The Fourth Walsh

A Red Orchid Theatre presents the World Premiere of THE CAVE.

Playwright Sadieh Rifai tells the tale of a Palestinian-American family facing internal and external conflicts at home. Rifai sets the story in the days leading up to the first Gulf War. The family has moved into an Ohio gated community after a tragic incident in their Las Vegas hometown.The lifestyle shift brings additional strife. While Bonnie (played by the always fierce Kirsten Fitzgerald) is fretting about their precocious daughters, nosy neighbors and lack of money, her husband Jamil (played by H. Adoni Esho) is preoccupied with his Muslim roots and the local mosque. As global turmoil escalates, the cultural conflict gets personal when Bonnie and Jamil become suspicious of each other.

THE CAVE is promoted as a thriller. Projected vintage media news clips are weaved into scene transitions. Although the reports of duress intensify, the drama at home doesn’t match the pre-war danger level. Characters’ interactions are more angsty than terrifying. Act 1, Rifai often makes playful choices in introducing her characters. The dialogue is smart and under the direction of Alex Mallory feels authentic. The family pulls us into their individual struggles to establish community and identity.   

In Act 2, Rifai ambitiously heaps in side stories that often entertain yet distract from the main message. The busybody next door (played by Ashley Neal) brings up a Sally Field’s movie. Dema (played by Aaliyah Montana) interviews her intense uncle (played by Guy Van Swearingen) about the Viet Nam War. The grandparents (played by John Judd and Natalie West) make a quirky and hilarious visit. All these encounters feel like mismatched threads not clearly weaved into the story. Even with flickering lights and muffled whispering, any tension is broken by a surplus of these amusements and disturbances. At one point instead of focusing on the plot, I can’t stop thinking ‘who is this random guy in a suit with a bloody nose?’    

Although Rifai had a lot to say in THE CAVE, it was hard to hear in all the noise.   

Running Time: Two hours and twenty-four minutes includes an intermission

At A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells

Written by Sadieh Rifai

Directed by Alex Mallory

Performances are:

Thursdays and Fridays at 7pm

Saturdays at 3pm and 7pm

Sundays at 3pm   

Thru March 16

For more information or tickets

Production photos by Evan Hanover

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