Milestones at SART

Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre’s production of Milestones is a fantastic watch for when you want a reminder of what Southern Appalachia is really like.

In Gale Gooch Alexander’s play, Sally (Kathy O’Connor) and Frank Bryce (Pasquale Lacorte) have been married 40 years and are both sick of each other. Blame it on proximity, blame it on age…either way, they’re two moose dancing in a phone booth (a running joke within the play). So, Sally develops a plan: a mini road trip to places that held special significance early in their marriage, and if they still can’t stand each other once they return home, they’ll divorce. 

The modest stage at Owen Theatre lends itself especially well to the changes in scenery as the duo “travel” via car seats to Harlan, Kentucky, to visit Roz (Jane Hallstrom) and Phil Pritchard (Bill Chameides), the married couple that “adopted” them as neighbors. Then it’s off to Bristol, Virginia, to see Gwen Wells (Madison Brightwell), Sally’s childhood best friend, who serves as a reminder that time isn’t always kind. While on this journey of visiting milestones, Sally and Franktruly do start to bond again, until an old truth arises in conversation. The story is meant to be about the couple, but I feel that this is more Sally’s story as she ends up with more quiet moments with the people who matter to her.

Director Jamie Knox has built up an incredible cast for this production, the music by Asheville-based duo The Moon and You during scene changes is a lovely touch, and set designer Braden Johnson does a terrific job making sure each locale the Bryces visit looks  different.

While I appreciate the local touches (like references to walking around Mars Hill University’s campus) mentioned in the play, those details feel a little forced to me. But that’s more of a personal qualm than anything wrong with the production itself. MIlestones also feels far longer than its two hour runtime, but the payoff makes it all worthwhile. I may not have been the target demographic, but I greatly enjoyed the production and found myself laughing at how much every character reminds me of my own family members.

Milestones runs through June 19 at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre at Owen Theatre in Mars Hill. For details and tickets, visit SARTPlays.com.

(Photo by Cheyenne Dancy/Courtesy of SART)