Haunted exposes the complexities of human connections

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      By Daniel Karasik. Directed by Katrina Dunn. A Touchstone Theatre production, presented by the Chutzpah Festival. At the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre on Wednesday, February 27. Continues until March 3

      What if the people we love don’t share our beliefs?

      That’s the question at the heart of Haunted. Playwright Daniel Karasik won the 2011 Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition for this script, and its premiere production is handsome and affecting, though not all its emotions ring true.

      Abby’s husband died a year ago, and she has sought consolation by attending synagogue after a long absence. In the opening scene, she reveals an ulterior motive: she has the hots for the young “rookie rabbi”, David. When she invites him home, David counters with an offer of old-fashioned—and chaste—courtship.

      Meanwhile, Abby’s adult daughter, Sarah, has recently emerged from the cocoon of her grief. The catalyst, she reveals to her girlfriend, Raina, is a series of visits from her dead father. Raina freaks out. So does Abby.

      Maybe I’ve been living on the West Coast for too long, but I was mystified by the intensity of their reactions. Raina’s a volunteer grief counsellor: she’s never come across people who feel the presence of their dead loved ones? Nothing else about Sarah’s behaviour seems erratic, so this strand of the play doesn’t hold much tension.

      More interesting are the conflicting desires that bring Abby and David together. David longs to satisfy Abby’s hunger for physical comfort, but it’s at odds with his commitment to his faith. Karasik’s dialogue beautifully and economically captures the push and pull of their needs. He also slips in some terrific one-liners: “I have a thing for redemption,” David admits. “I probably should have been a Christian.”

      Under Katrina Dunn’s direction, the leads in this quartet are perfectly matched: Patrick Sabongui brings warmth, wisdom, and a gentle authority to David, and Kerry Sandomirsky finds emotional nuance in the simplest lines as the bereft Abby. Carmel Amit’s Sarah tends toward the presentational, with exaggerated hand gestures and a gaze into the middle distance; her performance is strongest when she relaxes into playfulness. Kayla Deorksen feels somewhat stiff as Raina, the least developed character.

      The production looks gorgeous, thanks to Pam Johnson’s translucent all-white set, beautifully lit by Adrian Muir. Costume designer Sydney Cavanagh gives Abby the most styling widow’s garb I’ve ever seen, and Jeff McMahan’s sound design underscores the emotions of the play without ever overwhelming them.

      Nothing about those emotions is simple or straightforward. Haunted explores, and ultimately celebrates, the complexities of human connection, and that’s something to be thankful for.

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