Review #1 of 2: destination by Jarrott Productions
by David Glen Robinson

Agéd love comes out

Whiskey from the cabinet

Downtown lights whisper.

 

Events, things, plays,may touch our lives and send them right along down new ways. Those epiphanies are more striking because they occur unexpectedly. The impact is most astounding when the stimulus evokes a look at one’s life, not forward, but behind. Look over your shoulder—what shapes of footprints are you laying down behind as you tread these sands of time? 

 

destination, the new play by George Ayres, may become one such influential performing arts event. It bodes well to become this season’s candidate to stride farthest along theatre’s sandy beach. That's because of Jarrott Production’s near-perfect production of the play, now up at Trinity Street Playhouse in downtown Austin. 

 

destination is about Howard Wright, played by Bob Beare, who's living with the blessing of knowing when his life will end, as diagnosed by his doctors. After convincing us that the assisted living center is not the acceptable setting for his demise, he launches upon a journey, something of a time-limited odyssey. The journey trom Houston and through the years eventually takes him to a small town two hours south of the city. My guess would be Lake Jackson or possibly Wharton.

 

Back at the center, reactions of friends and family heighten the dramatic tension. Howard has told his discontents only to Alma, played by Valencia Lee. Alma inadvertently launches him on the trip. Concern, insecurities, guilt, maybe a little fear are the forces that bring together characters to tell their stories in coffee musings, sober reflections, or moments of inebriation. Howard's purpose in his abrupt departure was no secret. He traveled to the home of a woman he loved from afar decades earlier. He came to express his love for Caroline, played by Adriane Shown in a romantic but ineffective attempt to turn back time. Surprise: she waited decades to express her feelings for him, but fate intervened. Shown’s brief performance was both subtle and intense, that of a character keeping the fire well banked. She is a welcome addition to the Austin theatre scene. This scene of two lovers was the climax of the play, including the exquisite image as Howard holds up an engagement ring and Caroline shows him her already be-ringed hand in denial.  The continuation is a heart-wrenchingly slow duet of nonlovers, eyes closed, both channeling a love that never was.

 

Howard and the past

Dance the eternal present

Stillborn love recalled

 

Lost spouses was a subtheme of the play, but those spouses were not always fondly remembered. Alma suffered an abusive marriage but was courted throughout it by admirer who threw love letters over the transom of marriage vows. She never opened the door. No transgression there, but Alma’s determination informed her wisdom, shared with Howard and the other characters, especially with her key line “Regret can eat you alive.”

 

Howard's daughter Jennifer, played by Devon Ragsdale, was seen entangled in the yarn ball of life’s intangibles. Her off-on-off relationship with an “approved” lover from high school and college led to dissolution both of her unhappy marriage and the illicit love. Her lover Robert, played by Joshua Nuñez, made his own confessions in a very well played scene, one of only two he had, . Ragsdale, of great allure and greater talent, seems poised for even greater accomplishments.

 

Gigi, played by Janelle Buchanan, a resident of the center, had suffered a second-hand-Rose type of marriage on the rebound, also with a spouse who died early. Her simple day-to-day caring for Howard more than telegraphed her feelings. Buchanan played her character subtly and quietly (although all the cast’s lines were clear), showing one more quality of her wide performative range.

 

The cast of six was superb, led by the theatrical demigod Bob Beare. His understated performance made his angry outburst even more dramatic. Direction by Dave Jarrott seamlessly. crafted the work of the cast.  Credit also goes to Assistant Director Caroline Cearley who pushed dialogues into literary and sonic perfection and made sure props designed by Kaitlyn Hartnagel were always where they had to exist. Dialogue was word perfect, with no detectable stumbles in speech or with props. Simple things, but difficult to achieve.

 

Good lighting in Trinity Street Playhouse can occasionally be hard to achieve, attested by recent examples, but the design by MacKenzie Mulligan brought every scene into focus with no ghosting of instruments or other disruptions. Bright, multicolored lighting on the romantic dance was thoughtful, beautiful, and memorable. Technical Director Monroe Oxley shares some of the credit here for ensuring all design elements meshed into a workable event. Lighting cues for the lights-and-traffic noise montage in the dark during Howard’s street odyssey were well-executed and deliberately jangley. Sound Designer Craig M. Brock gets the credit for the noise.

 

In such a haiku-riven production, it is no surprise that the play should end with one. However, it is too much of a spoiler to copy the text here, but the play is full of such thoughtful images, haiku material. Here’s another.

 

Time makes no stumbles

But shatters all your regret

Drain the lonely glass.

 

destination is highly recommended for all audiences, especially the lovelorn, the questing, the regretful, and those who need a little hope. It plays from May 14 to 31, 2026 at Trinity Street Playhouse, downtown Austin.

 

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destination
by George Ayres
Jarrott Productions

May 14 – May 31, 2026

Thursdays–Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm.

Trinity Street Playhouse, 901 Trinity St., inside First Church – Austin, TX. 

Tickets range from $15–$35 and go on sale April 13. Discounted pricing at every performance and Supporter tickets helping make that possible.

With just 50 seats per performance, availability is limited—get your tickets now for this intimate, poignant story.

Reserve seats via Jarrott Productions' Ticketweb page.

The official Champagne Opening Night is Friday, May 15. 

Learn More

Runtime is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.