Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s “Into The Earth With You,” with Laura Leonardo Ownby, Kelli Walker, Lisa Dawn and Robert Jordan Bailey/Photo: Rex Howard Photography
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The Buffalo Theatre Ensemble concludes its season with the world premiere of Brian Watkins; “Into the Earth With You,” a three-act family drama that is a thoughtful rumination on grief and trauma.
“Into the Earth With You” begins in 1999 following the passing of Grandad, a historian who raised his three granddaughters in a mountainside cabin with tough love and a firm hand. Steadfast youngest sister May Carver was Grandad’s main caregiver and lived in the cabin with him. She calls sisters Carly and Quinn back to sort through his belongings following his death.
May devoted herself to the man who took her and her sisters in following abandonment by their parents and continues to do so. She speaks reverently about the value of his work, even transcribing his journal entries for possible donation to a local museum. On the other hand of the responsibility spectrum is sister Carly, a functioning alcoholic with a devil-may-care attitude and a “fly by the seat of her pants” mentality. Sister Quinn is a newly sober woman who keeps things close to her chest, including a potential move away from their hometown.
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s “Into The Earth With You,” with Laura Leonardo Ownby, Kelli Walker and Lisa Dawn/Photo: Rex Howard Photography
The character-driven show is deftly handled by a small ensemble cast that embraces the heavy material. As May, actress Lisa Dawn imbues her with a mix of responsibility and discontent. She is haunted by questions about her childhood, but her pleas for explanation fall on deaf ears. Laura Leonardo Ownby’s Carly is a firecracker; long-limbed and wild-eyed with no filter. Kelli Walker’s Quinn is just as restless as her sisters but covers it with weary exasperation. Completing the cast is Robert Jordan Bailey as self-contained neighbor Jim, Grandad’s closest friend and neighbor on the mountain. Bailey has some of the more comedic moments in the show, a welcome shift from the occasionally overwrought verbal sparring between the sisters.
The dialogue is wordy, witty and wistful. Watkins has created a story ripe with tension yet interspersed with moments of real levity. Director Kurt Naebig thoughtfully gives credence to both, allowing them room to breathe. Original music and sound design by Christopher Kriz is well done, particularly with two recorded pieces that bookend the show; interstitial music keeps the atmosphere heady. Some things may have been worth more explanation—oblique references to Grandad’s adherence to local traditions and May’s emotional sensitivities—but it works just as well to leave both open to interpretation.
The Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is a talented, capable company, and new shows looking for staging would do well to turn an eye to it and its abilities at the McAninch Arts Center.
“Into the Earth With You” performed by the Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE) at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), 425 Fawell Boulevard, Glen Ellyn, (630)942-4000, AtTheMAC.org, $44. Through June 2.
