“The Last Act of Lilka Kadison” is the story of painful secrets that are brought to light through an unexpected friendship. Jumping back and forth between Poland in 1939 and present day Burbank, Lilith’s hidden past is played out even as she desperately fights to keep those memories from surfacing. It is only after her new caretaker’s history begins to reveal itself that Lilith allows her long lingering ghost a much needed peace.
Despite the heavy topics addressed the telling of this story succeeds in maintaining that precarious balance of discussing and paying respect to horrific circumstances without ever succumbing to the soul-crushing, heart-wrenching sobs of drama that are so popular. In many ways it makes this story more realistic. As anyone who has suffered great tragedy knows, and even Lilith points out, during the most paralyzing moments of grief you learn to keep moving, because the world doesn’t slow down for your pain.
There is also the beautiful and light-hearted spirit of Ben Ari Adler, played by Nicholas Cutro, to counter and balance the heaviness. Cutro is wonderful and his enthusiasm and energy are infectious. It’s hard not to fall instantly in love with his charm and wit. His performances of the puppet shows, that the Adler family are known for, are clever and his innocent irreverence toward the scripture stories is endearing.
Lilka’s reserve and apprehension create a marvelous opposition to Ben. However, for as much as Lilka, played by Brittany Uomoleale, wants to remain true to her strict familial and religious upbringing she can’t stifle her feelings of injustice derived from the gap between what is appropriate for a man and what is appropriate for a woman. It is this spark of rebellion that eventually lets curiosity get the better of her and Lilka lets Ben into her life. Their story is sweet, and sadly short-lived.
It is this story that haunts Lilith, played by Mindy Sterling. Her husband already gone and her son living on the East Coast, Lilith finds herself in the care of the hired home nurse, Menelik a young Pakistani, played by Usman Ally. Lilith’s irascibility is met head on by Menelik. Their verbal sparring is delightful and it is eventually through music and the kindred spirit that is shared by those that have experienced great heartache that Menelik and Lilith are able to first come to terms with one another and eventually share the secrets that burden them.
There are definitely parts of the script that are predictable, but they are predictable in such a way that you hope something will happen and then rejoice when it does. This is accomplished by the ensemble who does a magnificent job of telling this story. The characters are well-rounded, likable and bring these two disparate worlds to life. The brilliant set design, by Melissa Ficociello, creates the perfect separation of the two time periods, while integrating them in such a way that it is obvious that the older time period is a construct of Lilith’s memories. Pieces are used interchangeably and elements pop up and down or are pulled in and out simulating a much larger version of Ben’s traveling puppet theater. That combined with Chris Wojcieszn’s lighting design paint a fantastic backdrop throughout and an absolutely stunning tableau for the final moments of the play.
Despite the personal nature of this play, the message behind it is topical and timely for our world today. It is tragic, yet heartwarming and funny. This is a marvel of storytelling genius. Beautifully told, beautifully acted and beautifully produced. This is what theater should be, this is what theater can accomplish.