End Days

“Thank you Jesus,” is not usually what you’d think of as a punch line. But then again, what else would you say to someone who’s just helped you put on your back pack?

In “End Days, the line works. It’s hilarious and sets a refreshingly irreverent tone for this likeable comedy produced by the Ashland Contemporary Theatre at the Bellview Grange.

Diane Nichols, as Sylvia Stein, matriarch in a family still suffering from the impacts of 9/11 three years later, is addressing the materialized figment of her imagination, her personal lord and savior. You might say she’s meshugah for Jesus. He serves her in practical ways as a secretary and all-around gofer. (His robes and a somewhat silly beatific, smile are included.)

When the planes crashed into the twin towers where he worked as a senior v.p., Arthur, Sylvia’s husband survived; all of his 60-plus subordinates perished. He’s deeply depressed. He hasn’t worked since and he can’t muster the strength to dress or leave the house. (David Mannix, who plays Arthur, does well to energize his character even when he’s at his most despondent and slothful.)

As a husband, and a father to a teenage daughter, he’s been AWOL. But so has his wife. A secular Jew, she took refuge in her new-found religion and the promise of The Rapture, when the world would end, believers would be rescued and the remaining folks would be left behind.

Into this dysfunctional family enters the true savior, daughter Rachel’s new classmate, Nelson Steinberg, played with great zest, natural carbonation, and just enough self-control by Max Gutfruend. Dressed up as Elvis, with a white rhinestone-studded jump suit and a guitar strapped to his back, Nelson’s got a crush on Rachel, who keeps the world at bay by sporting the garb and make-up of a goth. Gutfruend and Danielle Pecoff, as Rachel, are charming together and believable as they clash then grow into caring friends.

While Mom has her imagined Jesus on-stage, Rachel, infatuated with science, has the gift of her own on-stage angel in the form of a fully-manifested Stephen Hawking. Douglas Young, as Hawking, in his motorized wheelchair, convinces as the scientist with his bone-dry delivery of sardonic one-liners.

With a lean and cleverly executed script, playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer succeeds not only by mining the low-hanging laugh lines inherent in the situation—“My mother is waiting for the apocalypse like it’s a Greyhound bus, “says Rachel—but by imbuing her characters with understanding and compassion. It becomes clear that her battles with Satan serve merely to maintain her sanity.

The players, under the direction of Evalyn Hansen, understand that too, digging beneath the surface to reveal the sources of their pain and joy. This is a consistently well-acted production.

This is a consistently well-acted production.

The play is propelled in the second act with a much-appreciated injection of suspense when Sylvia prophecies that the rapture is not only close, but that it will absolutely arrive on Wednesday. The family’s response is delicious. While Mom prays incessantly, Dad and the teens plan for an end of the world party, packing as though for a backyard picnic. (How can you expect to go the Lord without a well-stacked Reuben sandwich in your fist?)

While the transitions between scenes could use tightening, and the pacing was a few beats off in the first act, “End Days” is a satisfying and entertaining piece of work and more proof that ACT represents high quality community theatre.

Credit to Artistic director Jeannine Grizzard for choosing the play and turning the Grange hall into a homey and intimate space. “End Days” runs through May 22. Call 541-646-2971 for tickets.