A roller coaster, no holding back production

Through September 10
Ion’s BikBox Theatre
Thursday and Friday 8 p.m.
Saturday 3 and 8 p.m.
619-600-5020
iontheatre.com

By Cuahtemoc Kish | SDUN Theater Critic

Craig Wright’s “Grace” is an exhilarating roller-coaster ride that starts out literally with a bang—from a hand-held pistol—then moves back in time to recreate the moments leading up to that terrifying blast. This drama might be something you would expect from a new writer on seasoned television shows like “Six Feet Under” and “Lost.”

Director Glenn Paris moves his four-actor cast with seamless effort that affords them an opportunity to connect and collide non-stop with one another for the full 95 minutes they share on the intimate ion Theatre stage in Hillcrest. There is no intermission.

“Grace” takes on the heavy subject matter of religion, business, intimacy, and politics. These themes are woven into the lives of a young couple—Steve, played by Francis Gercke and Sara, played by Rhiana Basore—that have recently relocated to Florida. Added into the mix is a neighbor (Sam, played by Nick Kennedy) and a dour-looking condo exterminator (Karl, played by Jim Chovick).

As the story unfolds, Steve can hardly contain himself with the news about funding for a scheme to construct a chain of Jesus-themed hotels. Sara, the pragmatist in the family, remains skeptical about the funding and rightly so. Somewhat predictably, the funds are not forthcoming and the resulting economic and emotional woes take a toll on their childless marriage.

Wright has written Sam’s role as the emotional catalyst that easily pulls Sara away from her husband. The character Sam has a disturbingly honest and painful tale about an automobile accident that resulted in the death of his fiancée and provided him with his scarred facial deformity. The character of Karl, a non-believer, mixes emotions up further with a disturbing recollection about the Holocaust.

Gercke tackles the role of Steve, the ‘Jesus freak,’ with a passion. His belief system is constantly on display and he wears his emotions raw throughout the production in one of the best acting roles I’ve witnessed this year. Basore is no slouch in the role of the skeptical wife, moving away from both God and Steve in a nuanced performance that is honest and believable.

Kennedy does well as Sam, the neighbor and NASA scientist who pushed his fiancée inadvertently into an unforeseen death. Sam lost everything, and Kennedy plays guilt and heartache well, speaking about time and space. Chovick’s exterminator is as creepy and in-your-face as audiences are likely to get from a fringe character.

Melanie Chen’s sound design underscores the unbalanced lives of the four characters as if the set—and their lives—were an eerie echo chamber. Matt Scott’s design, an interior condo scene, touched on brilliance. He overlapped the field in which both characters use the same space at the same time, although they ‘live’ in separate homes. “Grace” is an intimate drama that’s guaranteed to demand your attention.