Strong Performances make "Refuge" Shine

by Pamela Malchuk

(From left to right) Geneva Garland, Tim Oliveira, Kevin Meehan, Karen Green passionately bring Jessica Goldberg's words to life. Photo by Kelsey Djupstrom for the Olmsted Theater

A mixture between comedy and drama, the Olmsted Theater of Adelphi launched this new academic year's artistic season with the Black Box presentation "Refuge", a story by Jessica Goldberg, directed by Maggie Lally. Starring were Adelphi students Geneva Garland as Amy, Kevin Meehan as Sam, Karen Green as Becca, and Timothy Oliveira as Nat.

"Refuge", presents the story of Amy, a woman in her mid-twenties struggling to take care of her 16-year-old, drug-addicted sister, Becca, and her brain damaged brother, Nat. Her parents left the three with a full life to live but no means for doing so. Amy is left to think that her life is destined to be a never-ending painful experience, but out of the blue, a hopeless drifter named Sam, a guy Amy met at a bar, comes into her life looking for a place to live, creating a whole new way of looking at the world for the siblings.

This was truly an amazing performance by the entire cast; Garland's representation could be called nothing but outstanding. The mixture of emotions and actions by her character gave the audience a feeling of sadness and compassion. On the other hand, Oliveira's representation of the brain-damaged brother touched the audience's heart with his sensitive performance.

Once again, we have a hit from the department of Performing Arts.