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But that's only intermittently true. Laced through the silliness—of which there is plenty—is a mature air of melancholy that's not at all in evidence in All in the Timing. What's more, the individual pieces, some of which are world premieres, some of which are New York premieres, and one of which (the title offering) was seen in New York 15 years ago, are linked by a powerful theme that builds and resonates anew as each new chapter unfolds: good people striving to avoid living bad lives. This idea emerges most fully in the second act "It's All Good," a quietly profound Twilight Zone–style tale in which a successful author in New York named Stephen (Rick Holmes) returns to his native Chicago to speak at an event, and on the train meets a man (Carson Elrod) who bears a disquieting resemblance to his younger self. Steve, as he's called, embraced the Catholic faith Stephen left behind, married a woman named Amy (Liv Rooth) who's a lot like the one Stephen abandoned—only more, ahem, virtuous—and had the kind of family Stephen was not aware he wanted with the woman he actually wed, Leah (Kelly Hutchinson). It's very much a "you-can't-go-home-again" story mashed up with a "you-never-know-who-you'll-become" fable, but it's serenely touching as it contrasts two "good" outcomes to the same "bad" beginning, and forces Stephen—and us—to question which is truly the better one. Ives provides no answers and leaves Stephen's fate in limbo when the lights fade for the final time, but it's a deeply satisfying investigation of the kind of regrets we all have at opportunities gone by, and beautiful, intricate acting from all four performers (particularly Holmes and Elrod, who adroitly echo each other while projecting vividly different personalities), makes it the undisputed winner of the collection. "Lives of the Saints" itself, the final entry, is nearly as good, as it focuses on two older women, Edna and Flo (Hutchinson and Rooth), who are preparing a funeral breakfast for a joint friend. Their actions of everything from setting the table to checking the Jell-o molds to scouring the cupboards are pantomimed, and their exaggerated sounds (salt pours mighty loudly in this universe) emanate from the sound system to underscore the surprisingly high emotional impact of each of these simple movements on the women.
The other plays do not quite rise to these standards, including the third "serious" one, "The Goodness of Your Heart," in which friendship, charity, and guilt are blended with longtime pals Del (Arnie Burton) and Marsh (Rick Holmes) to repetitive, predictable effect. (Just how far can you stretch what results from one man who expects the other to buy him an expensive TV and then gets offended at the suggestion he should be grateful? Not as far as Ives tries.) "Soap Opera," which conflates plotty daytime-television with a legion of sudsy puns, and "Enigma Variations," in which two sets of apparent twins and one man in a nurse's uniform try to make it through a single psychologist's visit, are pure All in the Timing stuff that decisively amuse, if only on a surface level. "Life Signs" deals with death and its aftermath, as Toby (Elrod) discovers that his passed-away mother (Hutchinson, hilarious) still has quite a lot to say about the lies she used to construct her persona and herself, but it falls short of the pungency that might make it a classic. The actors slide effortlessly between their many roles, and are giddily defined by Anita Yavich's witty costumes and aided by Jason Lyons's attractive lighting, so there's something to like and respond to in every playlet, even if Rando's direction is pockmarked by a few inconsistencies of pace and tone. And the fact remains that if you want a mindless evening of zig-zag entertainment, that's not what you'll get here. What you'll get instead—and what I'd argue is even better—is a fascinating look at the joys and difficulties inherent in living well even under the worst circumstances. Lives of the Saints argues, convincingly, that no one is or can be, a pure saint, and that's okay, but the path toward perfection is its own reward. Watching how Ives spins that through his own irreverent point of view, with all the insanity and the insight that goes with it, it's pretty tough to disagree.
Lives of the Saints
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