My overall impression
Earlier today I reviewed a Fringe show and spent 3 sentences to essentially say “It did nothing for me. I left the theater unchanged in any way.”
I’m awfully glad I prioritized seeing “Gentle Passage” yesterday. It destroyed me. During one specific scene change I burst into an audible sob, then somehow held it together (likely so I wouldn’t miss any details) until the very end. The curtain call. Lights down and I lost it.
I couldn’t control myself, sobbing all the way back to Fringe Central Station. A friend there understood immediately that all I needed was someone to listen (ironic considering the structure of the play) and a huge hug. I just needed to share this experience somehow.
A little more objectively, I also enjoyed how the character who typically just acts as catalyst began the play and made us care about her but also understand the lens through which she views this Alzheimer’s patient. Her slight perking at the subtle indications he may have ADD (her specialty) but called “retarded” by his father was just one of the ways this piece yanks your guts right out of your system.
Sometimes life is just fucked up and nice people come out of bruised and almost okay. It’s easy until you remember how the bruises got there.
