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Much more likely, artistic directors appreciate the general brilliance of this Pulitzer Prize-winning work, which has been adeptly staged by Olney Theater. It's a production with a clean, contemporary look (notice the silvery, twisting trees adorning the streamlined house set) and a team of actors with the grace to carry the rapid, conversational dialogue.
Rabbit Hole is a family-centered drama which shows how different types of individuals deal with incomprehensible loss -- in this case, the accidental death of a child. It's a meditation on strain - between siblings, on a marriage - and how individuals react in the face of helplessness: a death they don't understand, with no clear person to blame.
The play is most fascinating -- and at times, uncomfortable -- because of its intense "fly on the wall" quality. There's something intently voyeuristic about listening to the conversations of these individuals. Some of it is the conversational matter -- sexual problems, unexpected outbursts of grief -- but the true-to-life feel of David Lindsay-Abaire's language drives it home all the more.
Watching Deborah Hazlett as Becca, the mother of the lost son, combat her excruciating loss is horrific. Hazlett is tension everywhere -- her posture, the lines on her face. As her husband, Paul Morella's display of grief is focused more on denial, punctuated by explosions of frustration and sadness. Megan Anderson's performance as Becca's sister feels a bit more practiced, but she has kind of a comic dynamism that can prove to be a welcome relief from all the anguish.
Rabbit Hole runs through Aug. 31 at Olney Theater. Tickets are available online.
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