A Rock Sails By is an odd play. It has a science fiction component, but deals with real-life, all-too-human conditions and emotions that draw audiences in before any elements of maybe-it’s-alien-and-maybe-it’s-not come into play.
The “it” in question is the title rock—the asteroid ‘Oumuamua that in 2017 was the first known interstellar object to pass through the Solar System. The occasion of its visit is the focus of playwright Sean Grennan’s exploration of a brilliant astrophysicist’s state of mind as she faces the onset of difficulties associated with aging.
In the production presented at By the Sea Productions, Laurelle Barnett Kelty plays the scientist with compassion, eliciting sympathy but also demonstrating strength. She is supported by a talented cast whose members don’t get as much stage time, but who serve to draw out quite philosophical discussions about fact vs. emotion, science vs. opinion, and other questions about what is essentially unknown or unknowable.
The play opens on a reflective moment in time, with a starry night sky, a glass of wine (perhaps the most recent of quite a few), and a voicemail Dr. Cummings (Kelty) is playing over and over again on her phone. Kelty is a vibrant force of nature, but something is up with her character (the scientist), and therein hangs the rest of the tale, as they say.
Director Samvel Gottlieb has assembled a multi-talented list of actors, including Olivia Cusick, Jonah Duhe, Landen Scott, and Rick Bruce, the latter playing several pivotal roles, nicely differentiating between all of them. There are also many different scenes and sets, and the only thing that slows the production down is the bit of time it takes for some of the scene changes.
While the lengthy first act (a good 75 minutes) might best be described as existential, the second act veers off into territory that could best be described by a phrase that is voiced near the end of the play: “Anything’s possible.”
Another sentiment voiced more than once during the course of this sometimes puzzling but entertaining play is pretty down-to-earth advice: “Just eat the donut.”