By Eva Trieger
POWAY, California — “Failure to launch” is a term that has been bandied about over the past plus-decade. It refers to the inability of children to successfully leave the nest and establish their own adult lives. This dramedy explores the sometimes (often) painful dilemma of what happens when the chickens come home to roost.
George (Greg Oberle) and Helene (Helen Lesnick) have spent 30 years raising three sons in a comfortable home in Los Angeles. The boy-men are all capable of completing an education and establishing careers and relationships…at least ostensibly. Yet, for Michael (Benjamin Jacob), Elliott (Josh Click), and Keith (John McCorkle), successfully living away from Mom and Dad has proved elusive.
One by one these adults-in-training return home to occupy their childhood bedrooms because “real life” is just too much. George and Helene take turns blaming themselves and each other. The boys pretty much don’t relent from blaming their parents, and also somehow don’t find it problematic that they are back at home base, where the fridge is full and the living is sans responsibility.
Alone Together writer Lawrence Roman depicts each characters’ foibles and showcases each one’s strength as the story unfolds. Helene, the beleaguered mother, has put her own dreams of becoming an artist on hold while devoting herself to raising children and providing a solid home. She is not cold or dispassionate. On the contrary, she is very solicitous of the wayward waif, Janie (Shealyn Sailors), who has drifted in at the invitation of the youngest son. However, Helene has clearly reached a breaking point, and at this stage of the game, wants nothing more than to be self-expressed and rediscover the intimacy she once shared with George.
For his part, George appears to be the long-suffering softie dad, hesitant to push his immature sons towards adulthood. He seems to be comfortable providing them a soft place to land in their escape from the tumultuous world of challenging careers, failed marriages and ‘finding oneself.” That is until he reaches his breaking point and comes up with a creative solution to rid his house of these pests.
From the program I was pleased and surprised to see how many of these actors have been performing on San Diego stages including Lamplighters, Patio Playhouse, with others returning to PowPac. San Diegans are lucky indeed to have so many venues and so much talent!
The set was carefully curated and recalled many a living room of the 1970s. Kudos to Eliza Huf, Steve Murdock and Dennis Floyd. Floyd is also credited with his direction of Alone Together, which appeared on Broadway in 1984. I was unaware of a sequel to this show that was produced some years later, Alone Together Again. While I’m not familiar with it, I wonder if it features grandchildren moving back into their grandparents’ home!
As always I’m impressed with the community aspect of this tiny theatre. PowPac’s heart is huge and its ability to give back to the locals may be unmatched. The entire operation is volunteer and exists solely on donations of friends and members. As proof of their investment in Poway, each year the theatre awards $1,000 to a graduating high school senior who is interested in pursuing Theatre Arts at the college level.
Whether you are a childless cat lady, or parents of “boomerang kids,” you’ll likely find something entertaining in PowPac’s Alone Together.
Alone Together runs through March 15th. Tickets may be purchased at boxoffice@powpac.org or by phone at 858.679.8085.
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Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in the coverage of the arts.