Tough Choices

A Nervous Smile’s daring script unmasks anger and conflict

By Dan Hudak

Barbara Sloan and Clint Hooper in A Nervous Smile

There have been plenty of stories about disabled people who struggle with their conditions, but rarely does this subject matter focus on the strain that afflicts the people who care for the disabled. John Belluso’s A Nervous Smile, now at New Theatre, is different. It focuses on the parents of children with cerebral palsy, and Belluso’s daring script, coupled with Ricky J. Martinez’s stellar direction, makes it one of the most powerful theatrical experiences in recent memory.

Stumbling home to their posh, Upper West Side Manhattan apartment early one evening, married couple Brian and Eileen invite their friend Nichole in for a nightcap. She accepts; they talk, joke and everyone has fun as long as they don’t mention the reality from which alcohol provides a temporary escape: that they met at a support group for parents of children with cerebral palsy and that the mental and physical struggle to care for the kids has taken its toll.

On this night, things may change. Brian and Nichole are having an affair, and his wish is to abandon the children and live happily ever after with her in Buenos Aires. To our surprise, the wealthy Eileen also thinks that’s a great plan and even agrees to give Brian a small fortune to make it happen. In order for the plan to work, they need “to walk toward the things we want, and away from the things we pity,” Eileen says. And there it is: All they have to do is leave Brian and Eileen’s daughter, Emily, at the hospital, and then go their separate ways. It’s just that easy.

Or maybe not.

What happens in Belluso’s story is shocking and controversial, something the playwright (who was wheelchair-bound from age 13 and died in February 2006 at age 36) undoubtedly intended. He based the story on true events, but it’s not hard to see this occurring whether we know that or not. Surely those who care for the disabled have thought of running away; then good sense comes into play and those thoughts are quickly forgotten. By looking closely at people who may take those thoughts a bit too far, Belluso reveals harsh truths about human nature, parenthood and regret.

Four actors vibrantly bring the story alive. Clint Hooper is unctuous and bitter as Brian, who’s so consumed with his hedonistic desires that he forgets his love for his daughter. “I’m swollen from exhaustion,” he says at one point about caring for Emily. While Brian has our sympathy, he’s also despicable, which is a tough balancing act that Hooper pulls off impressively well. Barbara Sloan’s Eileen has a bigger character arc than the others, and at each point (from drunken, pill-popping exuberance to a broken, defeated woman), Sloan is convincing and dynamic.

The best performance in the cast, however, belongs to Annemaria Rajala, whose Nichole is taken through a whirlwind of emotions and acts accordingly. She may look a bit young to play the mother of an 18-year-old, but you quickly forget that during her goose bump-inducing breakdown as she recalls her son ruining an Italian dinner. And finally, the talented Harriet Oser plays Emily’s caretaker, Blanka, with a cantankerous appeal that adds both insight and timely humor.

The technical aspects are serviceable. Michael McKeever’s set design is appropriately upscale and K. Blair Brown’s costume design nicely fits the upper middle class characters. If there’s a flaw here, it’s that Act 2 is too short at only 25 minutes. An earlier intermission, or no intermission at all, is needed.

Otherwise, this is as good a drama as you’ll find in South Florida.

A Nervous Smile is showing through March 23 at New Theatre, 4120 Laguna St., Coral Gables. For tickets and information, call 305-443-5909.