TBPAC stages Pulitzer winner 'Rabbit Hole'

David Lindsay-Abaire's play Rabbit Hole earned all sorts of acclaim, including Tony Award nominations and the Pulitzer Prize for drama, but David Jenkins said he was wary of producing it. The subject matter — a husband and wife trying to come to grips with the recent death of their 4-year-old son — just sounded too grim.

"But actually there's a lot of warmth, and even wit, in this play," said Jenkins, the artistic director of Jobsite Theater. "When I finished reading it, I told people I couldn't remember the last play that was so well-written."

That's when he knew Jobsite had to stage Rabbit Hole.

In the play, the husband and wife must deal with the way their grief has changed them individually, and how it has changed their relationship. Complications arise in the form of the wife's well-intentioned mother and very odd sister, and then by the young driver whose car hit the 4-year-old. He comes to the family seeking to reconcile his own existential turmoil.

The Jobsite production, directed by Paul Potenza, runs tonight through June 21 at the Shimberg Playhouse at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Shows are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $24.50 plus service charge. (813) 229-7817 or tbpac.org.

Marty Clear, Times correspondent