My Wandering Boy
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Ruscio, Doyle
Henry DiRocco
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By Joseph N. Feinstein
"We like companionship, see, but we can't stand to be around people for very long. So we go get ourselves lost, come back for a while, then get the hell out again." Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
In the program for this newly opened play, several quotations speak to the heart and mind of Julie Marie Myatt's world premiere production at the South Coast Repertory Folino Theatre Center. Directed by Bill Rauch and starring a cast of seven headed by Charlie Robinson as a frustrated detective, Howard, the play takes us on a journey, searching for Emmett, the son of Wesley (Richard Doyle) and Liza Boudin (Elizabeth Ruscio), who has left home and has been missing for four years.
Along the way, we meet the homeless John (Brent Hinkley), an old friend, Rooster Forbes (John Cabrera), and two women who afforded Emmett sanctuary and comfort, Sally (Purva Bedi), and Miranda (Veralyn Jones). All this adds up to a most interesting study of the word, "Freedom": how much can we take without hurting the people we love?
As we take our seats, we are privy to a pair of boots that are illuminated on the stage. The lovely sky blue backdrop is only partially open and creates an instant awareness that we will be traveling somewhere, even before the houselights dim. The lights do go down, and we are introduced to all the characters soon thereafter. Mom and Dad are so worried that Emmett's gone, for he was such "a good boy, the top of his class; the ace runner; the president of the Student Body." Where, oh where, did they go wrong? They hire detective Howard to find their boy. And the odyssey begins.
Questions to consider: Are we entitled to do our own thing as adults or do we have a responsibility to parents, family and friends to observe a certain code of behavior?
Can we just pick up and leave anytime we decide we need or want to? Is this acceptable?
To whom must we pay allegiance during our lifetime? 'If I am not for myself, who will be for me?'
Ms. Myatt gives each of her characters some sagacious dialogue. Rauch keeps the characters beautifully delineated, bringing out their frustration or acceptance of Emmett's disappearance. Christopher Acebo's magnificent set opens ever so slowly, revealing more and more of the vast country Emmett is roaming. And Lonnie Alcaraz's lighting helps keep us focused on time and place.
Though never seen, we can visually focus on Emmett through the character of the homeless man, John, whose care is provided by the helpful people he meets along the way. We get a sympathetic picture and know that it is just such people who will attend to the wayward Emmet as he wanders hither, thither, and yon. The world simply provides by providing simply! Yet, how can we assuage the guilt, the loneliness, the despair that is felt by those whom Emmett has left behind? Indeed, the complexity of emotions is just what My Wandering Boy is really all about. After all, faith and trust can only go so far!
You'll get a lot to think about after the applause dies down: such thoughts as
"Silence is argument carried out by other means" and "We must always travel in the direction of our fears." Take the trip; it's worth it!
My Wandering Boy South Coast Repertory Folino Theatre Center Main Stage
655 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa 92628-2197 Tel. 714-708-5555.
Playing until May 6; Tuesday @ 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday - Saturday @ 8:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday @ 2:30 p.m.; Sunday @ 7:30 p.m. Tickets $20 - $60
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