Review #2 of 2: Destination by Jarrott Productions
by Michael Meigs

 

George Ayres' Destination, a small play, fits nicely into the Trinity Street Players' fourth-floor black box theatre downtown at First Austin. Downstairs there was a  bustling fest of LGBQT organizations on the plaza and in the lobby; upstairs, the sense was equally positive but more reflective, for Howard, the focus of the story, is very much at the end of a long lifespan. Destination examines nostalgia, regret, and the tension between duty and desire. The story unfolds at a steady pace; at times it surprises you with laugh-out-loud moments firmly based in its sympathetic characters.

 

"Small" isn't a comment on cast size or sweep of the action. Instead, it connotes intimacy and focus. Howard, the widowed, retired architect portrayed by Bob Beare, has reluctantly settled in an assisted living highrise in Houston. He's not really isolated, for he's often visited by his talkative neighbor woman from down the hall (Gigi -- Janelle Buchanan), by his daughter Jennifer (Devon Ragsdale), and by his longtime housekeeper Alma (Valencia Lee). Howard is disinclined to socialize (too many old folks down there in the dining room) but he doesn't mind chatting, particularly if he can reminisce. We hear when Howard gets the phone call from his physician about his lung cancer ("maybe a year? Well . . . thanks. . . ."). So does housekeeper Alma.

 

Howard doesn't complain. He doesn't intend to share that disastrous news. Chance brings him much more alarming news. Through an article in the back pages of the Houston Chronicle, he learns that a woman who once worked for him is going to marry a man he considers a wealthy wastrel. What to do? His effort at writing a letter is ineffective harrumphing. Alma decides Howard needs some coaching. Both about his own repressed emotions and what to do about them.

 

Parallel to the tale of the winter of Howard's years is that of the storm of his daughter Jennifer's failing marriage. The mother of two, she's completely neglected by a husband we never see, and she has drifted into a three-year affair with the high school sweetheart who abruptly ditched her at the age of nineteen. He vows his intention to spend his life with her; as for his other vows, he says he has already initiated divorce proceedings so he can do so. Jennifer learns that her father Howard has disappeared without a word from his residence and becomes frantic.

 

Veterans Bob Beare and Janelle Buchanan esstablish a comfortng, friendly ease between their characters that speaks volumes about those who've survived most of the life cycle, absorbing disappointments and abrupt changes without becoming desperate. Life happens; we deal with it. Devon Ragsdale gives daughter Jennifer an edgy discontent, a reluctance to act or commit. She's appalled to learn that Howard could ever have had feelings for someone other than her mother, who passed away four years ago.

 

 

Frank of speech, impatience of hesitation, Alma isn't just a housekeeper. She has taken care of Jennifer since J. was small, and she has patiently put up with Howard. Valencia Lee takes a role that could be ponderous —pretty much the only adult in the room—and she makes it shine. She's the truth teller, she's the life guide, and she's the mischief maker. A lovely performance.

 

The cast is completed by Joshua Nuñez as Jennifer's earnest lover and Adrianne Shown as Caroline, object of Howard's long suppressed affections. Neither has a great deal of stage time, but they're effective foils to a daughter and father facing big decisions.

 

Yes, it's a small play, similar in some ways to Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, except that the destinations aren't geographic but rather psychological. How does one balance formal duty (constraints) with one's deepest emotions? What's the essence of that abused term "life balance"? When is action needed to establish authenticity? George Ayres's Destination implicitly poses those challenges, teasing us meanwhile with touches of humor. It offers the comfort of resolutions for the protagonists, perhaps a little too neatly, while Valencia Lee as Alma gently shakes her head and murmurs "My, my . . ."

 

EXTRA

Click HERE to view the Jarrott Productions program for Destination

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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.