The entirely student-run production will explore the complexity of grief through thought-provoking dialogue and humor.
Rabbit Hole is an amazing show that explores grief and the healing process from traumatic events... It isn’t necessarily a pretty process, but it’s very real and deals with true human emotions.
— Elliot Harrell ’20, director and theatre major
Theatre Fairfield, ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp’s resident production company, kicks off the New Year with four performances of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Rabbit Hole. The entirely student-run production will be performed on campus at the Wien Experimental Theatre in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, on Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $18 general admission, $5 for students, and $10 for seniors; they can be purchased in person at the Quick Center Box Office, by phone at (203) 254-4019, or online at The production is made possible by the Jamie Hulley Arts Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that provides educational and career development opportunities in the arts.
Filled with humor, emotion, and thought-provoking dialogue, Rabbit Hole explores the complexity of grief and the different ways people deal with it. The play opens eight months after the death of Becca and Howie Corbett’s four-year-old son, who is tragically killed in a car accident. The heart-wrenching loss threatens to pull the couple apart, as they grieve in different ways and suffer misunderstanding after misunderstanding. Toss in Becca’s frivolous younger sister, Izzy, who announces a surprise pregnancy, and their mother Nat, who says all the wrong things at the wrong times, and the Corbetts are left with the perfect recipe for family strife.
“Rabbit Hole is an amazing show that explores grief and the healing process from traumatic events. It isn’t necessarily a pretty process, but it’s very real and deals with true human emotions,” said theatre major and Rabbit Hole director Elliot Harrell ’20. “I feel lucky to have a cast and crew so dedicated to making my vision for this production come through.”
Rabbit Hole is being presented as part of Theater Fairfield’s Independent Play Project, an annual University tradition in which theatre students have two weeks to produce a full-scale stage production without faculty assistance. This year, the students have elected to donate the play’s ticket proceeds to Good Grief, a regional nonprofit that echoes the themes presented in the play by providing support programs, advocacy, and education to families dealing with grief.
The cast of Rabbit Hole features Paul Bova ‘20, Bradd Cyr ‘20, Martha Hegley ‘20, Emily Ramsey ‘20, and Fallon Sullivan ’20, and is co-produced by Sullivan, Ramsey, and Harrell. The production’s artistic team also includes lighting designer Samantha Millette ’20, props designer Fallon Sullivan ’20, costume designer Emily Ramsey ’20, and set designer Kiersten Bjork ’21.
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