Playhouse on Park, West Hartford CT
through May 14, 2017
by Barbara Stroup
 |
| Photo credit: Curt Henderson |
The “romance on a train” theme could be an overworked
formula in some hands, but in “Last Train to Nibroc,”playwright Arlene Hutton
gives it a layered treatment. Impediments to a straightforward romance present
themselves from several directions. On a cross-country train heading east, prim
and proper May – plainly dressed and ankles together – resists the down-home
friendliness of Raleigh, a medically discharged soldier. He sees potential, but
these two are thwarted from several directions. May has developed some
restrictive religious standards, the war looms ever present and effects their
personal decision-making, and Raleigh’s life has begun to be framed by a
medical condition that was the cause of his discharge from the military.
In the space of three acts, the playwright allows the
characters of May and Raleigh to gradually emerge and evolve, and both actors
are able to effect these changes with a touching humanity. Joshua Willis and
Lilly Wilton create nuanced, believable individuals as the characters gradually
realize they are dear to each other. As a result, audience members can identify
with both Raleigh and May as sympathetic and complex. Weaknesses and strengths
are revealed both through the writing and through the actors’ subtle skill at
their craft - it becomes impossible not to root for a Hollywood ending, and
even to wish to know more of their story.
With a minimal set design, the audience quickly begins to
concentrate on the soldier and the girl, their trip homeward to Kentucky, and
their hesitant learnings about each other and life. Humor comes from unexpected
places, and even grammar mistakes and corrections add sweetness to this couple.
Both Wilton and Willis manage a Kentucky accent that never sounds fake or
condescendingly exaggerated.
Playhouse on Park continues to create artistic
collaborations that work; “Last Train to Nibroc” gives the audience an evening
of delightful theatre.
