Dave Kelly is funny. That’s what you know about him, if you’ve seen his work or if you’ve read any interview of him. And this would be what you would expect from Lunchbox Theatre’s Dad, Day 1, Kelly’s second play as playwright. A funny, comedic, light look at becoming a dad from Kelly’s point of view. The play does have plenty of that but it causes Kelly to look at his own upbringing within a Catholic family, with 9 siblings. It’s a sincere and honest story about family and struggling to see how you fit within that framework.
The one man show tells of Dave Kelly. Shortly after his son is born he’s not sure where his car is in the parking lot, and he needs to go home and build the crib. With the aid of tastefully simple projection design, direction by Rebecca Northan and a set designed by Terry Gunvoldahl, Dave goes about building a crib while telling the audience how he grew up and how his upbringing has shaped his life to be what it is now.
From being in a strict Catholic household, to bed wetting to learning who he was, Kelly doesn’t hide his feelings away in plots and character. This is an honest telling of Kelly’s life and the real struggles that he went through about religion and his own identity.
Dad, Day 1 is Kelly on stage, building a crib while telling a story of his life. Ellis Lalonde’s sound design slides in and out, but Kelly has your attention because he’s telling his story. From the heart.
Dad, Day 1 runs at Lunchbox Theatre until April 19th. More information is available online.
Credit: Dave Kelly - playwright and actor. Photo by Nicole Zylstra
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In Dad, Day 1, Dave Kelly lays bare the emotions that come with the transition to new fatherhood. In an exquisite expose of a man, so vitally in touch with his humanity, Dave comes to terms with his mixed emotions about life in his family of origin. Although it seems that Dave has decided to father his new son differently than he was parented, the poignant ending of this play leaves the audience with the realization that experiences shape the very fabric of one’s being! While I was expecting a humorous look into the frantic life a first-time father, Dad, Day 1, I left pondering how I can do better in my roles as a parent of adult children and a grandmother. This play is a powerful reminder of the vital influence of parents on their children’s lives.