“In This House” is a beyond-brilliant gift to actors. Through the lives of three women, Girard evokes a South Boston neighborhood: lunch lady Jessie, her life-long friend Maggie, and her college-aged daughter Lynn. When Jessie opens her home to cancer patients and their families, the once-stable relationships among the women list, while the visits of Lenny, a New Hampshire farmer, threaten to capsize Jessie. In exquisite language, Deirdre Girard renders the gifts of vulnerability and its costs, and we learn, for Jessie and Lenny, as for us all, there is no free lunch. Strongly recommended.

This is a compelling play that takes us to surprising places. The four characters are all strongly developed and they manage to draw us in even when they're doing things that are not admirable. The South Boston setting is vivid and believable. At the end, I was cheering all four of them on.

These characters are comples and authentic, and each has their own distinct journey in this beautiful piece about love, loss, and personal growth. The evolving relationship between Jessie and Lenny is particularly moving.