Caitlin Zambito. Photo by OddDog Pictures
I first discovered playwright Lucas Hnath back in April of 2017 at a production of his broadway hit, A Dolls House, Part 2, produced at South Coast Rep. The show knocked me out. I attended his totally unique play, Dana H., at The Kirk Douglas in 2019, (see https://paulmyrvoldstheatrenotes.wordpress.com/2019/06/05/dana-h-at-kirk-douglas-theatre/). And A Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, in March 2022, was another mind boggler at Odyssey Theatre. So I am not surprised that his new play, The Thin Place, is a winner.
Every thing about The Thin Place is unique, starting when the audience enters the theatre. The playing area is built in the French, tennis court style with the audience on two sides gazing across at one another. The scenic design by director Abigail Deser and designer Amanda Knehans is elegant and minimal with a rug, two chairs and a small table. Upstage is a belt-high table with candles and wine bottles. Art nouveau patterns on panels downstage and upstage are pleasing.
Caitlin Zambito. Photo by OddDog Pictures
The action begins subtly when an attractive, lithesome young woman enters—(Caitlin Zambito). She wanders aimlessly about the area for a while and when the lights dim she begins to address the audience. Her name is Hilda and she tells the story of her life with a difficult, abusive mother. For all purposes, Hilda’s mother has disappeared from her daughters life.
Hilda is closest to her grandmother. She is the one who taught her to deal with death by massaging her frontal cortex to summon up the presence of the dead, in this case, her grandfather.
Caitlin Zambito and Janet Greaves. Photo by OddDog Pictures
Hilda leads a quiet life subsisting on a low paying job. She falls in with Linda who takes her under her wings. Like many of such practitioners, Linda asserts to the world that it is possible to make contact with dead who are gone. Linda is powerful and lovable, at least in the earlier scenes and finally acknowledges that she is a fraud. Linda (the extraordinary Janet Greaves), is British and speaks with an accent that calls to my mind a particularly cheeky footballer in the popular Apple+ program, Ted Lasso. Her name is Linda and she is a psychic and a particularly good one.
Justin Huen, Corbett Tuck. Photo by OddDog Pictures
The action shifts to another locale where Linda encounters Hilda’s wealthy friends, Jerry and Sylvia (the excellent Justin Huen and Corbet Tuck). They are sleek and mostly friendly towards Hilda until they are not. The show powers on after the scene with Sylvia and Jerry. Hilda makes poignant demands on Linda that result in a powerful climax and a wistful denouement.
The Thin Place is produced by Chris Fields and directed Abigail Deser. Scenic Design is by Penni Auster, Abigail Deser, and Amanda Knehans. Lighting design is by Hayden Kirschbaum; sound design is Alysha Bermudez; and costume design is by Dianne K. Graebner. Irene Lee is production stage manager. Chris Fields and Kelly Beech produce for the Echo Theater.
Performances: March 18 – April 24
• Wednesday at 8 pm
• Thursday at 8 pm
• Fridays at 8 pm
• Sundays at 4 pm
• Mondays at 8 pm
Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039
PARKING:
FREE in the Atwater Crossing (AXT) lot one block south of the theater
TICKET PRICES:
Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays: $34
Mondays: Pay-What-You-Want
Previews: Pay-What-You-Want
HOW:
www.EchoTheaterCompany.com
(310) 307-3753
Paul Myrvold's Theatre Notes 