Goodman Theatre presents TWILIGHT BOWL Review: Beauty in the Everyday

JAYCEE

"Because you never know. What life is gonna hold."

CLARICE

"Except – you kinda do." (Rebecca Gilman, Twilight Bowl)

It is the end of the play, and Jaycee and Clarice share a somber moment looking back at how the last few years have played out for the two of them, brought to life with heartfelt honesty by the two actors. They stand in the bowling alley/bar that has seen so many moments between these two friends. While the space looks exactly the same, the two women will forever be different. In these concluding two lines, the playwright creates the perfect conclusion to her story. Over the course of the play, Rebecca Gilman asks those questions: Is life handed to us? Or is our journey based on the choices that we make? One can never really know, and that ambiguity carries us right up until the end.

Goodman Theatre presents World Premiere of Twilight Bowl

Written by Gilman and directed by Erica Weiss, the story follows five young women from a small town in Wisconsin. While Sam (Becca Savoy) seems to have her life laid out for her with a scholarship to Ohio State University, her cousin, Jaycee (Heather Chrisler) has fallen into a different life, and about to do time in jail as a result. Clarice (Hayley Burgess) is just trying to make ends meet, and while Sharlene (Anne E. Thompson) has found her comfort in her church, Brielle (Mary Taylor, with brilliant dead-pan humor) is still trying to figure out what path is right for her. All friends who have barely seen life outside of this small town, and about to figure out what adult life might have in store for them.

Rebecca Gilman’s script is thought-provoking, inviting the audience to consider the deep questions she lays before us. How do we account for the different paths our lives may take? Is it luck that allows some of these women better choices than others? How much agency do we have, or are we expected to just take what life hands us? Full of wit and care, Gilman’s slice of life kind of play offers a window into the lives of these women, but subtly urges us to consider all sides as we witness the paths that they take.

Skillfully Crafted

From the moment the lights come up, we are inside the local, family-owned bowling alley and bar. Set Designer Regina Garcia creates a stunningly detailed room in this writer’s opinion, complete with bar taps that release beer and soda. The bar itself takes up the stage, and a collaboration with Lighting Designer Cat Wilson allows for added depth with the far hallway that would feed off into the “bowling alley” itself, complete with flashing or glow lights, depending on the theme of the night. The room is so detailed that it feels as if the audience is observing the story through a window, which heightens the intimate feel of Gilman’s play.

While time passes in the story, the entire play takes place inside this one room, which allows the audience to better understand how the years have taken their toll on the characters. The room itself never changes, much as the small town. The bowling alley offers a meeting point for major occasions in the girls’ lives. It is place for celebration, as we see in the beginning with Jaycee’s going-away party, and towards the end with an event in Sam’s honor. We see how Clarice continues to find a semblance of comfort in the space, and also how the other characters fight back when Maddy (Angela Morris), a friend of Sam’s from school who stems from a more privileged place of wealth, enters the space with a very different world view. Like many small towns, this one in Wisconsin seems to fear change, and Gilman and Weiss’ artistic team physicalize that trait in the bowling alley, that further emphasizes how these women change over the course of the story.

Masterful Directing and Storytelling

A play that lives so much in the naturalistic realm could risk becoming slow, but Weiss skillfully builds a rhythm and pacing that kept this writer hooked from start to finish, curious to see how the events would unfold. While much of the storytelling lives in a darker place, Gilman includes a light-hearted humor that allows for a much-needed release, and is brought to life by a strong ensemble.

A prime example occurs in the very first scene, when Sam, Clarice, and Sharlene gather to say goodbye to Jaycee before she goes to prison the following morning. The fear of the impending unknown casts a shadow over the scene, but that does not stop the girls from laughing about memories involving Jaycee over the years. None of them quite know how to handle the situation, but do know that in this current moment, it is important for them to say goodbye to their friend. Weiss works the pacing of these scene with the perfect amount of awkwardness thrown into a relationship that is clearly comfortable, and the four showcase a mastery over their comedic timing that feels completely natural and relatable.

Heartfelt storytelling and masterful performances make Twilight Bowl a story to remember, highlighting the important beauty of the everyday.

Goodman Theatre presents TWILIGHT BOWL Review: Beauty in the Everyday

If there are no Goldstar Discounts when you click above, make sure to check the Goodman Theatre website to find out the full-price ticket availability.

Goodman Theatre presents World Premiere of Twilight Bowl

Skillfully Crafted

Masterful Directing and Storytelling

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If there are no Goldstar Discounts when you click above, make sure to check the Goodman Theatre website to find out the full-price ticket availability.

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