Down the Hole

I saw Rabbit Hole at Olney at the other night, about a couple (Becca and Howie) whose son was killed when he was hit by car about 8 months before the action of the play. The acting was superb, and overall, I thought the play was quite good. I particularly liked that Izzy, Becca's sister, is pregnant. Not that I've seen many plays (or read many books, etc.) about parents who've lost a child, but adding this layer seems like something that isn't addressed as often as maybe it should be.

But in some ways, the play seemed a bit pat. The ending is somewhat abrupt, and doesn't necessasrily feel earned. You see one character's catharsis, but I didn't really feel that it would lead as directly to the ending as it did.

Also, for some reason it seemed a bit too easy that the son's death was truly an accident. A lot of small things led to it; it was everyone and no one's fault. That bothered me a bit watching it, and thinking about it now, I can't decide whether that makes the effects of it easier or harder on the characters. Is grief easier to deal with if you have no one to blame? Is it harder? Does one help people move on more quickly? Obviously there aren't answers for these. Maybe it's just that the play seemed to almost go out of its way to make sure the audience knew that the accident was, in fact, completely accidental. The problem isn't the issue itself; the problem is the execution.

That being said, I'd totally recommend the play, if only to see the fabulous set. I totally want to live in that house.