Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter

Tim Cummings and Jeff LeBeau

 By Joe Straw

Oh, we’re doing that kind of presentation. – Narrator

The Ruskin Group Theatre presents Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by John Perrin Flynn, and Produced by John Ruskin and Michael R. Myers through July 25^th, 2026.

The trailer was an intangible mess.  The door possibly sealed shut because no one went in or out and truth be told the look made one feel that no one was going to come out now or forever. Sure, there was an exit and an entrance but not through that flap and we’ll leave it at that.

She, with a capital S, had to be kept in because She was in no condition to come out.  She was having trouble. Age. After her second stroke things just went haywire what with the bill payments and personal management, and that’s when signs of life started to slowly move toward the hereafter.    

And, in life, death was all just a matter of time.

The outside of the trailer was also in shambles held together by cardboard cutouts attached to this beast to keep the warmth in or to keep the cold out.  Their trailer lifted like a prehistoric monster that seem to stretch to infinity, up and down, north and south, east or west which ever you preferred, sitting on a dry piece of darkened land near a highway in Grandeville, Idaho. (Beautiful Scenery Design by Stephanie Kerley Schwartz)

Jerry (Jeff LeBeau) her son, knew she was in trouble.  He was in well over his head if he had any sense in that Idaho brain of his.   His desire superseded his abilities necessitating a call to his younger brother Arnold (Tim Cummings), - well half-brother for help - who is now an artist living in Amsterdam.

Arnold was a sentient being when applicable, rather morose, quiet, ubiquitous and wasn’t in the mood to talk or offer any loving inflections to his older brother. He was still mad and stayed that way for the duration of his conversation. Still, there was a glimmer of hope.

Jerry gave a complimenting smile over the video, a dry smile, with just a wisp of an upturned grin. His eyes displayed another story – albeit a self-induced forgotten one - that dismissed all their history and all the trouble he was having knowing to bring it up would only incur the wrath that he knew would be coming.

And all Arnold could do was to stare into the phone, or speak to his partner in another room, and then come back with that same dry sense of worth forgetting for a moment the indissoluble alliance he had with his brother and his mother.  

Arnold said he would take care of all the medical bills, at least investigate it, to see if he could handle that medical quagmire of the hospital accounting department.  

And as the time slipped by Jerry was not forthcoming.  There was much to do, information to impart with, but that tempered relationship would be appropriated later, if that was even a possibility.  

There was a point in this production, under John Perrin Flynn’s direction where one was completely lost, for about two minutes. The dialogue of two characters supposedly Arnold and Jerry were speaking an almost incomprehensible language until the mind focused, the eyes narrowed, and one discovered that one person was a completely different character. And with the two players, in the same space, speaking to each other, this wasn’t a videoconference from thousands of miles away.

Hense: “Oh, we’re doing that kind of presentation.”

An indefinable quality that left an indelible impression and maybe a moment to be further explored. One can understand why Samuel D. Hunter, the writer, creatively chose a smelting of the minds, perhaps needing a reason of having characters become the partner of the other, to further enhance the theatrical conclusion and/or gaining another perspective within the character.  Whether the scenes are real or a figment of someone’s heightened imagination have yet to be determined.  

Those scenes are not the writer’s choice of theatrical economy but rather a reason for moving Jerry and Arnold’s relationship to a favorable outcome.  Naytheless, these scenes required a defining action that resolves the brother’s issues and propels the audience toward the end on the play.   While guided exquisitely under John Perrin Flynn’s direction perhaps another viewing is in order completely grasp a better understanding.

Samuel D Hunter’s writing is infinitely alarming and at times subtle to the tune of tearing your heart out. The brothers have got a lot of life to iron out, the brutalities, the lies, and betrayals before they can claim a personified relationship. But understanding each other’s position requires a tad more exploration.

We know how it starts and how it ends but we don’t know the intellectual mechanism that truly got them to their destination.  (Life isn’t the quick and easy answer, and theatre sends you out questioning the resolution.)  But, more than likely, the answers are in their relationship with their partners that may be the gateway to resolving Jerry and Arnold’s relationship.  

Tim Cummings (Arnold) is back on the boards after a lengthy hiatus.  It couldn’t have come at a better time. His work is fascinating, sometimes measured, in small increments, and his concentration superb. The inebriated scene wasn’t as focused and physically didn’t move the character toward his objective. Finding the answer in this scene is a tricky one. Still, the work is outstanding.

Jeff LeBeau (Jerry) conveys the weight of the world on his shoulders. Aside from his mother, and the trouble she’s having, he must make up to his brother, something that he is not willing to do.  Perhaps this might make an uneducated Idaho man weak and injudicious. There’s too much to be forgiven. Jerry’s way, although misbegotten, is his way. LeBeau’s Netherland accent as Bram was terrific and his manner on stage was exquisite.

Stephanie Kerley Schwartz’s costume design sets the dark somber moods throughout the play giving us a glimmer of hope throughout the darkness.

Keith Stevenson, sound designer, provides excellent sound of cars traveling along a stretch of highway.  

The trailer plays a significant role and exemplifies myriad ideas of confined human sufferings. Whether it is intentional or a figment of one’s imagination one can’t say.

A lot to time, money, and effort went in to create this production and it could not have happened without the creative team listed below.

Nicole Millar – Production Stage Manager

Dan Weingarten – Lighting Designer

Deirdre O’Connor – Assistant Stage Manager

Jan Bryant & Dan Speaker – Stunt / Fight Coordinator

Ryan Wilson, Drew Wilson, Jeff Pratner & Nick Yusi – Set Builders

Jenny Flack & Samatha Reynolds – Scenic Painter

Tuffet Schmelzle – Dialect Coach

Judith Borne – Publicist

Amelia Mulkey Anderson – Graphic Designer & Photographer

The new Ruskin Theatre is a wonderful space.  On location are two beautiful theatres and one doesn’t hear the airplanes flying overhead from the small airport across the street.  The theatre is a couple of buildings west of their old location and there is plenty of free parking.

Los Angeles needs its theatre arts and supporting The Ruskin Group is one way for the community to thrive with theatrical presentations. Just follow the link https://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com/ for additional information and please make a recurring donation.