Seeking Sanctuary in ‘A Mislaid Heaven’

Whatever loss of divine grace the tragic characters in “A Mislaid Heaven” may suffer, the play itself is anything but misplaced in a polished production by the Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood.

Set in a 1921 fishing village on the impoverished western coast of Ireland, Carson Grace Becker’s eloquent drama is an intimate love story writ on a large historical canvas. Sweeping romanticism abounds, as dark secrets from the townsfolk’s pasts combine with political turmoil over the impending treaty with England that would split the country in two.

Caught in these murky local and national tides is Ruth (Marci Hill), a free-spirited lass unable to find her emotional footing amid the narrow prejudices of her neighbors. Insulating herself behind temperamental outbursts, petty thefts and other antisocial behavior, Ruth finds her private sanctuary breached by blossoming love for her childhood companion Samuel (Tripp Pickell)--now a lower-echelon soldier in the IRA.

In an anchoring performance at the crossroads of the play’s multiple plot threads, Hill’s Ruth is consistently riveting as she grows from fierce rebel to deceptively bland domestication.

Standing out among the well-cast (and accurately accented if sometimes stereotyped) ensemble are Taylor Gilbert as Ruth’s equally eccentric and cantankerous mother and James K. Ward as a resident Brit who surprises with his sympathy to the Irish cause and his long-buried connection to Ruth.

Amid Desma Murphy’s opulently detailed set, Ken Sawyer’s staging honors the play’s poetic sensibilities while keeping most of this borderline soap opera on the right side of the fence.

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* “A Mislaid Heaven,” Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends July 15. $15 (this Sunday, pay-what-you-can). (818) 759-3382, Ext. 2#. Running time: 3 hours.