Hope and Gravity

Downtown Hammond, Indiana, is having a structural facelift. After having a city planner design a refreshing new look for its unwelcome sceneries with dilapidated and vacant buildings, the city released a plan to bring life back to the downtown Hammond area. With $50 million of American Rescue Act funding for redevelopment, hoping to get restaurants, housing, and retailers back, the investment into Hammond's once-bustling downtown will include creating Rimbach Plaza. This outdoor gathering space will sit in front of the 208-unit Rimbach Square apartment complex. 

Tuck away into all of these improvements is a small but big performance theater called Towle Theater. Covid had stopped us for two years from visiting this unique, family-friendly, and cozy place; however, yesterday, we finally had the pleasure to review one of its plays, Hope and Gravity, written by Michael Hollinger.

In this reverse chronology, second city-style drama-comedy, we look back into the lives of nine individuals (5 Actors Play 9 Roles) that intersect around the tragic elevator accident. Through love and sex, poetry and dentistry, we meet Jill, Barb, Steve, Peter, Hal, Tanya, Nan, Marty, and Douglas.  

As we meet this plethora of people, we weave into the threads of this saga and meet besties Jill and Steve in an elevator on their way to school. Inspired by a poetic professor, they both attend the same college to pursue a master's degree in poetry. Jill, poetic creatives juice is flowing, but Steve is dealing with the frustrations of writers' block. As you follow the stories where Barb, who was engaged to Steve, is now with Peter, Nan, who is married to Marty, is having an affair with Peter, Douglas meets Tanya in an elevator, and where good friends find they have more in common than poetry. The untangling of the theatrical soap opera is intriguing and entertaining.  

This delightful and comical cast features Allie Charton (Jill/Barb), Connor Green (Peter/Hal), and Jared Sheldon (Marty/Douglas). They are making their Towle Theater debut, along with Linda Cunningham (Tanya/Nan) and Martin Downs (Steve). Several amusing and heart-warming scenes in this two-hour performance will captivate you. Two enjoyable moments were when Peter meets Barb after a self-help seminar where Peter has electric shock devices connected to him to help with his compulsive lying. And the compassionate scene where Marty, dealing with memory loss, meets with Jill and Steve. Kudos to the performance by Jared Sheldon, who was fantastic in his duel role of Marty and Douglas. 

Hammond's downtown construction projects will be completed by 2022 to early 2023. However, it is fantastic that the city still provides and supports quality entertainment through Towle Theater, with Hope and Gravity. It is well written and performed and one that Hoosiers should see.   

Let's Play Theatrical Review Recommends Hope and Gravity at Towle Theater. 

Towle Theater

Hope and Gravity

By Michael Hollinger

Directed by Suzanne Nyhan

May 6-7, 13-15, 20-22