Brendan Fraser left this production of “Grangeville” about a month before the show began performances. The reason given: “unforeseen circumstances.” There is another warning sign, and it comes early in Samuel D. Hunter’s play, which opened Monday at the Signature Theatre.
Jerry (Paul Sparks, taking over for Fraser) and Arnold (Brian J. Smith, who looks like a young Fraser) are long-estranged half-brothers who haven’t met face-to-face in years. Because of their mother’s deteriorating health, Jerry phones Arnold to give him an update. Children taking care of their ailing parents is only half the story here. The more intriguing narrative is how decent people sometimes need to get a divorce from their terrible relatives.