By Erin Philips
SAN DIEGO – Sons of the Prophet, a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize, is tragic, funny, and heartfelt, a perfect example of art that not only imitates but illuminates life. Written by Stephan Karam and directed by Rob Lutfy, the play was inspired by a real incident and its repercussions on a small town.
Joseph Douaihy (Alex Hoeffler) and Charles Douaihy (Dylan James Mulvaney) are two gay, Lebanese-American brothers left to fend for themselves in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, after their father dies of a heart attack two weeks after a car accident. Joseph, a late-twenties former athlete suffering from mysterious and debilitating pains, is saddled with taking care of his teenage brother Charles and their aging Uncle Bill (Navarre T. Perry). What unfolds is a painful and hilarious examination of the human condition: our hope and suffering, joy and resentment, disappointments and small comforts.
To get health insurance, Joseph goes to work for Gloria (Maggie Carney), a wealthy, deranged woman who has fallen from grace in the publishing world and is struggling to cope with her husband’s suicide. Charles reaches out to Vin (Xavier Scott), the high school football star responsible for the prank that caused the elder Douaihy’s car accident. And Uncle Bill moves in with his nephews, to the consternation of all involved. When Gloria decides that Joseph must write a book about his family (they’re distant relatives of Kahlil Gibran, the well-known Lebanese poet and author of The Prophet), and a handsome TV reporter (Austin Vaccaro) comes to town to cover the aftermath of the accident, everyone is tried and exposed.
Playing to a full house on opening night, the ensemble cast was witty, warm, and wonderful, executing several dramatic set pieces flawlessly. The production design adds incredible depth to the storytelling, with thematic chapter titles from Gibran’s The Prophet projected above each scene, sounds and music coming from inside the world of the characters, and the sets and lighting allowing the players to enact multiple mini scenes at once.
The play has no shortage of weighty issues, touching on everything from history, family and culture, to sexuality, class, race, religion, sports, immigration and healthcare. Multiple references to the plight of the Middle East will strike a chord with Jewish audience members. In the end, Sons of the Prophet leaves us with an appreciation for the strength, light, and resilience of human beings in the face of universal and eternal suffering.
Sons of the Prophet runs through February 15 at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town.
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Philips is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. Your comment may be posted in the space below or sent to erin.philips@sdjewishworld.com