There\u2019s something utterly tender about a play where characters don\u2019t actually talk to each other, but spend most of their time searching for the courage to strike up conversations that just might might change, or even save, their lives.<\/p>\n
In Keith Bunin\u2019s delightfully expressive play \u201cThe Coast Starlight,\u201d now running at San Jose Stage, six people randomly enter the northbound train that originates from Los Angeles on the way to Seattle, hopping on within a diverse series of train stops, centering around one traveler in particular.<\/p>\n
The ride begins with T.J. (Braeden Harris) who is harboring a secret involving an escape from his military service. Immediately, he is in contact with young sketch artist Jane (Storm White), who\u2019s on her way to Seattle to visit her boyfriend, whom she may or may not want to break up with. In rapid succession, four others pop into the friendly quarters of the coach car; Noah (Terrance Austin Smith) is on the way to visit his ailing mother; Liz (Charlotte Boyce Munson) is a ball of fire freshly freed from a couple\u2019s retreat in Monterey County; Ed (Joel Roster), a connoisseur of mid-budget hotels, flexing his bonafides as one of Gilroy\u2019s best customers; and Anna (Rinabeth Apostol), making a final solemn trek for her brother.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Hayley Clark, making her San Jose Stage directorial debut, resourcefully keeps things interesting. Coach seats morph into whatever configuration is needed comes for maximum effect, focusing on the performer who controls the space at any given moment. Characters often represent many levels of ruefulness, which informs incoming bouts of nostalgia while dealing with life\u2019s uncertainty.<\/p>\n
The brilliance of Bunin\u2019s play is that so little of it is rooted in actual interactions. Characters look longingly at the targets of their desires, often wishing that the unsaid was actually said. Was life-changing love left on the table? Could one have unlocked another\u2019s mystery?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all constructed in a way that makes the tone feel somewhat sad, informed by some of the missions of these characters. We sit and hope for what each character can do for another; if only they can say to each other what they say to the audience.<\/p>\n
This is not to say the play is 95 minutes of melancholy. The ensemble is full of individual and collective brilliance. Munson is a terrific burst of fresh air, enlivening the coach car with humor built from relationship foibles. Roster imbues his Ed with a sort of goofball persona, delightfully recalling his many hotel adventures after some drunken discomfort. And Apostol is a pro\u2019s pro, the last to enter the train, ensuring Anna gives a mother\u2019s wisdom to a scared and conflicted T.J.<\/p>\n
The presence of Smith is all about forcing T.J. into tough decisions, as T.J. contemplates some military taboos. Smith makes sure that Noah is authoritative, commanding attention with a soft heart.<\/p>\n
The play revolves around T.J., and Harris is certainly up to the task of staying in the moment for the duration, never leaving the stage. Harris plays thoughtful and pensive effectively, embracing the hypothetical advice that everyone provides T.J.<\/p>\n
White\u2019s understanding of what\u2019s in her midst is the most painful. If she actually said to T.J. what was verbalized elsewhere, her delightful little sketch could have had greater implications. This kind of care amongst all of these characters is what gives the play its humanistic magic.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing fancy about a big, square screen that sits upstage of the circular playing area, but the subtlety in which the images and mood flows through the screen greatly enhance the storytelling. Giulio Cesare Perrone\u2019s scenic design, coupled with Erik Scanlon\u2019s video projections provide such stunning and crisp images, slowly morphing from one reality to another.<\/p>\n
One of the prettiest moment\u2019s in the play is when Liz offers to buy a round of drinks for her fellow passengers, a simple gesture that speaks to a bigger metaphor. There\u2019s something profoundly beautiful about presenting an opportunity to build community, even better when others accept the generosity.<\/p>\n
If only these folks had said to each other what was truly on their minds, the internal care they shared for each other could have had external ramifications. It could have ensured that they would have had actual drinks in a bar somewhere at one of the many train stops the Coast Starlight offers, yet longing ultimately became their lonely substitute.<\/p>\n
David John Ch\u00e1vez is a former chair of the American Theatre Critics\/Journalists Association, a 2020 O\u2019Neill National Critics Institute fellow, and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2022-23). @davidjchavez.bsky.social<\/p>\n
\u2018THE COAST STARLIGHT\u2019<\/p>\n
By Keith Bunin, presented by San Jose Stage Company<\/p>\n
Through: April 26<\/p>\n
Where: San Jose Stage, 490 S. 1st St., San Jose<\/p>\n
Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission<\/p>\n
Tickets: $49-$74; thestage.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s something utterly tender about a play where characters don\u2019t actually talk to each other, but spend most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[967,971,88,90,89,1058,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-261312","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-lifestyle","10":"tag-san-jose","11":"tag-san-jose-headlines","12":"tag-san-jose-news","13":"tag-theater","14":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}