"Remedial" - by Jordan Miller - Gateway Players (Southbridge, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Patrick Bracken as “Robin” with Greg Glanville as “Cameron” in a scene from Jordan Miller's new play "REMEDIAL" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing until March 8, 2026. Photo Credit David Corkum)
Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMag Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
"I sure as hell ain’t here to get lectured on how life isn’t fair by some old dude who’s bitter ‘cause his heyday is over."
- ("Jamie) / Jordan Miller
Gateway Players
Presents Jordan Miller's
"REMEDIAL"
Written and Directed by Jordan Miller
Producer Stephen Jean
Cast Includes: Patrick Bracken as “Robin,” Tey Ferron as “Dr. Hamilton,” Vivian Eliza Nichols as “Angel,” Greg Glanville as “Cameron,” Katie Walsh as “Morgan,” Stephen Clarke as “Jamie,” Asher McCoy as “Blake,” Mary Tisdell as “Devin.”
Additional Creative Team:
Stage Manager – Jessica Hall; Stage Crew – Nora Miller, Sara Pinto; Set Design – Sara Pinto, Jordan Miller; Set Construction - Asher McCoy, Cindy Keane, Patrick Bracken, Nora Miller, Jordan Miller; Costumes and Property – Jordan Miller, Jessica Hall, Lynn Boucher; Lighting and Sound – Stephen Jean, David Corkum.
Performances:
February 27, 2026 through March 8, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Performances to be held at Fellowship Hall of Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm Street in Southbridge, MA. Entrance is on Park Street (around corner).
TICKETS:
Online credit card ticket sales are available at www.gatewayplayers.org
For more information call # 508-764-4531 or visit www.gatewayplayers.org
BUY TICKETS
This program is supported by a grant from the Southbridge Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Gateway Players presents the premiere of an original two-act play in "REMEDIAL" which shows that even the quite learned among us usually discover that they have so much more yet to learn.
Written and staged by Jordan Miller, in "REMEDIAL" we follow the journey of a troubled writer who is forced by circumstance to accept a new job teaching remedial English to a room filled with six working-class adult students.
Most of the play unfolds in a cramped classroom setting with several scenes in a doctor’s office taking place in front of a closed curtain.
"REMEDIAL" moves along quite well, albeit with some minor downtime required to redress the stage in front of the curtain.
As the show’s script suggests, the classroom soon becomes a space for unexpected growth, where both teacher and students confront assumptions and insecurities.
Throughout the story, "REMEDIAL" examines the interpersonal connection of people who struggle with…well…interpersonal connections.
The play centers on Robin (Patrick Bracken), a grim middle-aged fiction writer who, as described in the script, is “bitter from past trauma and career setbacks.”
Bracken gives a marvelous portrayal of Robin, a character that carries the responsibility of much of the show’s dialogue, which Bracken executes to perfection.
(Photo: The CAST of Jordan Miller's new play "REMEDIAL" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing until March 8, 2026. Photo Credit David Corkum)
In his sessions with his therapist, Dr. Hamilton (Tey Ferron), Robin describes his inability to reach his new students, each of whom continually frustrates him on a regular basis during class.
As Dr. Hamilton, Ferron shows us the therapist’s amiable nature, while simultaneously trying to be firm in making Robin come to terms with his struggles which have augmented his inherent abrasive personality.
We also meet the six divergent (if not ethnically diverse) students in Robin’s class; all of whom cannot understand why their teacher is so unfriendly and combative with them.
(*Editor's note - while not ethnically diverse as staged here, the script does allow for flexible casting and gender-fluid casting)
Angel (Vivian Eliza Nichols) and Morgan (Katie Walsh) are working-class moms who are both taking the class in hopes to better themselves in effort of setting positive examples for their respective children.
Both Nicholas and Walsh give exemplary performances, with Nichols landing many of Angel’s quick and “unfiltered” retorts both in and outside the classroom.
As the quirky and eccentric Devin, Mary Tisdell gives a highly entertaining performance as the seemingly clueless yet (surprisingly and) equally savant Devin, who is without a doubt the funniest character in the show.
