Nocturne

Through Feb. 26, $10-$25, Second Stage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-665-9720, flashpointtheatre.org.

by Mark Cofta

[ theater ]

"Fifteen years ago I killed my sister," Adam Rapp's eerie drama begins. Flashpoint Theatre Co. chose Nocturne, explains director Meghann Williams, to fit this season's theme, "to be alone" (bookended by last fall's stirring Run Mourner Run and May's local première of Quiara Alegria Hudes' 26 Miles ). Starring Kevin Meehan as all five characters in a family consumed by tragedy, Nocturne is an "absolutely gorgeous, if difficult and jarring" drama about "what grief can do to people if left unintended." It's also "very Flashpoint," Williams says — "this intangible thing I can't quite define — usually if there's an apocalypse of some sort, or twisted sadness tinged with the tiniest thread of hope, or if someone dies." So it seems, "very Flashpoint" also means "very good."

Through Feb. 26, $10-$25, Second Stage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-665-9720, flashpointtheatre.org.