Christmas in Babylon

If you spent Thanksgiving counting your blessings, here’s one more you haven’t thought of yet: that you aren’t a part of Long Island’s McShane family. Their trials and tribulations are at the core of Christmas in Babylon, a new play by Spring Green-based playwright James DeVita that is getting its world premiere on the Milwaukee Chamber Theater stage.

It must not have been a difficult choice for producing artistic director C. Michael Wright (who also directs here) to give the “green light” to this touching yet hilarious comedy. It’s a winner from start to finish.

Babylon was first viewed in Milwaukee as a staged reading as part of Chamber’s new play development series. It received such positive feedback that DeVita was encouraged to rework the material into the current version. His efforts are impressive. The McShanes’ fiascos and plot twists would be funny in any season of the year, but a couple of plot elements have a definite parallel to the true meaning of Christmas.

All the performers seem tailor-made for their parts. This is especially true for actor Tom Klubertanz, who gives the performance of his career as a blue-collar worker trying to keep everyone in his family happy. During the play, he encounters a situation that at first seems unacceptable. But he eventually comes to realize it’s a blessing in disguise. The aforementioned man of the house, Terry (Tom Klubertanz), lives modestly with his wife, Denise (Mary MacDonald Kerr) and – temporarily – with their adult daughter, Abby (Sara Zientek). Abby is trying to “find herself” and takes several service jobs until she decides what passion to pursue. She only recently returned home to roost. Of all the characters, it is easiest to identify with Terry. Like many of us, he is just trying to get through each day with his home and his family intact.

Early in the play, a monologue by daughter Abby demonstrates that she learned her kvetching skills from her father. She comes home from a hard day of waitressing with a full-blown account of the difficulties she faced at the restaurant. Denise, unfazed by the outburst, is busy getting the house ready for Christmas.

As the play opens, Tom has been summoned to meet Kathleen, a former fiancée who he hasn’t seen in a couple of decades. He worries about what’s on her mind. His wife agrees that this out-of-the-blue request is a bit odd. “What is this, ‘Fatal Attraction?’” Denise wonders. Such comments further fuel Terry’s high anxiety. He forces himself to go because he said he would. Kathleen (Laura Gray) now lives in Minnesota. She further says in an email that she’s coming to town for a few days and wants to catch up.

When Terry appears at the café – their agreed-upon meeting spot - he instead is met by Kathleen’s 26-year-old daughter, Kelly (Eva Nimmer). The pretty, soft-spoken and quietly intelligent girl turns out to be a pediatric surgeon. She is still in her residency in a hospital not far from where Terry’s family lives. She explains that her mother’s publishing agent set up some speaking engagements in the area so that Kathleen could spend some time with her daughter. Terry learns that Kathleen has become a wildly popular self-help guru and has written several books. Kelly also shares a secret that will forever change the dynamic of Terry’s family. During the rest of the play, Kelly’s news sends the McShanes into into a familiar pattern of denial/guilt/and acceptance.

When first meeting Kathleen, the audience becomes attendees at one of her self-help talks. With a nod to several Eastern religions, Kathleen is into realization, actualization, forgiveness and acceptance. As the play continues, Kathleen believes less and less in the feel-good philosophy she espouses. < p> The playwright, James Devita, has created a finely crafted production that will touch our hearts as well as tickle our funny bones. His characters – even those that are deliberately overplayed for laughs – seem genuine. Many of us have memories of families such as the McShanes. Although they may trade a few insults between them, they are rock solid in their devotion to each other. Milwaukee Chamber Theater is to be commended for helping to bring this comic gem to life.