“All Through the Night” at the Rhode…

by Lisa Adamowicz Kless

I love the holidays, but hadn’t been ready to finally surrender to the reality that winter is here. I’ll admit that I refused to listen when, right around Thanksgiving, a local radio station start playing Christmas music twenty-four hours a day. Then, the “there’s only X number of shopping days left until Christmas!” countdown began, making me more panicky than motivated. When the first snow of the season fell though, forcing me to get out my winter coat and gloves, it was hard to keep denying it. Lucky for me, the Lakeside Players were there to help me ease into the holiday spirit. Their holiday play “All Through the Night” opened this past weekend, so my mom (and trusty play companion), Sue, and I set out for the Rhode on opening night.

The play centers around a group of travelers that get stuck at a train station on Christmas Eve. With a snow storm raging outside, there’s no chance that they’ll make it to their destinations in time for the holiday. The kindly stationmaster tries to make them as comfortable as he can, and encourages them to get to know one another to help pass the time. Slowly, the travelers form friendships and begin to open up. Each passenger’s personal story and the underlying hardships and challenges they’re facing begin to emerge. In the midst of all of this, a group of children come in from the storm and ask to perform a play that they’ve secretly been practicing for Christmas Day at church. After the performance, each traveller talks with one of the little actors. The audience soon finds that the advice and insight the children give the passengers changes their lives in often simple, yet profound ways. There’s a definite lesson to glean from this production and a lot of emotion involved, but the gravity of it was tempered by humor from beginning to end.

There was quite a cast for this production, so naming actors individually would take some time. I’d definitely like to give recognition to the fantastic acting in this production though, and that extends to the children in the cast too. There were a few newcomers to the LSP stage, and I was impressed with their abilities. This was a play in which its success hinged on emotion, and the cast pulled it off beautifully. In fact, this is the second production this season that’s actually brought tears to my eyes as I sat in the audience, and we’re only three plays in! The caliber of the productions has been excellent this season, and I look forward to each one, knowing that I’m going to enjoy an evening of great local theater. Bravo to co-directors Chris Brouton and Julie Dietrich Brouton, and all of the cast and crew.

“All Through the Night” runs this weekend and next at the Rhode Center for the Arts, 514 56th St. in Kenosha. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Call (262) 657-PLAY for more information.