“Next Fall” illuminates the lives of same-sex couples
MARSHALL, Mich.–The Supreme Court ruling making same-sex marriage the law of the land changed a lot of things, most especially for same-sex couples. Heart-breaking issues that had plagued couples for years were suddenly solved and the evolving culture of the country was finally validated by the state.
The issues that couples used to have to struggle with are highlighted in Geoffrey Nauffts’ drama “Next Fall,” in which Luke’s sudden freak accident that plunges him into a coma leaves his partner, Adam, without any rights to see him, especially since Luke was not “out” to his conservative Christian family. Watching the play on its opening Thursday night was a reminder of just how much was changed by that Supreme Court ruling.
“Next Fall” is being performed at Great Escape Stage Company in Marshall. The intimate theater explores the role religion plays in the lives of a gay couple, especially where one member thinks that being gay is a sin. Nauffts brings up many sensitive issues and handles them well without resorting to easy slogans or memes. He tackles what happens when partners are kept from each other in the hospital, when families don’t know about their children’s sexual orientation and how religion and belief affects everyone.
It’s a powerful script—it opened in 2009 and was nominated for Drama Desk Awards and Tony Awards—and the story is deeply moving. On opening night, the performances were uneven, detracting a little from the show, but by the end, the audience was deeply affected and the show had its intended effect.
Two of the strongest performances are right where they need to be—in the parts of the two lead actors, Alan Larkheed as Adam, the older, atheist member of the couple and James Sheahan as Luke, the younger, devout believer of the couple. Because of the way the play spins through time, starting in the present and then moving back over the course of the five years of their relationship, the audience knows where things end up. This makes their relationship all the more powerful and heart breaking.
Larkheed and Sheahan have fantastic charisma, realistically selling that they are a loving gay couple. Their interactions are intimate and familiar and they make it clear the two are devoted to each other. They develop a familiarity that makes it obvious they are family, even if they are not legally so.
Larkheed carries some of the heaviest burden of this show, going back and forth between the past and present. In the present, he is heavy with grief and simmers with an anger just below the surface that he is being kept from his lover, and that the usually distant out-of-state family is getting to make all the decisions. All of the tension he had with Luke over religion threatens to bubble over in the waiting room with his father and mother.
In the past, Larkheed creates a layered character who struggles with existential questions but cannot bring himself to surrender to the religion of his partner. It is constantly beyond his understanding, and Lake lets us see the longing Adam has to understand, yet remain authentic to himself. It is an intimate theater, and the audience is up close to each of the actors. Larkheed shed real tears at crucial moments, tears that conveyed strong emotion in each scene and brought the audience into his mourning.
Sheahan provided a nice contrast to Larkheed not just in body type and physicality, but in the way he delivered lines. He was charismatic and sincere, picking up on cues quickly and delivering lines clearly and with appropriate power.
Joining this pair in turning in a strong performance was Gail Snyder as Arlene, Luke’s mother. She was wacky and eccentric, full of energy that could switch from comedic to tragic as demanded by the script. She plays each scene well and brought variety to the production.
Kyra Hill as Holly, friend to Luke and Adam, and Antonio Barroso as Brandon, Luke’s straight-laced, religious friend, both struggle vocally. Given how near the audience is, there should be no issues with projection, but they often dropped the ends of lines and left crucial words unable to be heard.
Max Hardy plays Butch, the redneck, wealthy father. It is one of the more challenging and complex roles. It would be easy to play it as a stereotype, but Hardy seems committed to bringing more to the role. He is bluff and offensive, but there is clearly a side of him that loves his son, even if he can’t accept him. He makes complex choices, creating a father that the audience couldn’t simply write off as the “bad guy.”
Randy Lake’s scenic design allowed for multiple settings in the Great Escape’s tight space. It works well to have a hospital-like curtain separating the waiting room and the elevated portion of the stage that would act as a rooftop and two different apartments. It is also effective to have the raised stage, allowing the waiting room to stay in place. There are a few scene changes that feel clunky and take too long, but the set works for the demands placed on it.
Sam Jones’ lighting design helps to underscore the emotional arc of the piece, especially in the waiting room, where spots and fades are used to great effect.
Director Gayland Spaulding mines this play for its emotional depths. With the exception of the long scene changes, the pacing is strong, moving quickly in most scenes only to slow down and allow the audience to feel the impact of the play’s emotional moments.
It’s a moving show, and if some of it is now dated by last year’s Supreme Court ruling, it is at least a powerful reminder of why that decision was so important and of some of the real-life issues of same-sex couples.