Mrs. Mavis, and there's fine support from Berg, Susan Carol Davis, Tim Farmer, and Rebecca Hayes as denizens of Harrison. Designer Mark Svastics provides the handsome front-porch set, complete with stained-glass transom.
Presented by and at Actors Co-op Crossley Terrace Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood. May 4–June 12. Fri.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m. (323) 462-8460, ext. 300. www.actorsco-op.org.
