vigilsplayhouse

The cast of Vigils. Photo by Ben Novotny 

Love, loss and letting go are some of the major themes of Vigils, a drama that premiered at the Long Beach Playhouse’s Studio Theatre last Saturday where it will be performed through July 13.

The play, which was written by Noah Haidle and directed by CSULB Theatre Arts alumni Olivia Trevino, is about a young widower (played by Meghan Dillon, another alumni of CSULB’s Theatre Arts program) who is unable to let go of her firefighter husband after he dies trying to save a baby from a burning building.

She puts the soul of her dead husband in a box, where she keeps him for two years after his death. Brian Canup plays the soul of the widower’s husband while Steven Meeks plays the widower’s husband when he’s still alive through flashbacks. Other cast members include Luis Castilleja, who plays a former friend of the husband who is trying to woo the widower, and 10-year old DJ Price, who plays the baby trapped inside the burning building had he grown up.

The entire performance takes place inside the widower’s apartment with no set changes taking place. 

“The main theme of this play is that life moves on”, said Dillon. The play presented a series of challenges for the director and the actors, with the most difficult being the jumps between different time periods.

{loadposition latestlife}“There’s a lot of repeated memories and knowing where you are in time was a challenge for the actors,” said Trevino. “When I first read the play I found a lot of scenes that were repeated so I had to figure out how to differentiate things so that the audience is not watching the same thing over and over.” 

Despite being a tragedy with some very dramatic themes, Vigils also presents a series of comic relief moments for the audience to enjoy. 

“It’s a very healing play,” said Canup. “Not every play about love and loss is a grim weeper.”

The director and the entire cast see Vigils as a very universal play because the themes of love and loss are themes that anyone can understand.

“We all relate to heartbreak and loss”, said Trevino. “That’s why people of all different ages can relate to it.” 

General admission for the play is $24. Seniors can get in for $21, while admission for a student/child is just $14. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.lbplayhouse.org/box-office or by phone at (562) 494-1014.