By George Basler
When he began reading Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside earlier this year, Tim Gleason said he couldn’t put it down. The play’s language is “incredible,” and the themes of loyalty, friendship and devotion make it “one of the most moving plays I’ve ever been involved in,” the artistic director of Binghamton’s KNOW Theatre said.
A production of the play, directed by Gleason, will open KNOW’s 2024-2025 season on Friday (Sept. 13) and run weekend through Sept. 29 at the downtown Binghamton theater.
“It’s one of those plays that it’s hard to tell you a lot of things about and not give away the story line,” Gleason said, adding that he thinks “there’s no way” it won’t have a personal effect on audience members.
Rapp has carved out a notable career as a playwright, screenwriter, director and author of young adult novels. He wrote the book for The Outsiders: A New Musical, a re-imagination of the 1967 S.E. Hinton novel and 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film adaptation that won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Musical.
The Sound Inside premiered at the prestigious Williamstown Festival in 2018. A subsequent Broadway production, featuring actress Mary-Louise Parker, drew strong critical reviews and won Parker the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
The work features Rapp’s narrative trickery and elliptical writing as it focuses on the fateful relationship between Bella, a 50-something Yale University writing professor, and her student, Christopher, a brilliant young man brimming with youthful arrogance and anxiety.
Their lives become entangled when Christopher barges into Bella’s office with a novel he was been working on. The two engage in intellectual discussions that become more personal and intense as the play progresses. The action reaches a climax when Bella confronts Christopher with a shocking request that neither knows if he can honor.
The plot is very unpredictable, said Heidi Weeks, who is playing Bella. “I feel like it’s a very emotional, literary and intellectual journey of the mind,” she said, noting she was attracted to her character’s intellect and depth. “She’s very much her own person, a lone person, and she’s fine with it.”
Weeks has lengthy resume in regional theater, including performances at Chenango River Theatre and Cider Mill Playhouse (now Cider Mill Stage). Finding the depth in Rapp’s language was challenging for her as actor, she said She emphasized that The Sound Inside leaves audience members open to interpreting the ending any way they want.
Jacob Donlin is playing Christopher. His recent credits are Sh-Boom: The Musical at Cider Mill Stage and Rabbit Hole at KNOW. His reaction after reading The Sound Inside was “please sign me up,” Donlin said.
The character of Christopher has a darkness and passion for his craft that Donlin finds appealing’ “There is a sense of existential angst I can relate to,” he noted while agreeing that the plot has many twists and turns.
Lighting plays an important role in the play, Gleason said. Designer Gabrielle Button worked on the play’s original production while an intern at the Williamstown Festival.
Gleason believes The Sound Inside’s emotions will stay with audience members after the curtain goes down. “It’s going to pull on a lot of heart strings,” he said.
IF YOU GO: KNOW Theatre will present Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside weekends Sept. 13-29 at its theater, 74 Carroll St., Binghamton. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday performances are at 3 p.m. Tickets at $28 ($23 for seniors, $15 for students) can be purchased at www.knowtheatre.org There is a pay-what-you-can night Thursday, Sept. 19.
