By Susannah Whitman
If you haven’t been to An Other Theater Company’s black box venue in the Provo Towne Centre Mall, Next Fall is the perfect opportunity to experience moving and powerful theatre in an unconventional space. An Other Theater Company is still in its infancy, but it has already proven itself with past productions. Its current production of Next Fall is moving, humorous, and powerful.
Next Fall focuses on the relationship between Adam (Brett Merritt) and Luke (Abram Yarbro). Luke believes in God, Adam doesn’t. But Luke’s Christianity is more complicated than a simple difference of opinion. Luke isn’t “out” to his parents, even after being with Adam for five years. And Luke believes that Adam is going to hell. At the beginning of the show, Luke has just been in an accident, and Luke’s parents, friends, and lover are all in the waiting room. The script has moments of perfect humorous discomfort, and perfect heartbreak.
Kacey Spadafora’s direction of this play is stunning, as always. Spadafora is able to lift small details out of a script and bring them to life onstage, and he always finds ways of enhancing the words on the page. From blue sticky notes in the program (a nod to a habit of Luke’s) to songs used in preshow, Spadafora’s direction is deeply sensitive and deeply effective. Transitions between scenes were signified by lighting and sound changes, which didn’t feel like breaks in the action, but rather a part of the story.
Paige Porter’s simple lighting design is both utilitarian and artistic, and costumes by Ash Knowles bring each character to life. Janice Chan’s set design is also simple, but beautiful. Various locations are specified by changing the paintings on the wall and rearranging the furniture. Large geometric patterns in rich colors cover the back wall, creating a pleasing backdrop for the action.
Merritt plays Adam, the 40-year-old candle-salesman-turned-English-teacher. Merritt’s naturalism and honesty onstage make him deeply likeable, and he handles both humor and heartbreak perfectly. As the young and devout Luke, Yarbro is perfectly cast. It’s easy for the audience to see both the sincerity of his belief, and his pain at not being able to tell his parents about his relationship. Alexis Boss plays Holly, a close friend of Adam and Luke. Boss has impeccable comic timing, but her tearful monologue in Act Two proves that she’s capable of deep sincerity in both comedy and sorrow.
Joel Applegate turns in a wonderful performance as Butch, Luke’s father. His gruff exterior occasionally falls away to reveal deep hurt—his short monologue describing Luke’s injury and current condition is positively heartbreaking. Heather Oberlander brings depth to the slightly obnoxious but loveable Arlene, Luke’s mother. The cast is rounded out by Brian Kocherhans as Brandon, a friend of Luke’s—another Christian and another gay man.
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This production handles so many complicated issues so beautifully. Faith can be deeply complicated, especially when it forces you to go against some deep part of yourself. And there is a kind of “benign bigotry” that Luke’s parents (and friend Brandon) are guilty of. They don’t use words like “Oriental” or say things about the Jewish hospital with malice. They simply don’t think that saying those things is all that bad. This kind of bigotry is, in some ways, all the more insidious. Butch’s racism and homophobia, Arlene’s assumptions about others, Brandon’s condescension about Luke—all of these things create a world in which it is impossible for Luke to be himself. While there is plenty of humor within the play, it is in these moments that our hearts break. And this “benign bigotry” (if there can truly be such a thing) is all the more heartbreaking for being deeply familiar. Audiences will recognize an aunt or a brother or a friend or even themselves in it.
The truth is that if you have a strong script and strong actors, you really don’t need much else. The set, the lights, the costumes, the sound—all of these can simply enhance the beautiful work that’s already there. And this is what An Other Theatre Company has consistently done in its productions. It selects powerful and moving scripts, hires powerful and talented actors, and collaborates with designers to create cohesive and deeply moving theatre. Next Fall is a poignant, funny, and heartbreaking story, told beautifully. It is an especially fitting story to be told in a deeply religious area like Utah County. So make the drive, walk through the mall, and take a seat in the familiar yellow pews that serve as seats, and allow yourselves to be moved by the work of this little unconventional theatre company.
An Other Theater Company seeks to provide a voice to many who are overlooked in the mainstream local theatre scene, including stipulations in its season selection process to highlight works by and about women as well as the LGBT community.
Content advisory: language and adult themes
An Other Theatre Company presents Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts
An Other Theatre Company, Provo Towne Centre Mall, 1200 Towne Centre (2nd floor, near Dillard’s), Provo, UT 84601
May 4 – May 26, 2018 Friday-Saturday 7:30 PM
Tickets: $15 adults, $13 students and seniors, online or at the door
An Other Theater Company Facebook Page
Next Fall Facebook event
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