Jamie Virostko’s The Outskirts of Paradise, in its world premiere production at
the Met Theatre, is an interesting and well acted slice of modern rural Midwest
life.

Alice and Joe (Bibi Tinsley and Brad Henson) have been married for 30 years
with two grown children, Ellen (Royana Black), a lawyer, and Jason (Warren
McCullough), a special ed teacher. Alice was a pregnant 17-year-old on her
wedding day, and though she and Joe “had to” get married, they have
become a devoted, though sometimes querulous couple. Alice is frequently
visited by the ghost of her well-coifed mother (Teddy Vincent), and both Joe
and she are visited by Joe’s very much alive (though she constantly claims to
be dying) mom (Carolyn Freppel). Finally, there is a hunky repairman (Darrell
Bryan) who gets Alice’s juices a bubblin’ over the course of a Memorial Day
weekend.

Virostko captures the complexities of her characters as well as their speech
patterns; “goddamn” seems to be their favorite adjective though the “F”
word is a close second in Act 2. This is a world far removed from urban Los
Angeles, with its frequent thunderstorms and relatively monotonous lives
(though quite a bit does transpire in the course of the weekend).

Tinsley (Dancing With The Bad Man) is one of the best actresses around, and
her Alice is a woman both accustomed to and frustrated by  her Midwest life.
Henson has the kind of power/sweetness that characterized John Goodman’s
work on Roseanne in a similar role.  Black is powerful and charismatic in the role
of the adult daughter, and McCullough is a real find.  Freppel is a hoot as
Henson’s deaf but talkative/complaining mother, and Bryan (who also did
sound design and wrote original music for the production) generates heat (no
wonder Tinsley’s character finds him attractive).  Vincent has good moments
as a chatty ghost.

Adam Legg has directed the production well, though the many scene
changes (which take place in silence) might have felt shorter with
background music, or been shortened had Legg conceived the set differently. 
D. Benjamin Courtney’s lighting is effective, and Alex Kosztowny’s costumes
are well chosen.

The Outskirts of Paradise marks a promising beginning to the award winning
Alliance Repertory Company’s stay at the Met.

MET Theatre's Great Scott Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Hollywood. 8 p.m.
Thursdays through Saturdays. Ends Sept. 15. $15. (323) 223-6564.

--Steven Stanley