Go Home Come Back at Plan-B Theatre

I was so excited to see Plan-B Theatre's production of Go Home Come Back in the Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts last night because the playwright is my dear friend (and former colleague) Darryl Stamp. It is a heartwarming and humorous take on second chances and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will (Calbert Beck) and James (Lonzo Liggins) find themselves in a waiting room of sorts with no explanation of where they are or how they came to be there. There are flashbacks to when Will met his future wife Janice (Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin) and to an awkward encounter between James and his estranged daughter Monica (Marilyn Melissa Salguero) as well as periodic announcements (thanking them for their patience which is, rather amusingly, repeated in Spanish) over an intercom.  They are eventually directed to enter to an office where they each meet Llecenia (Kris Wing Peterson), the replacement for the retired St. Peter. It turns out that both Will and James have recently died but, in a new promotion called "Go home come back," they have each been given the opportunity to go home for an hour before they return for permanent placement. Will uses his time to make sure Janice knows how much he loves her while James attempts to make amends for being an absentee father to Monica. There is a thought-provoking twist when they once again find themselves back in the waiting room. I loved so many things about this show! Heaven is portrayed as a corporation and it is a lot of fun, especially all of the references to marketing, but I also found Llecenia's final monologue about loving her job because of all of the happy reunions she gets to witness to be especially comforting after recently losing both of my parents. I also found it hilarious that, despite some questionable behavior in his past, Will is granted a place in Heaven because he taught middle school for ten years and I found it incredibly poignant that the ne'er-do-well James is offered a chance at redemption. The cast is wonderful (I was particularly impressed with the chemistry between Beck and Darby-Duffin), the simple set in the intimate space is highly effective, and the lighting is very dramatic (especially the pillar of light as the characters move from the waiting room to the office). This is such a lovely play (my audience responded very favorably) and I would definitely recommend getting a ticket but, unfortunately, all of the remaining performances are sold out!

Note:  Darryl also curated a playlist of music for the show which can be heard before it begins.  I especially liked "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads.