The rabbit hole runs deep for the cast members of ACU’s winter production.

ACU’s production of Rabbit Hole, a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by David Lindsay-Abaire, opens Feb. 11 in Culp Theatre in the Williams Performing Arts Center. The play showcases a cast of only five members, with Jefferson Ferguson, sophomore theatre major from Houston, and Rachel Propst, senior musical theatre major from Denver, Colo., playing the lead couple.

“It’s hard to describe without sounding depressing,” Ferguson said. “[Rabbit Hole] is about the daily life of the Corbett family after the death of their 4-year-old son.”

The play deals with challenging themes of grief and loss and explores how each of the characters deals with the situation, Propst said. The production has made the actors “really think,” she said.

“It challenges you to think how much you really hold on to the lost one,” Propst said.

The play has been in production since the first day of the semester, starting with more than a week of “table work,” during which the cast discussed the dark nature of the play and the intricacies of the script. Much like they did for the 2007 production of A Streetcar Named Desire, the directors and cast of Rabbit Hole devoted a significant amount of time to specifically working through the background and themes of the show.

“The week of table work was helpful for a show so rich in subtext and emotion,” said Emily Rankin, junior theatre major from Abilene and the assistant director of the show.

Despite the production’s serious nature or perhaps because of it, Ferguson said, the small cast has enjoyed getting to know one another and be a part of such a well-written, highly acclaimed show.

“It’s a very challenging, wonderful story,” Propst said. “I love it.”

The show will run Feb. 11-13 and 18-20, with shows at 7:30 p.m. each evening. A talk-back session with actors, director, designers and dramaturges will be held Friday, immediately following the performance.