"How to Write a New Book for the Bible" Touching, Powerful, Cathartic

Berkeley Rep, a recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, has excelled again with their presentation of Bill Cain's newest play.  Cain, a favorite playwright nationally and among Bay Area locals with such award-winners as "Nine Circles" and "Equivocation", puts parental aging, denial, and gentle passages into gut-wrenching focus in his latest play.  

In "How to Write a New Book for the Bible" Cain pays homage, admitting "I have a huge sense of the blessing my parents passed to the next generation."  This play does not shirk from what lies ahead as children care for a deteriorating parent.  Although many find the disability, doctors, and inevitable outcomes too painful to watch, the playwright intends the audience to "walk away with a great sense of joy...carrying less fear about how life ends."  He succeeds.

Kent Nicholson ably directs four accomplished actors portraying differing times of their lives, tied together by one son's recollection.  The plot revolves around the mother, beautifully played with wit, wisdom, and a touch of wildness by Linda Gehringer.  Her narrator son, a conscientious writer enacted by Tyler Pierce, is the caregiving anchor and beneficiary of many family memories.  This autobiographical role immediately draws us in as he lovingly shares his family with the audience.  His older brother, Aaron Blakely, is equally solicitous and devoted to his mother, although he lives in another state and has a "real" job that binds him.  Flashbacks also reveal the father, who has passed away years ago.  This role, as well as other supporting characters, is convincingly and adeptly handled by Leo Marks. 

"How to Write a New Book for the Bible" urges the audience to consider one's own family chapters as a progression, a celebration, and a perspective to handle whatever life delivers.  The play's events and characters weave in and out of the present, touching raw emotional edges in some reminiscences and sparking hearty laughter in others.  With a total performance time of 2 hours and 20 minutes and an ample supply of narrative, the play could benefit by some editing.

The emotional catharsis offered by this play is comforting; we need not fear even though our own long journey lies ahead.  Whether you reach for a tissue, or laugh aloud, this is a play not to be seen, but to be experienced.

Playing now through November 20th at Berkeley Rep's Thrust Stage (the slightly smaller one) at 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley.  Ticket prices with various discounts are offered through www.berkeleyrep.org or 510-647-2949.