College Park’s ‘Failure: A Love Story’ Proves That Less Can Be More on Stage

12 hours ago

6 min read

Fine Arts | Theater Review

With precise ensemble narration, memorable performances and a touch of 1920s radio drama, College Park Theatre delivers an unconventional love story that deserves an attentive audience.

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — College Park High School Theatre presents Failure: A Love Story, by Philip Dawkins, Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 21-24, with performances at 7 p.m. in the College Park High School Auditorium.

This is not a conventional high school theater production. Audiences expecting elaborate set changes, large production numbers or continuous dialogue between characters will discover something quite different — and remarkably effective.

At its heart, Failure: A Love Story is almost a 1920s radio drama brought to life on stage. The actors don't simply perform the story. They tell it, passing the narrative from one voice to another with a level of precision that becomes one of the production's greatest accomplishments.

Set in Chicago in 1928, the story follows the three Fail sisters — Nelly, Jenny June and Gerty — who each fall in love with the same young man, Mortimer Mortimer. The audience learns early that none of the sisters will enjoy a long life. Yet what unfolds is not simply a tragedy. It is an often funny, sometimes heartbreaking examination of love, family, loss and the moments that make an ordinary life extraordinary.

A production built around the spoken word

What makes this production unusual is its reliance on ensemble narration rather than traditional dialogue.

Characters step in and out of the storytelling, sometimes narrating their own experiences and sometimes describing the lives of others. Even the clocks, animals and household objects become participants in recounting the history of the Fail family.

There are extended sequences where actors barely move. The audience's attention rests almost entirely on their voices, expressions and timing.

This approach leaves little room for error. An actor entering a fraction too early or missing a verbal cue could disrupt the entire sequence.

Yet one of the most impressive elements of College Park's production is how effortlessly the narration moves through the ensemble. No one steps on another performer's lines. The story flows from one cast member to the next with the precision of a carefully rehearsed musical composition.

Director Valerie Labonski explained that the opening alone contains 18 pages of chorus narration. She spent a week assigning individual passages, considering how different actors' voices could represent particular thoughts and storylines.

The result demonstrates just how much theatrical movement can occur without anyone physically moving across the stage.

There is also ingenuity in the staging. Rather than relying on large scenery changes or elaborate mechanical effects, the production uses simple theatrical devices, including flowing fabric, to create environments and suggest movement.

The approach requires the audience to participate through imagination, much as listeners once did with radio dramas.

David Schwartz delivers three distinctly different portraits of grief

Among the evening's strongest performances is David Schwartz as Mortimer Mortimer.

The role presents a difficult emotional challenge. Mortimer experiences the excitement of romance and the devastating loss of someone he loves — not once, but three times.

A less experienced actor might approach each loss with the same expressions of shock and sadness.

Schwartz does something considerably more thoughtful.

His responses to the deaths of the three sisters are noticeably different. Each relationship has its own emotional character, and each loss affects Mortimer in a different way.

That distinction reveals an impressive attention to detail and an understanding that grief is not a single emotion performed repeatedly.

Moving between the optimism of new love and profound sorrow requires maturity. Schwartz handles those transitions with theatrical instincts that extend well beyond what audiences might expect from a high school performer.

Three sisters, three distinct performances

Marla Ventura, playing Nelly Fail, commands attention with a performance that feels exceptionally polished.

A senior appearing in her final fall production at College Park, Ventura previously portrayed Ilona in Parfumerie and Amy in Little Women. That experience is evident in the control she brings to Nelly.

Her dialogue doesn't sound as though it's being delivered from a memorized script. The words seem to arrive naturally, with pauses, emphasis and changes in pace that fit the moment.

Just as impressive is the connection between her voice and physical movement.

A line is accompanied by exactly the right gesture. A reaction comes at precisely the right moment. Her exchanges with fellow cast members have a fluidity that makes difficult timing look easy.

And then there are the costumes.

Ventura's appearances in a striking red dress and later a bridal gown practically leap off the stage. Both create memorable visual moments, but neither overwhelms the performance. It's Ventura's command of the character that makes those appearances memorable.

