Never mind that tinkly piano score you’ll hear at the start of “Falling.” Far from receiving a mawkish, “Hallmark Hall of Fame” treatment, Deanna Jent’s play is harrowing stuff.
Inspired by her experiences as a mother of an autistic child, this heartfelt and nuanced family drama is shot through with dark humor, as cathartic for the audience as it is for its conflicted characters.
“Falling” revolves around Josh (a remarkable Daniel Everidge), a severely autistic, massive man-child of 18 who lives at home with his endlessly patient parents, Tami (Julia Murney) and Bill (Daniel Pearce), and younger sister Lisa (Jacey Powers). Since Josh becomes distraught at the slightest provocation, his loving family has devised an elaborate system of subterfuges to cover up sounds as innocuous as a blender or barking dog.
But even their most strenuous efforts don’t prevent Josh from occasionally becoming violently upset. At several points he grabs his mother with such force that he nearly chokes her to death.
The only thing that seems to calm him down is a box full of feathers, rigged so he can release them to have them gently fall on his face. It also provides a haunting visual metaphor at the play’s conclusion.
While Tami professes to be looking for a suitable institution for her son, it’s clear she desperately wants him at home, even as her marriage is strained to the breaking point and Lisa longs to live elsewhere.
“You can hate him,” Tami tells her aggrieved daughter. “But moms don’t have that choice.”
The arrival of Josh’s grandmother (Celia Howard) adds to the tumult. The elderly, religious woman is shocked when Josh begins touching himself inappropriately while watching “The Jungle Book.”
Although a fanciful narrative flourish toward the end doesn’t quite work, the play packs a powerful punch. Superbly staged by Lori Adams and wonderfully acted — Murney is gut-wrenching as a mother who sacrifices her happiness for a son who barely acknowledges her presence — “Falling” soars.