It seems that in Dallas/Ft. Worth, the same quandary arises every Christmas season. Local theaters stage: A Christmas Carol, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Nutcracker, maybe Amahl and the Night Visitors, maybe some other creations that while different, have nothing original to say. Then, last year, WaterTower Theatre premiered a show called The Great Distance Home, conceived and directed by Kelsey Leigh Ervi. They have given it a revival this year, and I am thrilled to report it’s as spirited, touching, funny, spontaneous and sublime as before. If not more so.
It’s a challenge to describe The Great Distance Home. It unfolds a narrative with few spoken words, music, vignettes, and bright, confident, witty movement that expresses key moments in one man’s life, and those he loves. Without a doubt it’s a story about (among other things) family. In some ways it made me think of pantomime, but it’s so much more than that. It creates a world, a cosmos. There are moments of hilarity, fear, warmth and sadness. Great Distance tells a particular story, but one we can all relate too. Like the best theatre, it involves us gradually. When those evocative, tender moments come, we are completely immersed.
No response to Great Distance would be sufficient without mention of the cast and co-creators: Garrett Storms, Christopher Ramirez, Mitchell Stephens, Tatiana Lucia Gantt, and Kelsey Milbourn. This piece has numerous physical demands as well as quiet, nuanced moments and clever physical comedy; all coalescing into an experience transcending by far, the sum of its parts. The buzzy Christmas rush of holiday errands, the cheerful surprises of raising a child, the monotony of earning our daily bread, the scariness of tackling the insanity that comes tumbling our way. This jazzed, frenetic, convivial, and playful band of actors dive in with radiant aplomb. Too often there is a discrepancy between what we hope for, and what our Christmas needs to be. The Great Distance Home aims to close that gap and kindle that elusive miracle we call (dare I say it?) enchantment. Go. Be delighted. Be surprised.
WaterTower Theatre presents: The Great Distance Home, playing November 23rd-December 16th, 2018. 15650 Addison Road, Addison, Texas 75001. 972-450-6232. http://www.watertowertheatre.org.