Is it possible for a show to be both eerie and uplifting at the same time?
As seen in the Kentland Community Players’ atmospheric, amusing, and touching Outward Bound at the Arts Barn, the answer is a resounding yes.
Outward Bound, by Sutton Vane, premiered in a small theater in Hampstead, London, in 1923, and was financed by the author himself when no producers would take a chance on its unusual mixture of fantasy and drama. It proved a hit and transferred to the West End.
The story concerns a small but varied group of passengers on an outbound ocean liner. There is a young, upper-crust wastrel who seems to be drowning some sorrows in drink, a snobby society matron with her nose so far up in the air she can’t see anyone around her, an earnest clergyman who feels he ought always to be doing something but clearly needs a rest, a charming salt-of-the-earth charwoman, and a hard-nosed, bombastic businessman. The only thing they have in common is that, for some reason, they can’t remember how they came to be on the ship or where they’re headed. There is also a young couple in love who seem to have more of an idea of how they got there, and they are terrified that some unmentionable crime they have committed will be discovered and they might be separated. All these passengers are attended by the always affable steward. As the play progresses, they notice more and more strange things about the ship — such as the total lack of exterior lights or even any crew— and by the end of the first act they have realized that they are all dead, the vessel is bound for Heaven and Hell, and they are to be judged by “The Examiner,” an idea that strikes each of them with varying amounts of fear and bewilderment. As the story unfolds, we learn more about each character and their secrets, and become invested in their ultimate fates. The story has something of a Twilight Zone air about it, but with a more humorous and hopeful tone.
The production, directed by Pauline Griller-Mitchell, is very effective at evoking a mysterious mood and pulling us in to care about the people and their plight. The set (designed by Chris Fogle), the lounge of a small ocean liner, is appropriately spare —simply a bar, a writing table, some tables and chairs on round carpets, a portholed door upstage center with a railing outside, and some life rings hanging on the walls. Two lamps indicate when night has fallen. The era is perfectly evoked by the lovely 1920s costumes by McKenna Kelly, including a set of posh dresses for the socialite, a charming red day dress, a full tweed gentleman’s suit, and a quite pukka tropical explorer’s outfit complete with pith helmet. As is her custom, Griller-Mitchell also serves as dialect coach, and the accents here are all excellent.
But the greatest asset here is the cast, compelling the audience to feel with them all the unusual emotions that such a situation would evoke — bewilderment, unease, fear, fury, despair, love, and hope.
The young lovers, Ann (Vanessa Markowitz) and Henry (Patrick Hsieh), embody the mysterious elements of the play. They sharply convey a sense of unease, desperation, love, and a terror that the secret they call their crime will be found out and they will be separated forever.
As Tom Prior, the hard-drinking would-be bon vivant who is first to discover the passengers’ true plight, John Rocco grapples with a gamut of emotions: sarcasm, joviality, fury, terror and despair. Rocco has a fine way of combining bluster and bewilderment and gaining the audience’s sympathy for a very flawed character.
Kat Binney is viciously delightful as the insufferable snob Mrs. Cliveden-Banks. Almost no one is worthy to be in her exalted presence. Only the most polished of poisonous put-downs drip from her cupid’s bow lips, and her accent is as sharp as shattered glass. The revelation of her hypocrisy, her secret, and her ultimate fate are immensely satisfying.
Jay Tipnis steps up to the challenging role of the clergyman, Rev. Frank Thompson. In being the representative of religion in this mystical show, he runs the risk of being preachy — several characters beg him not to, in fact — but the script and Thompson’s performance never tend that way. Instead, Thompson presents a very real and endearing combination of bewilderment, humor, the ability to confess he knows nothing despite its being “his job” to help everyone, and his desperate wish that he still could.
Meghan Williams Elkins’s Mrs. Midget serves up a comic feast. Her plucky charwoman won’t be cowed by anyone thinking she’s beneath them, and in her simple practicality, she takes everything in and never shows fear. She knows her strengths and her faults, but her good heart shines through it all.
It is no spoiler to say that Joe Mariano as Mr. Lingley is the villain of the piece. The “self-made businessman,” as he tells everyone ad nauseam, oozes unpleasantness from the moment he comes onstage. He doesn’t have as many varied emotions to work with as the rest of the cast, but he makes the most of what he has, and his finally asking for a second chance when he has never given one to anyone else comes across as touching — almost. But ultimately, the audience relishes his secrets and his fitting punishment.
Nathan Chadwick, the Rev. Frank Thompson, appears only at the climax as “The Examiner.” After the characters are given to expect anything up to the Almighty himself, Chadwick is a delightful surprise as a jovial, backslapping, jolly old Englishman. He is unfailingly good-humored, but underneath his bonhomie, it is clear he will deal out justice.
And Chuck McCarter presides over the entire story as Scrubby, the Charon-like Steward. He is unflappably pleasant and takes everything the passengers can dish out in stride. After all, he has made this particular journey thousands of times. But he has his secrets, too, and his plight at the end, conveyed by a single look as the lights fall, is perhaps the most touching of all.
Outward Bound is a fascinating and unusual combination of character-driven drama, humor, mystery and spooky fantasy. For an evening, it takes its audience on a journey to a time and place very far from our own, but invites us to share in the emotions of compelling characters as they face the ultimate questions. It is a journey worth taking.
Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
Outward Bound plays through May 3, 2026 (Friday and Saturday at 8 am, Sunday at 2 pm), presented by the Gaithersburg Arts Barn in partnership with Kentlands Community Players at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, MD. Purchase tickets ($25 adult; $23, students 15–21; $16, 14 and under) at the door or online. Online ticket sales end two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Arts Barn box office or by calling 301-258-6394.
Recommended for ages 12+
