Falling in Fall hooks you from the start and does not let go. It shows promise early leading off with silence and developing the plot through actions; through this, we see a marriage, the start of a family, that family growing, another marriage, and finally a death, all without saying a word. This device could’ve been used to combat one of my biggest critiques of the production, the clunky and awkward exposition often shoehorned into the dialogue. Many conversations felt forced with unnatural background information that would have been better off shown not told, in particular, most of the conversations with the waitress. 

Another critique was I was never really sure what season it was taking place in. The show is called Falling in Fall, we see a Thanksgiving gathering then it jumps to a New Year’s Party, which happens in winter, and then they mention spring later. A normal yearly progression but we are almost instantly taken out of fall. 

I did enjoy the music very much, notably bangers such as Women Understanding Women, Lori’s song, and Ben’s song. The changes in tone and style were impressive for a pit orchestra of that size, and I found myself enjoying almost every song. (The songs were not named in the program, so the titles may be wrong) 

Every character left me with different feelings, but some bright spots were definitely Lori and Jon. Lori’s singing and acting, performed by Sydnie Skinner, never disappointed, and as Lori put it “Jon is a rat,” and I can feel that through Sam Coleman’s acting. Daubrey DeVoe’s singing as Eleanor often left me marveling at her talent, perfect to convey the importance and weight of her character’s actions. 

The ending was predictable but still left me satisfied and despite my criticisms, I would recommend showing up Friday, Saturday, or Sunday to catch the production before it leaves the Hilltop.