Life, Death and Lots of Beer

Playwright Luke Sorge Finds Humor in an Existential Dilemma

Left to right: Jenna Moll Reyes, Steven J. Burge, Len Matheo, Tim Fishbaugh. Photo by Sarah Roshan

National Bohemians, a new play by Luke Sorge currently receiving a world premiere at Miners Alley, deals with one of the most prevalent and hotly debated topics of our time: Does a terminally ill patient have a right to die with medical assistance if he or she asks for it. Some politicians, who these days seem to think they have a right to control other people's bodies, have been known to engage in bitter fights against any law allowing this, despite the pleas from patients desperate for an end to suffering.

How can a play with assisted suicide at its center be described as a comedy? A play that questions the meaning of death itself? Turns out it works if the playwright is capable of layers of meaning, the director--Warren Sherrill--wields subtlety and depth, and you're watching a first-rate cast.

Three brothers find themselves trapped together in a boathouse on the Chesapeake Bay by a furious hurricane outside. At the play's center is the brothers' aging mother whom they call Boo Bird and who is never seen and represented only by a voice. She is suffering from a level of dementia that comes and goes and sometimes has her seeing and responding to people who don't exist. Quietly spoken brother John is ready to bring her out of the facility where she lives and help her die. Oscar, a gay script writer who has just lost both his job and his partner, may disagree but is so wrapped up in his own misery that he only partially absorbs what John is proposing--though he does have his own thoughts about death. The last brother to enter is Thom, raging, shouting, abusive, and perhaps one of the world's biggest jerks. He's apparently far more interested in money and his own grievances than huge existential matters like life and death. Before his entry, however, we've met Liah, John's daughter, a yoga and meditation practitioner who is fiercely opposed to her father's plan to hasten his mother's--and her loved grandmother's--death.

Sorge hasn't softened the hostility these people feel towards each other, ancient griefs and current arguments swirl constantly below the surface, with never any display of sentimentality or rapprochement despite the fact that everyone is continually swilling a local beer called Natty Boh which should soften anyone's thinking. (Boo Bird? Natty Boh? Someone somewhere is laughing). Despite this there are eventual revelations that can only be described as transcendent

Len Matheo's strong, raging voice as Thom sometimes challenges the thunder outside--one hell of a challenge since occasional thunderclaps are so fierce they almost toss your from your seat. Steven J. Burge has a genius for humor and timing, never affected but subtle, sometimes surprising, and jibing perfectly with his character's sad, struggling self. Liah begins as one of those sometimes annoying New Age people bent on converting the world to her beliefs, but she's every bit as passionate about what will happen to Boo Bird as her uncles and her father and she has reasons that go far deeper than they have understood. Jenna Moll Reyes fills the role perfectly. Tim Fishbaugh is John and his quiet demeanor, the sense of profound unexpressed thoughts he silently exudes contrast with the surging anger surrounding him and draws empathy and focus.

It takes a talented playwright to take on a topic that has troubled humankind for centuries, plumb the depths and still joke about the kind of knot you need to hang yourself with but Luke Sorge is more than up to the challenge.

Add to all this strong technical support--lighting, setting, and that terrifying thunder, along with the skilled way, thanks to director Sherrill, the performers embody the characters and utilize the space and you've got one hell of a show.

National Bohemians plays at Miners Alley Performing Arts Center from March 28th to April 20th. 1100 Miners Alley, Golden. For hours and prices minersalley.com 303-935-3044