Laurie Metcalf, Micah Stock (Photo: Julieta Cervantes)
Little Bear Ridge Road
By David Schultz
Playwright Samuel D. Hunter makes his Broadway debut with this play that originally premiered last year at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Little Bear Ridge Road takes place in Idaho, somewhere on the outskirts of Troy, a desolate spot that is as foreign as the moon. That the action happens during the Covid pandemic, 2020-2022, only deepens the feeling of isolation that gripped the nation at that time. The vastness of space and the extreme caution that the three characters embody is perfectly in step with this intimate work.
The minimalist setting establishes the emotional dissonance that runs through the ninety-minute play. A large, white, circular rug, an oversized couch in the dead center with a ceiling fan high above, and a cavernous wall behind hold all the light that tugs against the encroaching darkness that surrounds the limited environment (lighting design from Heather Gilbert). Scenic design (Scott Pask) almost serves to mirror the interior mental state of these people on stage.
At first glance while watching this play, not much is actually happening to these characters. Yet much of this playwrights talent lies in his cryptic unspoken thoughts as what happens under the surface of their tentative actions and reactions to each other speak volumes.
Nervous, anxiety-ridden Ethan (Micah Stock) returns to Idaho to sell his late father’s house, emptying his personal effects to purge himself of his own demons. His passion to be a writer has hit many roadblocks as he fumbles, trying to create something that will resonate with the public one day. And he had skipped out on an unbearably abusive boyfriend, and is licking his wounds, wary of meeting someone new, but still pining for a replacement.
Laurie Metcalf, Micah Stock (Photo: Julieta Cervantes)
Ethan is visiting his estranged aunt Sarah (Laurie Metcalf). Sarah has doubts about her nephew, and she likes her privacy, but she offers him a place to stay temporarily while he settles his father’s estate. They haven’t seen each other or spoken in years. They have had a long-time fractured relationship and they tiptoe around what are obviously deep wounds that never were attended to in the past (Ethan’s father’s drug use is an unspoken trauma).
Sarah warily accepts Ethan into her home, delivering excessively snarky retorts in a brusque manner. It is obvious that she is — actually both of them are — overprotective of their sensitive natures as old wounds slowly resurface. The incremental secrets that are revealed are not unlike the peeling of an onion, with each new layer giving these two lonely souls a potential to salve and heal their long-ago damage.
They bond, oddly, by watching many episodes of science fiction television series. There was not much social activity in those lockdown times, so this was one way to pass the time. Another way to pass the time, alleviate loneliness and connect with another human being: Ethan looks around on an online dating app, where he meets (awkwardly) James (John Drea), who is cultured, witty, and studying to become an astrophysicst. James is smooth and calming, the complete opposite of the numbed and confused Ethan.
Micah Stock, Laurie Metcalf, John Drea (Photo: Julieta Cervantes)
When James and Ethan do actually meet in person, they form an unlikely bond and tentatively start a relationship. At one point, they go out at night, and James overwhelms Ethan with a history of the stars and constellations. The relationship dissolves, however, when James gets a new job offer in Chicago and invites Ethan to join him as a roommate. This stirs up unpleasant memories of Ethan’s last breakup, and he pulls away out of fear of a yet another dysfunctional relationship.
He continues to stay with Sarah, and discovers her medical troubles as her health situation worsens. Sarah is concealing a cancer diagnosis, using her overriding gruffness to hide her illness. Ethan feels compelled to stay even longer, which only exacerbates her issues with privacy.
Impeccable direction by Joe Mantello creates the claustrophobic, mysterious landscape that is perfectly in harmony with this playwright’s intention, and Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock are perfectly in sync with each other’s physical and verbal parrying that is the only way they can try to communicate. The miracle of this tone poem of a play reveals the underlying compassion with which Samuel D. Hunter gently dissects the inner emotional, unspoken language between these two people. That intimacy ultimately reveals itself in the closing moments.
Little Bear Ridge Road
At The Booth Theatre
222 W 45th St.
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Through February 8, 2026
