Reflect, Recharge and Find a New Way Forward (Little Colonel Players)
The Abbey Written by Garrett Bates Directed by Mike Price Review by Brian Kennedy
Entire contents are copyright © 2026 Brian Kennedy. All rights reserved.
Grief is never an easy subject to tackle theatrically, but Little Colonel Players handles it wonderfully with heart and humor in the original play The Abbey.
Louisville-based playwright Garrett Bates wrote The Abbey, which Mike Price directed for Little Colonel Players. In the post-pandemic world of the play, it centers on Sam (Eric Tichenor), who is not far removed from losing his wife Annie to said pandemic. After a separate near-tragedy, Sam’s friends and family essentially force him to stay at a Trappist monastery’s silent retreat to reflect, recharge and find a new way forward.
There was much to love about this show, starting with the play between Sam and Brother Armand (Bob Klein). From their first lines together, there’s an authentic chemistry between the two as they trade witty banter straightforwardly, never winking to the audience. With as many Neil Simon-like one-liners in the opening scenes, it led to plenty of loud, sustained audience laughs.
Sam also has wonderful chemistry with fellow retreat visitor and recent widow Mary (Christine Bellehelen). The audience immediately feels the easygoing bond between the two, and as their journey through the retreat continues, one can’t help but love it as they support each other through their mutual hurt.
Later, Bellehelen performs a monologue with the hapless Novice Monk (David de Spain) involved that starts out with sadness but effectively moves into empowerment. Bellehelen’s range and de Spain’s reactions were superbly well done.
Of course, when dealing with grief, many emotions come forth. After hearing his late wife’s final voicemail and seeing her final texts, Sam hits bottom. Although he could have made these moments slightly more potent with better loud-soft voice variation, Tichenor showed an impactful range taking on these moments. This, in turn, made the audience respond with sympathetic gasps, and “oh”s.
Then, there were the monks. De Spain, Klein, and George Robert Bailey as Father O’Connor use vividly animated mannerisms during times when they are not supposed to talk, which is often, to great effect. There’s even a dinner scene when the monks play pranks while not speaking, leading to the loudest laughs of the night.
Bates did a fantastic job balancing the comedy with the tragedy with his writing, and Price was great in giving both sides plenty of room to breathe without one completely overtaking the other. Meanwhile, the Little Colonel Players’ cast handle the varying emotions in The Abbey with obvious and genuine care, humor and heart. Take your own (not-so-silent) retreat to Pewee Valley to enjoy this show.
The Abbey
The Little Colonel Players
October 9-18 2026
The Little Colonel Playhouse
302 Mount Mercy Dr
Pewee Valley, KY 40056
Comments