Alone Together Again

Courtesy the Avle C-T, of course...
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FLAT ROCK — Flat Rock Playhouse’s “Alone Together Again” features several of the theater’s most popular older actors in a sweet story that has the ring of truth.

The comedy starts off almost like a Viagra commercial with Helena (Kate Konigisor) and her husband, George (Stewart Gregory), relishing their newfound status as “empty nesters.” The couple’s grown sons have finally left home, so Helena and George are intent on enjoying their time together free from constant attention to child rearing.

This burgeoning midlife bliss is punctured suddenly by the unexpected arrival of Helena’s curmudgeonly father, “Pop” (Ralph Redpath), who announces he is taking a “trial separation” from his wife of more than 50 years. Then comes Helena’s mother, Ruth (Barbara Bradshaw), with a big bag of his medications and instructions on how to administer them.

Finally, George’s mother, Grace (Jane Bushway), announces she’s going to stay a few days while her house is being fumigated.

George and Helena suddenly feel they are indeed the “sandwich generation” squeezed between the needs of their children and their parents.

Lawrence Roman’s script starts off slowly, but the second half resolves everything in a way that is quite satisfying and strikes a chord with almost anyone who has dealt with family responsibilities.

Any production that has veteran actors like Redpath, Bradshaw and Bushway is bound to be a crowd-pleaser, and Konigisor and Gregory are charming as the middle-age couple wanting to cut loose and enjoy life at last.

“Alone Together” is a change of pace from the big musicals that preceded and follow it at Flat Rock, but this little gem is worth a look.

Tim Reid review theater for the Citizen-Times. He can be contacted at timreid4@charter.net.