By Reg Sutphen
As the audience enters the Hartman Theater, they are greeted by a sound that takes them into the early 2000’s: alternative rock. It is a Saturday night on March 8, coincidentally on the day of the ever-popular St. Platty’s Day.
The lights dim and the pre-show announcement begins. We are introduced to six characters played by five actors: Nelson Steinberg, played by Kamani
Tucker; Arthur Stein, played by Will Quilla; Sylvia Stein, played by Kelly Maloney; Rachel Stein, played by Lillian Faulkner; and Jesus, as well as Stephen Hawking, both played by Ethan Witt.
We quickly learn that this is not your average dysfunctional family. It is revealed that Arthur was working in one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. This gives us context to each character’s behavior: Arthur is experiencing survivor’s guilt, Sylvia feels over-protective and Rachel feels numb to the world. Through his oversharing tendencies, we also learn that Nelson has his own traumatic home life and becomes attached to the Stein family.
The actors had a heavy task: playing characters with deep-seated trauma presented in different ways. When certain characters revealed their haunting past, they would have a light focused on them, and the rest of the lights on the stage slowly dimmed. This helped each actor show a clear connection between what the character went through and their current behavior, fully immersing the audience into the world of the play.
Though dialogue and stage directions help, the actors must come up with their own conscious choices while playing the characters. Tucker does this well, showcasing Nelson’s naive but excitable personality with facial expressions and upbeat body language.
Quilla as Arthur, the depressed father, plays an opposite character, complete with sarcastic, unenthusiastic comments and a thousand-yard stare that sets the tone for the show.
Rachel, played by Faulkner, comes across as a nihilistic goth with a colorful vocabulary. She gives the most dynamic performance, utilizing different vocal inflections and volumes as the show continues.
In contrast, Maloney as Sylvia makes a different choice, giving us a subtle, less bold performance as the Stein matriarch.
Tying it all together is Witt’s dual performance as Jesus Christ, only able to be seen by Sylvia and having little dialogue and a hallucinatory version of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking visible only to an inebriated Rachel. Playing two characters with a stark contrast between themselves is no easy feat, and Witt proved he was able to do so.
As Jesus, he utilized body language and gave the character a lighthearted, comedic tone. On the other side as Stephen Hawking, he could not use body language due to Hawking famously being paralyzed. Additionally, he uses a machine to speak, eliminating any opportunity for vocal inflection. Witt spoke out loud rather than using a device, but still applied a robotic tone, making a believable impression of the late physicist.
“End Days” is an important story to tell, showing the complexities of family dynamics in the wake of traumatic events. While it deals with the subject of September 11, the same concept can be applied to today’s world, with a constant barrage of unprecedented events occurring daily.
Seeing a family navigate through their struggles and ultimately come together
provides comfort to many in a time of darkness. These characters helped convince the audience that there is still a chance to come together in a divided world, and that taking things one day at a time is necessary to move forward.
