Bernadette “Bernie” Vincolo (Stephanie Gould) has spent hours sitting in a tiny sandbox, calmly pouring sand from one cup into another. In her twenties, the girl is brain damaged. She has a slowed mind, limited comprehension, no verbal boundaries, and is viscerally upset by anger or unexpected change. It’s dinner time. Mom Gladys (a solid Margo Singaliese) is serving pasta with gravy for her working class Italian family. Appliances are a familiar ochre color denoting period and economic status. None of the tableware matches. Husband, Michael Sr. (Jordan Lage – gruff, manly, credible) owns a local bar with his uncle, Charles “Ski” Bodanski (Stephen D’Ambrose). Margo Singaliese, Jordan Lage, Stephanie Gould Son “Mikey” (Forrest Malloy) works at a fast food joint but, apparently brighter than his lot in life, is reading philosophy. Only a few years apart, he adores his sister. When Mikey finds her with a book on current heartthrob Elvis Presley, he concocts a fantasy by which Elvis faked his death to be with her. (She understands it’s make-believe.) Devotion borders on parental. The family is close. Everyone expresses love for and is physically affectionate and patient with Bernie. These are not likely people who have researched her … Continue reading Bernie and Mikey’s Trip to the Moon – the children shall lead us