Journey blends sadness, laughter
By Ruby Nancy, QUAD CITY TIMES -- June 21, 2003

New Ground Theatre’s “Journey for a Reason” is an important area premiere, and it’s also an entertaining musical that offers laughter as well as tears.

Technically a dramatic musical, with teen suicide as one of its major topics, “Journey” still has quite a few light moments that may surprise audiences. Centering on a group of high school friends, many of the funny lines relate to the kids teasing each other, and the occasional lightness adds balance to the story of a young woman’s problems and her subsequent suicide.

Told in a flashback form, so you know how the story ends, “Journey” begins after Laura (Melissa Mooney), a high school senior, is dead. She returns to visit her best friend Sara (Alicia Jackson), and together the two retrace the events of the past year as Sara tries to understand why Laura made the choice she did. It’s not a supernatural kind of play, though, and the focus isn’t on this element at all, since audiences are invited along for the extended flashback sequence that makes up much of the play.

 “Journey” is a good show — with thought-provoking poignancy, a mix of strong and silly songs, and compelling characters — and skipping it because of the subject matter would generally be a mistake.

New Ground artistic director and founder Chris Jansen, who also wrote “Journey For a Reason,” directs the show with a sensitive hand, and — though it isn’t perfect — it’s well worth your time.

 In addition to the writing and composer Andrew Wilder’s original music, Jansen has assembled a talented cast who do equally well with the banter and the show’s more intense moments. Mooney is uncomfortable and reserved as Laura, and her tense, emotionally powerful work gives the show both its painful honesty and its backbone. Constantly smiling and joking around, her performance in flashbacks is nuanced rather than obvious — a perfect choice.

Jackson’s Sara is full of questions and some self-deprecating humor, and her frustrated confusion is mixed well with a growing understanding of why her friend chose suicide. As Jackson finds herself drawn into past events, her close friendship with Mooney’s character is easy to see — and their duets “Best Friends” and “Other Parents” are some of the best, and the strongest, numbers in the “Journey.”

The rest of the cast is almost uniformly good as well, with Travis Hedman’s portrayal of Laura’s young brother and Susan McPeters’ work as a teacher among the performances that are particularly well done.

Company numbers like “Chosen Leaders of the School” showcase the strong vocal work of this young cast — who sound really good — and despite some downright odd (or sometimes inexplicably perky) choreography for these big songs, the performers turn out a lot of good work. I also do not care for the “Dream Ballet” device at the end of act one (I don’t like the one in “Oklahoma,” either, just for the record), but Mooney’s emotionally charged performance in it — and that of the wonderful actor who plays her boyfriend — make it more than palatable

There is much to move you and inspire your reflection here, so make sure you take this “Journey for a Reason.”

Contact the features desk at (563) 383-2400 or newsroom@qctimes.com.

If you go
What: “Journey for a Reason” by New Ground Theatre
When: 7:30 p.m. today and June 26-28, 2 p.m. Sunday and June 29
Where: Rivermont Collegiate, 1821 Sunset Drive, Bettendorf
How much: $12 adults, $10 students and senior citizens
Information: (563) 326-7529

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