‘The First Snow of Summer’ is a Brilliant Journey Through Tumultuous Family Dynamics

The cast of “The First Snow of Summer” at Seat of the Pants Productions. Credit: Photo by Grace McConnell.

When you’re navigating childhood, in one minute, your siblings can be your closest confidants, teammates and best friends, and in the next, a giant pain in the ass. Regardless of whether or not you always got along, growing up parallel to someone else who shares your house, relatives, school, holidays and vacations is a unique shared experience that ties you together.

What happens when you’ve grown up or grown into yourself and those ties become frayed?

The world premiere of “The First Snow of Summer” at Seat of the Pants Productions is a personal, timely piece of theater that explores sibling dynamics in a world that is fraught with division and facing impending disaster.

The play takes place in the present day on the porch of a lower-middle-class homestead in the mountains of Southwest Colorado. Living in the home is Marnie, who cares for her dying, bed-prone father and her neurodivergent younger sister, Peg. Visiting their childhood home are Clark and Tess, who, along with Clark’s wife, Catherine, are on their way to the wedding of their eldest brother. As a forest fire approaches the homestead, the family discusses the future of their home, stirring up a gamut of emotions and opinions that manage to bring the family members together in one breath and divide them in the next.

“The First Snow of Summer” is the latest work of local playwright Eric Coble, a Tony-, Emmy- and Pulitzer-nominated playwright. According to the pre-show announcement, Coble has been developing the show with Seat of the Pants Productions for around two and a half years. The fully realized production is now on stage at The Darl Center for the Arts under the adept co-direction of Anne McEvoy and Craig Joseph.

The play runs an hour and forty minutes with no intermission and takes place over the course of a single afternoon. During this time, Coble explores how elements of adulthood–newfound spirituality, education, marriage, changed political leanings, parenthood, loss and caregiving–have altered the relationship between five siblings.

Coble’s “The First Snow of Summer” places realistic characters into a pressure-cooker of political, societal and interpersonal pressures that leaves futures teetering and relationships in limbo. What makes the work so successful is the dynamism and depth that is given to each character that allows their relationships to feel authentic.

Not only does the show feel authentic, it’s also timely. We are living in a moment where it’s not uncommon to be estranged from at least one family member. “Going no contact,” the act of severing ties with a member of your family, is now a commonly used phrase. Many Americans have fewer children, will readily relocate, broach social and political topics formerly seen as taboo and refuse to overlook behavior of which they do not approve.

We care so much about this little family and their future because they feel like real people navigating conflicts that could very well manifest within our own lives. Credit is due to the writing, of course, but also to the capable cast and creatives of Seat of the Pants Productions.

Samantha Cocco is downright exceptional as Peg. Cocco’s acting is utterly believable, whether she is portraying Peg’s self-soothing mannerisms–such as stroking the keys of her tape deck, fiddling with her shoelaces or nervously hiding in plain sight as she observes her family–or rattling off facts about various musicians.

Jacki Dietz as Tess is grounded and pessimistic. Dietz delivers many of her lines with a deadpan sarcasm and a low tolerance for bullshit that makes her one of the funniest characters in the show. Fabio Polanco as Clark strikes a careful balance between condescending and charismatic. Polanco’s portrayal effectively speaks to his character’s concern for his family, as well as his superiority complex. Neda Spears as the siblings’ childhood friend and neighbor, Alecia, throws another interesting, romantic dynamic into the show.

Clark’s wife Catherine is embodied in this production by the wonderful Courtney Elizabeth Brown. Brown is dynamic and mysterious, so that as soon as you peg down Catherine’s character, your conclusions are negated. She also delivers the more lofty, poetic monologues, some of which stretch on a smidge too long to remain realistic.

Juliette Regnier plays the family’s caregiver Marnie. Regnier ensures that the audience feels Marnie’s sincerity, hope and desire for connection. However, the age gap that appears between Regnier and the rest of the cast led to confusion as to Marnie’s relationship with the other characters, as her status as a sister and not a mother or stepmother was not outwardly apparent.

Ron Newell constructed a beautiful and realistic scene that features the outside of the family’s home with ferns and the trunks of birch trees bookending either side of a wooden deck. This setting is lit by Ayron Lord, who uses flares of light to emphasize dramatic moments. Maggie Hamilton uses localized audio to convincingly make sounds appear as if they are occurring on the other side of the house or in the forest. Costume designer Abbie Hagen dresses each cast member in modern clothing fitting their character’s personality, be that a collared shirt, jeans or a shawl.

When you visit a geyser, you expect an eruption; you see the steam in the air, smell the sulfur and watch the water boil as bubbles form and pop in response to continuous pressure. Coble’s script, with help from the talented Seat of the Pants’ cast and creatives, emulates the ever-increasing anticipation one feels when waiting for something to explode–and when it does, the power of the eruption will leave you wide eyed and in awe.

“The First Snow of Summer” runs through June 29 at Seat of the Pants Productions, The Darl Center for the Arts, 5437 Broadway Ave. Cleveland.
Visit seatofthepants.org for tickets, $23-36.

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