NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Isn't it nice when some longtime acquaintances give you something that's different (but enjoyable) during the holiday season?

Well, that's just what ACT I co-founder Bob O'Connell and his artistic colleagues at GroundWorks Theatre have done with their thoroughly entertaining production of Will Kern's Hellcab. There are several familiar faces in the cast, but all provide something new to the Nashville theater scene - in this case, the local premiere of an edgy comedy from Chicago.

The set-up is simple: we see a Windy City cabbie (Charles Howard) picking up Christmastime fares, or, to borrow from the show's program, "a smorgasbord of humanity." There's just about every kind of personality type, from young stoneheads and a couple expecting their first child to religious zealots and emotionally scarred individuals who leave us wondering what will happen to them and to the guy driving them around town.

Howard's performance is the sure hand on the wheel that holds these vignettes together. He shows us the mixture of savvy and bewilderment that his character has while adding just the right amount of empathy for the struggles his fellow travelers are undergoing. Howard is one of the ACT I veterans that O'Connell and his wife Sean have brought into their new professional troupe, and he rewards them with the kind of acting that comes from the right combination of hard work and talent.

There are others whose well-known faces appear in Hellcab, and like Howard they give us something new, not just because they're playing these characters for the first time, but because they're obviously committed to bringing the play to ripest fruition. Melissa Landry, Jack Chambers and Jim Wright show excellent range in their multiple roles. For example, Wright's show-starting stint as a preachy religious man sits in stark contrast to the kindly architect that he gives us at its close.

The rest of the cast is equally adept at playing several parts during the show's fast-paced 70 minutes. Lisa Davis, Leslie Wallace and Deborah Knott give us different women from all walks of life and make each seem real. Knott's emotionally powerful turn as a distraught woman who's been savagely violated is the dramatic linchpin to an evening of remarkable theater.

O'Connell has directed his company with a light touch that allows the acting to shine. Jonathan Stephens' ingenious set design includes a cab made of wire placed on a turntable to give us different vantage points as fares come and go. The piece is also lit to refined effect by Aaron Braun.

If this is what the O'Connells and their collaborators have to offer in their post-ACT I work, I hope they have a long and successful run as a theater company. Hellcab is the kind of show that Nashville needs more and more. It's a contemporary, edgy, thoughtful, funny and touching piece brought to life by some gifted artists. What a nice Yuletide present to theater lovers!

To See The Show…

Hellcab ended its run at the Darkhorse Theatre on Dec. 18.