Vigil, a play at the Pillsbury House Theatre

The Pillsbury House Theatre production of VIGIL, by Morris Panych Featuring: Shirley Venard and Steve Hendrickson. Photo 2010 © Michal Daniel

Pillsbury House Theatre opened the final production of their 2010 season, a crafty and winning play by Morris Panych. Vigil’s premise is simple enough: Kemp (Steve Hendrickson) is called to his dying aunt’s side, but it is clear that death is not as imminent as Kemp would like. He talks to her, however, as if she is dying and in his frustration goes so far as to clumsily attempt to hurry her along.

Hendrickson, carrying the play in what is essentially a monologue, skillfully reveals facets of Kemp’s character, allowing the story to unfold and stop, unfold and stop. These mini-scenes are punctuated by quick fades to a ghost light that focuses on one piece of physical information – the clock, the phonograph, the empty birdcage, the lamp. This technique allows Hendrickson to cut cleanly from one point in time to another, as the weeks drift by, seasons change and little else does. Except that Kemp’s unhappy life is filling up the small room, one painful detail at a time, as he unloads a lifetime of hurts on the still mute Grace (Shirley Venard).

“I didn’t think anyone cared about me,” Kemp says. “Turns out nobody even thought of me.” It shouldn’t be funny, but it really is. Hendrickson is just plain wonderful.

What might have been just an acerbic rant becomes a serendipitous and life-changing turn of fortune. As an audience we readily hold out for some kind of a satisfactory resolution for Kemp, even though it’s hard to imagine him accepting any beauty in his life. The miracle of the play is that he does, proving once again that the heart of a successful piece of fiction is when the best thing that could happen turns out to be the worst, and the worst turns out to be the best. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen more effective use of a “smoking gun” device.

With little to say, Venard, for her part, must rely on perfectly executed bits of business to string the audience along on this somewhat preposterous tale that we are oh so willing to buy into. She is absolutely charming.

This is what a great night at the theater is all about – a clever play, beautifully done. If you don’t know it, the main stage is a cozy space inside the larger Pillsbury United Communities building – well suited for an intimate play like Vigil. It runs through October 17.