Review: Riveting ‘Parallel Process’ at Odyssey Theatre
- Anita W. Harris
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
“Parallel Process” is the kind of play that sticks with you long after it ends. That’s mostly because of David Kohner Zuckerman’s multilayered script and direction, and strong actors bringing it to life.
Centered on two brothers who had served in the Vietnam War, the play makes visceral how the past can be not just in the past but infused in the present—allowing old wounds to resurface and possibly even heal.
Dennis (Alan McRae) is a middle-aged California psychologist with a home office (cozy set design by Carter Stark) good at being present and asking questions of his patients, as we see with his interaction with Amanda (Anabella Raye), a younger woman who relates her dream about feeling powerful while holding a man at gunpoint. Dennis is also known for pushing boundaries, as we learn from a phone call about how he’s up for a psychologist award.
But tension arrives when Dennis’s older brother Bobby (Tom Jenkins), a legal expert, shows up unexpectedly just as Dennis’s wife Colleen (Tanja Gartner) is about to leave for the airport to visit their daughter. Neither seems very happy to see Bobby, who turns out to be in town to reveal to the widow of one of their fellow soldiers a dark secret that the brothers have harbored for decades.
As Dennis grapples with this, another young patient, Sam (Vincent Gumbs), also arrives unexpectedly for an urgent appointment, clearly distraught, saying he’s done something alarming to take his healing into his own hands—and prevent anyone else from being hurt the same way as well. But Dennis challenges his story, probing him about being off his meds.
While each of Dennis’s interactions seems like discrete occurrences, mentions of power, abuse, secrets and violence float almost imperceptibly to the surface to create and sustain a subtle tension. The script is layered with the theme of parallel processes, a psychological term for a patient’s relationship dynamics becoming mirrored by or transferred to the therapist.
As events unfold—including another surprise visit, this time by police detective Peterson (Peter Zizzo)—the secret Bobby and Dennis have kept is slowly unpacked, at the same time revealing a fraught family dynamic the brothers have shared since childhood. The playbill warns of a gunshot, so it’s not a spoiler to say one indeed goes off in a climactic way.
Acting is uniformly strong, even among the three minor characters. As leads, McRae is completely believable as Dennis, as if he actually were the psychologist, and Jenkins embodies Bobby equally well, bringing the necessary intensity to his demeanor and pivotal action moments.
And in his key role, Gumbs plays Sam with such emotional authenticity that one believes the pain, anger and fear his character cycles through, all of which further escalate the underlying tension.
“Parallel Process” is thus a gem of a play—well-written and provocative with excellent acting and solid staging, including lighting by Michael Blendermann, sound by Jack Sherman and costuming by Sophia Clark. It portrays in a visceral way how the past and present are entwined, and can occasionally merge in one explosive moment.
“Parallel Process” continues through Oct. 26 at the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $39. For tickets and information, call the box office at 310-477-2055 or visit OdysseyTheatre.com. Run time is 75 minutes with no intermission.