What I liked
A thoughtful and occasionally surprising look at the transition of a little boy to young man all the way through to early middle age, played very well by Tristan Meyers (the kid), Richard Page (young adult) and Wade Oxford whose character as Pastor Linus wraps the essence of the show around his shoulders.
Tristan is very effective, portraying an abused kid, whose little seen mother, played in horrifying, occasionally loving manner, by Christine Viviers (who also subbed in the role of Ava, a larger role, which by necessity had her reading the script when the actress normally playing the part took ill).
Richard Page appears to have a slightly larger role as the middle Linus, who tries so hard to escape the damage done to his psyche by his mother during visits to sex worker Lily, played charmingly by an often sweet Julia Linger. His escapades, extremely well portrayed, through fantasy and flights of madness, lead him to his ultimate goal when he meets a caring chaplain played by Leslie Foumberg.
When Linus grows into middle age as an award-winning church leader he helps Ava, a young woman break away from a savage marriage and is then confronted by his one-time love, an older Lily, portrayed in strong dramatic fashion by Linda Nile, who reveals some damning news. Through all this, Wade Oxford displays a kind gentility, which on occasion is subject to explosive dark moods.
Directed by Stephen Juhl, who has in past seasons led several Fringe productions, the pacing is mostly good with clever use of the limited space and he creatively moves the actors in and out with brisk inventiveness.
The author, Aditya Putcha, who also produced, weaves his plots forward and backwards with occasional lightness, but has mostly crafted increasing, sometimes frightening, tension.
What I didn't like
I think the play started to drag somewhat when older Lily enters, as the reveals are repeated and the ultimate conclusion, while a bit surprising, loses some of its bite, even as we’re not sure what the future holds. I would trim that last section, cutting ten minutes or so, in order to end with a satisfying bang.
My overall impression
Mostly liked and increasingly inventive.