Bella Blanco, portraying Jenny June Fail, brings a different energy to the production.

Blanco has demonstrated considerable versatility in previous roles, including Miss Amalia Balash in Parfumerie and Simon in Lord of the Flies. Moving between serious dramatic material and quirky comedy is not always easy, but Blanco makes those transitions convincingly.

Her Jenny June contributes to the play's eccentric charm without allowing the character to become a caricature.

Blanco also deserves recognition for something happening beyond the stage. Her TikTok promotional videos for the production are particularly creative.

Rather than simply announcing performance dates, she has approached the promotion with the same imagination associated with the production itself. It's a smart example of how student performers can extend the theatrical experience into social media.

Torrey Reeves, portraying Gerty Fail, continues to establish herself as one of College Park Theatre's accomplished veteran performers. Her previous roles as Harriet in Emma and Ralph in Lord of the Flies demonstrate the range of characters she has taken on. In this production, Reeves shows something that separates developing actors from more mature performers: the ability to disappear completely into a character.

Young actors sometimes develop familiar reactions that follow them from one production to another. Surprise looks the same, sadness looks the same, and traces of the performer's everyday personality remain visible regardless of the role.

Reeves increasingly avoids those habits.

Her expressions, mannerisms and emotional reactions belong to Gerty, rather than appearing to be a collection of familiar acting techniques. It is a convincing performance that reflects how much her skills have developed through her College Park theater experience.

David Reyes provides the soundtrack — live

One of the production's most delightful surprises comes from David Reyes, who portrays the Gramophone.

Audiences could easily assume they are hearing a recorded soundtrack accompanying the action.

They are not.

That remarkable singing voice belongs to Reyes, who performs live and provides much of the production's musical atmosphere.

His contribution is more significant than simply singing well. His vocals help establish the emotional temperature of individual scenes, shifting between playful, uplifting moments and the weight of the story's darker developments.

In an interview with The Woodlands Student Center, Reyes explained that the role demands careful breath control, particularly when singing quietly. He also researched period musical styles, drawing inspiration from Billie Holiday as he developed his performance.

Reyes, who discovered his passion for singing after joining choir in seventh grade, turns what could have been a background musical element into an essential part of the storytelling.

His performance is exceptional.

The precision behind the curtain

A production that depends so heavily on narration also places unusual demands on its technical team.

Stage manager Rylee Jowziak deserves particular recognition.

There are no massive scenery transitions to dominate this production. Instead, its success depends on careful coordination, precisely executed cues and consistency from beginning to end.

Jowziak provides the steady organizational presence necessary to keep that demanding structure together.

It is easy to forget that this is a student-managed production. That is a compliment to both Jowziak and the technical crew.

What audiences should expect

Failure: A Love Story is presented as a one-act production without an intermission.

The experience is different from a traditional play, where conversations between characters drive most of the action.

Here, the narrative itself is the performance.

Audiences should arrive prepared to listen closely, particularly during the opening sequences when the ensemble establishes the family's history.

The production is not about large physical movements or constantly changing scenery. Much of its humor, emotion and meaning comes from language, timing, vocal expression and carefully selected gestures.

Think of an old-fashioned radio drama, but with the added dimension of watching the performers create the story before your eyes.

For viewers willing to embrace that approach, the reward is substantial.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of Labonski's production is that the audience gradually stops noticing the unusual narrative structure. Instead of thinking about who is telling the story, viewers become absorbed in the story itself.

And while the title suggests failure, the play ultimately has more to say about the courage required to love.

As Labonski explained in her interview, she hopes audiences recognize that "grief is the cost of loving deeply."

It is a fitting description of a production that finds humor in heartbreak and joy in the brief connections that shape our lives.

College Park Theatre has taken a demanding, unconventional script and made it accessible through disciplined ensemble work, thoughtful direction and several outstanding individual performances.

This is a production worth seeing — and, perhaps more importantly, listening to.