Bridging the generation gap

It’s funny how stories which might seem unremarkable if they were spooled out in a traditionally chronological manner take on resonance and intrigue when they unfold backward, giving the audience a peek into the past. It turns spectators into detectives and archaeologists, searching for that satisfying “aha!” moment when the puzzle pieces click together and they gain insights into how characters and their circumstances came to be. Such is the case with Richard Greenberg’s “Three Days of Rain,” on stage now at the Dragon Theatre.

The family dramedy is, sadly, the last production with director and Dragon founder Meredith Hagedorn at the helm of the theater company, and, happily, exemplifies the type of high-quality, smart, often time-and-mind-bending shows Hagedorn has championed during her tenure.

The play is set in the same New York apartment in 1995 (Act 1) and 1960 (Act 2). In the first act, Tasi Alabastro, Katie O’Bryon Champlin and Robert Sean Campbell play siblings Walker and Nan Janeway and family friend Pip Wexler. In the second, this same three-person crew portrays the parents of the former (Ned and Lina) and the father of the latter (Theo). Shows in which actors play multiple parts are always impressive when done well, which is definitely the case here.

The action set in the ’90s takes place following the death of Ned, when Walker, Nan and Pip gather for the reading of his will, which includes finding out who will take ownership of Janeway House, the landmark home he designed decades go, along with his architectural partner, the long-deceased Theo. Nan is practical, reliable and competent while younger brother Walker is loveable and smart but unstable and prone to disappearing. Easygoing Pip is an optimistic and sweet sort who enjoys his life as a successful, if mediocre, soap-opera actor. The three have a lifetime of emotional baggage connected with their relationships to each other and to their parents. In Walker and Nan’s experience, their father was a distant, taciturn man who didn’t bond strongly with either of them, while to fatherless Pip he was a kindly, avuncular figure. Lina, Ned’s ex-wife and Nan and Walker’s mother, is described as mentally ill and a generally unfit wife and parent, prone to hysterical breakdowns.

Walker has discovered his father’s long-lost journal, dating back 35 years, and is pouring over it with the hope of gaining insights, only to be bemused that Ned’s reticence with words apparently extended to his writing as well, noting that the first entry, written not long before he and Theo became hugely successful architects, reports, simply, “three days of rain.”

It’s a pleasurable audience experience to see these same capable actors transform in the second act into not only characters quite different from the ones they first portray but also somewhat familiar to us through the words of their children. Each of the 1960 characters stands in sharp contrast to the same actors’ 1995 counterparts. In contrast to ramble-prone Walker, Alabastro’s gentle Ned is painfully shy, plagued by a stammer and lacking confidence in his role as a budding architect. Unlike happy-go-lucky Pip, Theo is ambitious, hot-headed and desperate to live up to the “genius” label he’s committed himself to. And seemingly opposite to cool, collected Nan, Lina is a fast-talking, no-filter Southerner who, while charming and clever, shows some foreshadowing of the emotional and mental troubles to come. And yes, we will learn a bit more about those mysterious “three days of rain.”

It’s often difficult for children, no matter how old, to recognize that their parents had identities and lives before and apart from their existence, and, though the older generation no doubt did plenty of damage to their offspring, there’s compassion for both sides here.

Greenberg’s wordy script is peppered with high-brow references and, with its tale of self-pitying, privileged New Yorkers, could, in the wrong hands, become dull or grating. The Dragon’s production, though, is energetic and sharp. The actors not only bring their characters to life despite the wordy dialogue but also in the pauses in between, their every facial expression and body tic in service of their roles. Alabastro is especially wonderful as both the black-sheepish, wild child Walker and his thoughtful, reserved father. I hope very much to be seeing more of him in future productions.

Nathanael Card’s scenic design effectively shows the Janeway apartment in its rather neglected ’90s state as well as it’s considerably more lively ’60s form, as well as a nice on-stage, titular rainstorm.

While we in the local theater community will be sad to see Hagedorn exit as artistic director (she’ll be replaced by the husband-and-wife team of Alika Spencer-Koknar and Bora “Max” Koknar, familiar faces and names to Dragon patrons), “Three Days of Rain” is a fittingly high note to end on.

What: “Three Days of Rain.”

Where: Dragon Productions Theatre Company, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City.

When: Through June 17; Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.

Cost: $27-$35 (discounted tickets sometimes available; check with box office).

Info: Go to Dragon Theatre.