Go! review

David Lindsay-Abaire has an unusual way of letting a story unfold.

For instance, in the opening scene of “Rabbit Hole,” now making its regional premiere at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Izzy tells a long, complicated tale of how she got into a fight in a bar while her sister Becca folds the laundry of a child at her kitchen table.

We learn a lot about both characters during her rambling tale, although the important plot points aren’t revealed until we know them both. That is, Izzy is pregnant and Becca is folding the laundry of her dead child so she can give the clothes to charity.

Most of “Rabbit Hole” is like that, and fortunately so.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama tells the story of the aftermath of the death of 4-year-old Danny, who ran out into traffic in pursuit of his dog and hit by a teenage driver.

Becca, played by ETC regular Annie Fitzpatrick, is trying to clear the house of all traces of Danny, even desires to get rid of the house for the memories it holds, but her husband Howie (Drew Fracher) wants to cling to those things — and the dog — as a way of remembering.

Most of the time, they speak around the issues that really concern them, but resident scenic designer Brian Mehring’s set evokes their true thoughts: Danny’s room seems to hover precariously above the kitchen and living room of their non-descript home, the furnishings so generic that it could just as well be a furniture show room.

The Fitzpatrick/Fracher study in contrasts is refereed by Izzy (delightfully scatterbrained as played by Sara Mackie) and their mother Nat (Cincinnati newcomer Lourelene Snedeker), who also lost a son some years ago, but under quite different circumstances.

Just as they seem to be getting their world in order, putting the house for sale so they can move on, a wrench is thrown in the works by Jason (Joshua Borths), the teenager who drove the car that killed their son.
He approaches them first with a letter, then with a visit, in his own attempt to come to some kind of resolution to the matter.

While the subject matter will drive a stake through the heart of any parent, Lindsay-Ablaire’s witty script and insightful storytelling in the capable hands of director D.Lynn Meyers, keeps it from being melodramatic or maudlin — and in fact has an ending that is quite hopeful if not cheerful.

how to go
WHAT: “Rabbit Hole” by David Lindsay-Abaire
WHERE: Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, 1127 Vine St., Cincinnati
WHEN: Through Sept. 30
COST: $27-$35 adults; $16 children
MORE INFO: (513) 421-3555; www.cincyetc.com