For the Next Two Months, the Sun’s Rising Over the Quarry on Off-Off-Broadway

At the Payan Theater, the fear of forgetting one’s past resonates throughout Nick Sanzo’s Sunrise at the Quarry. Performed by the Black Door Theatre Company and directed by Sara Laudonia, this play depicts the transformations of five friends. The story moves seamlessly from their high school days to the years of their late twenties, with flashbacks portraying all of the challenges that have turned them into the people they are today.

Created in 2004, the Black Door Theatre Company began work on the show two years ago. The team prides itself on its originality and willingness to question the boundaries of human limits. Beginning as a series of improvisations, Sunrise at the Quarry was reworked and eventually molded into its present form.

With the majority of the play occurring in Mahoney’s bar in Pueblo, Colo., Sunrise at the Quarry revolves around a vital promise made between the five friends in high school—they will all return to the same bar in 10 years to see other again. With the hope of that promise in the background, the play fast-forwards to their lives now. Noah (Josh Marcantel) is a millionaire and owns his own jet. Lauren (Gina LeMoine) has never left home. Anna (Kristin Cappon) is an assistant producer at NBC. Michael (Brandon McCluskey) has a number of gambling debts and used to work as a magician in Las Vegas, but has since returned home. Alice (Gina dos Santos) dreamed of being an artist and achieved success with her first exhibit, “Sunrise at the Quarry”—however, she was murdered in her apartment six months ago. With such hardships in their past to overcome, the four remaining friends find comfort in the people who remind them of home.

Most of the play consists of in-depth and rapidly paced conversations between the friends, and the actors have mastered these quick back-and-forth exchanges with impeccable timing. Their interactions are realistic and relatable to the audience. They all transform with ease from high-school age—with perky attitudes and wide-eyed expressions—to their late twenties—with mature outlooks and sullen faces. The actors exemplify their talent through their portrayals of grief due to losing a friend and their explosions of anger in response to betrayal.

Although the set is minimal, the use of each piece of furniture is maximized throughout the show, serving as a medium that connects the time and place of the flashbacks together. While there is a creative use of limited materials, having crumpled newspaper appear as grass in one scene and trash in the next does not aid in creating the intended picturesque imagery. The use of dim lighting, however, works well in the flashbacks and is in contrast to the bright lights used for present-day action.

The intimate stage matches the revealing quality of the characters. As they pour out all of their feelings, some chronicle the steps that they have taken to beat the odds against them, while others show that they’re still flailing in prior messes. Another interesting touch is that the actors not involved during a scene watch the play, remaining visible offstage as they sit encircling the action. It symbolizes their collective memory and the thoughts of their flashbacks, since they can only witness the past without taking any active role in it.

Sunrise at the Quarry proves that people must move forward, while still keeping the past in mind. As it is said in one flashback, “High school is a dress rehearsal—it’s practice for when things are important.”