Theatergoers who routinely expect lavish period settings, heavy accents, and three-hour plays whenever they step through the doors of the Mint Theater are in for a surprise with artistic director Jonathan Bank's take on St. John Hankin's 1905 dramedy, The Return of the Prodigal.

Without specifically resetting the show's time or place -- a small English town called Chedleigh -- Bank has opted for a decidedly up-to-date set and modern dress (both nicely realized by Clint Ramos), and has the cast speak in Mid-Atlantic accents. All of this rejiggering has clearly been done in the hope of emphasizing the work's contemporary nature, and in that, Bank succeeds; the travails of the Jackson family [...]