(Production photo by Curtis Brown Photography.)

by Tim Leininger

HARTFORD, CT — TheaterWorks Hartford Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero and his creative team have a knack for breathing life into a work that I had previously seen produced and elevate it into something that feels more alive and vital than what I’ve previously seen. Such is the case with their production of Samuel D. Hunter’s play, Little Bear Ridge Road, directed by Ruggiero and running through Nov. 8 at TheaterWorks Hartford at 233 Pearl St. When I saw this play on Broadway about a year ago, it left me feeling a bit cold. The two main characters were generally unlikable as the lives became more insufferable as it progressed, unable to see the potential for connection and mutual empathy right in front of them. Though not a complete turnaround, it is a marked improvement from the original.

Set in a small home near Troy, Idaho, Little Bear Ridge Road starts in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic is in full swing. Ethan (Mishka Yarovoy) has returned to his hometown to tend to his estranged, and now deceased, father’s estate. Ethan’s aunt, Sarah (Denise Cormier) offers to put Ethan up at her home as he tends to his father’s final business. The initial problem with the play is that Ethan and Sarah are miserable human beings and take their misery out on each other. Ethan’s father was a meth addict who would take advantage of Ethan for money until Ethan cut ties with him. Then Ethan found himself in another abusive relationship while living in Washington. Sarah, who is a retired nurse, was never able to carry a pregnancy to term, and now has cancer, something she tries to keep secret from Ethan.

(Production photo by Curtis Brown Photography.)

The two are so bitter in their misery that compassion from the other is about as welcome as an ant at a picnic. In the original production, that bitterness is so toxic that I couldn’t warm up to them despite the valid reasons for their attitudes. Ruggiero, though, has softened them both up just enough to make me feel for them enough to want to journey with them through the play. I think some of this is due to the casting. Cormier and Yarovoy feel a bit more balanced as an acting duo than the Broadway cast of Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock. Their anger, emoted through snarky, sarcastic barbs, and vicious bouts of rage feel equally volleyed between each other. Having such an even keeled Sarah and Ethan, makes the introduction of James (Travis Anderson) have a brighter effect on both. As the pandemic wanes and people start being social again, Ethan meets James at a bar and the two quickly become lovers. Anderson gives James a healthy dose of grace, which allows the audience, access to empathize with Sarah and Ethan. The trick that Ruggiero pulls off is that, in this production, he keeps Sarah and Ethan restrained enough that they don’t lose the audience by the time James arrives.

The one problem that couldn’t be resolved with Little Bear Ridge Road was the final confrontation between Sarah and Ethan, which is an inherent script problem. There’s a conflict that has not been clearly foreshadowed at all in the text that should have been hinted at some point. It leads to a final showdown between the two that has some good points, but the spark that sets it off feels unearned, leading to emotional breaks that come off overly melodramatic.

(Production photo by Curtis Brown Photography.)

There were no problems in the set design, though. Michael Schweikardt honors the original set design by Scott Pask with the singular sofa that rotates to represent different locations, but he elevates it with the upstage design of the show that really pushes this production over the top of the Broadway production. A textured backdrop that looks like rumpled fabric creates a centerpiece for the backdrop, and when Camilla Tassi’s gorgeous projections and Matthew Richards’ lighting are displayed on it, it creates a beautiful immersive depiction of the northwestern Idaho landscape, with peaks and valleys, and a vista of stars during outdoor night scenes. It’s top-notch collaborative work between two excellent designers.

Ruggiero and the TheaterWorks Hartford team has successfully helped me appreciate a work for which I previously had mixed feelings for. The cast is tighter, and the design is superior. There are still some inherent issues in the text that can’t be remedied, but this is a better, rounded Little Bear Ridge Road.

TICKETS: https://twhartford.org/

PRODUCTION: Written by Samuel D. Hunter; Directed by Rob Ruggiero; Set Design: Michael Schweikardt; Costume Design: Risa Ando; Lighting Design: Matthew Richards; Sound Design: Minjae Kim; Projection Design: Camilla Tassi; Original Music: Billy Bivona; Hair: E. John McGarvey; Casting: Hardt Casting, LLC; Stage Manager: Tenley Pitonzo

CAST

Travis Anderson as James

Denise Cormier as Sarah

Janelle Anne Robinson as Paulette/Vickie

Mishka Yarovoy as Ethan