Review by Stanley Fine
The Brightness of Heaven
Play by Laura Pederson
Directed by Ludovica Villar-Hauser
Players; Paula Ewin, Kate Kearney-Patch, Peter Cormican, Mark Banik,
Emily Batsford, Kendall Rileigh, Bill Coyne, James Michael Lambert.
Fiddler; Kendra Jo Brook. Staging; Alexandra Hall.
Under direction of Angelina Fiordellisi. At The Cherry Lane Theatre
The brightness dims, only to explode in The Brightness of Heaven when parents of an Irish-American family, with strong traditional and religious convictions, are confronted by a new generation of activists, their own children.
The family’s upheaval builds during the turbulent times of the 1970’s when America was burgeoning with a multitude of public disagreements. This was an era marked by political protest and violent demonstrations, including the Vietnam War’s military and civilian ramifications, the emergence of gay rights, and women’s rights, controversial issues of interracial marriage, birth control and abortion, Nixon, Watergate, Woodstock, drug wars and the questioning of religious commitment and God’s existence. America’s emotions were running fast and furious. Conflict divided our nation’s culture, separating many relationships and families, including the Kilgannons.
Joyce Kilgannon’s (Kate Kearney-Patch) daughter, Kathleen (Kendall Rileigh) is pregnant, unmarried and plans to marry out of her religion. Joyce, a mother who chose to be a homemaker instead of becoming a nun, is devastated. Mary Jablonski (Paula Ewin), Joyce’s sister-in–law, shares in her grief as dreams are further shattered when her son, Jimmy (James Michael Lambert) reveals he is coming out of the closet. Fuses are lit and these hot topics explode at the dinner table, interrupting what started out as a nice enjoyable traditional family supper. The close-knit family breaks apart when emotions reel out of control and peace and harmony turn into chaos at the Kilgannon’s modest home in Buffalo, New York.
Family relationships are battered, but eventually some understanding is reached and overcome through the family’s strong love. The players’ individual performances capture us. Sharing their pain, empathy and tenderness, we become part of the Kilgannon family. The Brightness of Heaven paints a family portrait with colors mixed with emotional turbulence and warmth.
In 1974, before the Internet, cell phones, e-mail and Facebook, there were church socials, Bingo nights, card playing, and some radio and TV. The pace of society was not in super-high-speed mode or distracted by an overwhelming abundance of information and diversions. Family values and church ties were traditionally in place. A more simplistic society existed. And what was looming just around the corner? We were at the threshold of a new world that eventually launched us from outer space into cyberspace.
For better or worse, each generation makes their own imprint on our country’s culture. The Brightness of Heaven skillfully exemplifies those changes, successfully staging one family’s encounter with an inherent generation gap that coincided with Americas’ turbulent evolution of the 1970’s.
“The times, they are a changin’ ”- Bob Dylan.
Stanley Fine, former Ad Agency Creative Director and CLIO judge. A freelance writer that has written and produced plays and numerous travel adventure stories. finestan@earthlink.net
