‘On the Mountain’ peaks in SCR premiere

Tom Titus

There is a moment, in the second act of Christopher Shinn’s “On the

Mountain,” now in its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, when

the play’s leading actress -- the remarkable Susannah Schulman --

grabs her audience by the heart and clings for dear life as years of

past indiscretions and casual romances rise up to torment her. And

we, breathlessly, share her agony.

“On the Mountain” takes a subject most identifiable to youthful

audiences -- the Seattle grunge music scene of the early 1990s -- and

makes it not only palatable but captivating to older audiences whose

appreciation of rock ‘n’ roll expired when The Beatles disbanded.

This is due largely to the superbly personal direction of Mark

Rucker, who elicits extraordinary interpretations of four quite

ordinary characters.

Shinn’s play is set in 2003, a decade after the suicide of Nirvana

frontman Kurt Cobain, and incorporates a Cobain-like character as a

hovering specter in the background, a musical guru to a now-grown

generation struggling to live down its past follies. Schulman’s

character, the mother of a teenage daughter by the aforementioned

icon, ekes out a living as a waitress who’s been sober for a dozen

years while trying to steer her daughter away from the same

unfortunate choices she once made.

So far, however, young Jaime (Daisy Eagan) is heading down the

same rocky path. She’s a heavy smoker -- placed by her psychiatrist

on Prozac -- who uses a night at home alone for some serious binging,

but surprisingly sympathetic, as drawn by Shinn and magnified by

Eagan. Jaime displays some serious talent for writing, even though

her prose is incomprehensible to her mother.

Enter a potential love interest for Mom -- Nathan Baesel in an

earnest, agreeable performance of a disarmingly duplicitous character

-- who maintains a special reverence for Jaime’s late father. Baesel

and Schulman conduct a most sensitive, believable courtship, which

makes their eventual parting a disappointment for all concerned.

Baesel is especially believable in his demonstration of concern for

Jaime -- which renders his final act all the more incomprehensible.

Schulman is magnificent as she displays her character’s

love-starved vulnerability -- she makes the first move with Baesel,

just as she does later with Matt Roth, a guy she meets in an

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting (even though he’s dealing with a heroin

addiction). Her aching desire for committed romance is outpaced only

by her overwhelming involvement in Jaime’s welfare.

There is a scene between mother and daughter, which precedes the

aforementioned wrenching moment, that gives a new meaning to the

phrase “tough love.” Both Schulman and Eagen are brilliant in their

interpretations of filial, and physical, angst.

The living room and backyard Portland, Ore., setting is

beautifully realized by Donna Marquet, abetted nicely by Rand Ryan’s

lighting effects. And, fortunately, the moments of ear-splitting

“now” music are few and far between.

Christopher Shinn, still shy of 30 when “On the Mountain” was

written, is emerging as a playwright of insight and magnitude. His

next work will be eagerly anticipated.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.