Sisters Struggling to be Sisters Dominate Into The Earth with You at BTE

Psychological trauma in family’s holds a macabre fascination.  By definition painful and lingering, it attracts and retains our interest because we never know its depth or where it will lead.  Will the structure and direction of the lives in question lead to catharsis or tragedy?  Or will the outcome rest somewhere in between; a hazy limbo characterized by inertia?

Those are the kind of questions that begin to form when watching Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s world premiere of Into The Earth With You, Brian Watkin’s psychological drama about three sisters and the way they respond to the death of their grandfather. 

Sensing death’s nearness, Grandad (Norm Woodel) recorded rather than wrote his will and it’s his words we hear as the play opens.  Through them we’re given insights into a lucid and independent mind that doesn’t bend to convention.  Directing his words chiefly to his youngest granddaughter, May (Lisa Dawn), who’s been acting as his caregiver, it’s clear he wants to spare her the anguish of overseeing his burial. He assures her he’s made provisions with a friend and neighbor, Jim Elbert (Robert Jordan Bailey) for the handling of his remains.  By the time we’re introduced to the rest of the cast, Grandad has died and May is in the process of sorting through his belongings while waiting for her sisters to arrive and help.

Their convergence is a telling one.  Carrying none of May’s grief, both of her sisters, Carly (Laura Leonardo Ownby) and Quinn (Kelli Walker), are in a hurry.  They don’t believe any of the papers May’s sorting through are of any value and just want to fulfill this obligation as quickly as possible so they can get back to their highly circumscribed lives.   They all grew into adulthood with their grandfather in this small cabin high and remote in the mountains.  Carly seems contend with her life as a bartender.  Quinn, who didn’t tell either of her sister’s about her recent divorce, wants to move to the city and finally put her life in the hinterland behind her.   May never expresses any desire to do anything other than what she’s doing, working in the local library.   

It’s not unusual for sisters not to be close, but these three seem particularly removed from one another. The day the older sisters arrive to help go through their grandfather’s effects is also May’s birthday.  Neither sister remembered.  It was only after Jim tried to present her with a gift did they realize their oversight.  Clues into their remoteness from one another emerged more noticeably when one of them mentioned their parents.  A forbidden subject when they were growing up and, judging from their responses, even now; it defines the way they view themselves and each other.  One day when they were all children, their mother and father drove them to their grandfather’s home, told them to go inside, slipped a letter in the mail slot on the door and left never to return.  The guilt and pain of having been abandoned by those who endowed you with life can last an eternity.  It can also damage your interactions with others; especially those closest to you.  These three sisters viewed it as a curse.

When a valuable amulet that was to have been buried with their grandfather turns up in a box on the bookshelf, issues of trust spring free.  May had promised her grandfather he would be buried with the amulet and assured her sisters she had seen to it that it was. How could it be in two places at once?  Heavy drinking and abominable wagers are no strangers, leading the sisters to find out for themselves whether the amulet was in the coffin or not.  The scene that ensues with its grisly overtones counts as a daringly bold theatrical stroke.  Fortunately, the presence of alcohol opens the door for comedy to act as a relief valve; lightening the grimness of the task the sisters have undertaken.  And although it settles the question of why the amulet was found outside the coffin, it doesn’t diminish the tension and sub-surface friction between the sisters.   May’s uneasiness about how others perceive her mental state indicates she’s concerned about it too.  Carly appears ambivalent about her alcoholism.   Only Quinn, despite some backsliding, seems to have carved out a meaningful existence for herself away from her roots and family.   

Divided into three segments, seven years apart; Into The Earth With You lets us view these women at intervals far enough apart to perceive changes in their outlook and growth.  With the exception of Quinn, the tragedy rests in how little of either we’re able to notice.  Despite his oddness, Jim promised to be a resource that might facilitate progress.  Well-meaning and intuitive, despite being prone to peculiar eccentricities of expression; he’s most interested in helping May, whose fragility is a concern to all of them.  There’s hope he might provide the kind of support she needs to want to create her own life and identity.  Disparities in age and commensurate interest scuttle those prospects, leaving the story to slide into more sobering directions.   

Director Kurt Naebig discovered Into The Earth With You during an alumni gathering at Julliard and was taken by its unique approach of combining mystery, suspense, poignancy and atypical comedy to tell a compelling human story.  To heighten it’s intrigue, Watkins, who’s also creator of the series Outer Range on Amazon Prime, seductively threads his tale with the paranormal. Though very capably acted, sharing more insight into the sisters as individuals may have provided an opportunity to become more invested in them personally; in addition to their plight.  That absence doesn’t detract from the message that a family’s legacy of hurt or shame can irreparably shape destiny.

Into The Earth With You

Through June 2, 3034

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble

Venue:  Playhouse Theatre

425 Fawell Blvd.

Glen Ellyn, IL   60137