(Photo: Patrick Bracken as “Robin” in a scene from Jordan Miller's new play "REMEDIAL" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing until March 8, 2026. Photo Credit David Corkum)
Stephen Clarke provides an intense portrayal of the character of “Jamie,” who seems equally as bitter about his own unfortunate set of circumstances as Robin is of his own, culminating in some of the story’s most intense conflicts and exchanges.
Jamie needs this class, but he doesn’t need Robin’s condescension which seems to come part and parcel with the curriculum.
Cameron, aka “Body Cam,” played hilariously by Greg Glanville, doesn’t seem to have much of a vested interest in the class, further frustrating Robin while entertaining the audience.
Finally, we meet functionally autistic Blake (Asher McCoy), who comes across as shy but is quite well-versed on many subjects, including English and his current English instructor, making Robin curious as to Blake’s reasoning for wanting to take a class he does not seem to require.
McCoy gives a sensitive, sympathetic rendering of Blake, presenting a well-rounded character that does not only focus upon Blake's autism
(Photo: Asher McCoy as “Blake,” Katie Walsh as “Morgan” and Vivian Eliza Nichols as “Angel” in a scene from Jordan Miller's new play "REMEDIAL" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing until March 8, 2026. Photo Credit David Corkum)
Before the February 28th performance, playwright-director Jordan Miller announced to the audience that "REMEDIAL" is a new play that has been developed for some time.
The impressive performances offered here certainly indicate "REMEDIAL" is a well-constructed show with an equal dose of heart brought to the story by its cast.
That said, this play still comes across as a work that needs some additional refining or at least some final tweaks.
In the show’s second act, which seems to come to an end, the play abruptly seems to continue, with two seemingly unnecessary scenes that appear to only be there to tie up some loose plotlines yet, combined, merely serve as an unrequired epilogue to the story.
Otherwise, "REMEDIAL" is a fine story with a lot to recommend it, thanks in no small part to the combined efforts of its Gateway Players cast and creative team.
(Photo: Patrick Bracken as “Robin” with Greg Glanville as “Cameron” in a scene from Jordan Miller's new play "REMEDIAL" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing until March 8, 2026. Photo Credit David Corkum)
Catch Jordan Miller's "REMEDIAL" which continues in Southbridge until March 8th, 2026.
Coming up almost immediately for Gateway Players will be the Stephen Schwartz iconic musical “GODSPELL” (as originally conceived and written by John-Michael Tebelak based upon the Book of Matthew) in an exclusive one-weekend engagement from March 20th, 2026 until March 22nd, 2026.
For tickets and information, contact Gateway Players at # 508-764-4531 or visit www.gatewayplayers.org.
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Approximately two hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
Robin is a disillusioned author who reluctantly takes a job teaching "REMEDIAL" English to a group of adult students.
Bitter from past trauma and career setbacks, Robin initially struggles to connect with these diverse students, each of whom carries their own burdens.
As the story unfolds, the classroom becomes a space for unexpected growth, where Robin and the students challenge each other’s assumptions and learn to confront their insecurities.
Through humor, conflict, and shared vulnerability, "REMEDIAL" explores themes of resilience, empathy, and the transformative power of understanding and human connection.
ABOUT GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE OF SOUTHBRIDGE
GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE, INC. is an all-volunteer community theater providing quality live theatre performances and workshops to Southbridge, Sturbridge, and Charlton, Massachusetts and surrounding areas. GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE, INC. started in 1975, when a group of interested community members decided that Southbridge needed a theater group to bring live productions to the area. First using local schools and borrowed rehearsal and storage space, GATEWAY then moved into its current home in 1978, when Ruth Wells (of the American Optical Company Wells family) donated her home on Main Street as a cultural center in Southbridge. GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE offers a full season of productions, usually performed at Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm Street, Southbridge, MA. as well as workshops for youths and adults. Auditions are open to all, and new members are always welcome.
P.O. Box # 171
Southbridge, MA. 01550
# 508-764-4531
