New York playwright Christopher Shinn's somewhat risky new work, "Dying City," is an innovative look at the realities of the people that soldiers leave behind when they go to war.
Kelly, played by Jennifer Blood, is a lonely therapist who lives on her own in Manhattan and attempts to come to terms with the death of her husband. Her husband's gay twin brother, Peter (played by Chris Thorn), struggles to keep his acting career afloat while reconciling the grief caused by his sibling's memory. When Peter shows up uninvited at Kelly's doorstep, their previously colliding personalities attempt to make amends - but will they be able to?
The show is not only about grief: It's a politicized revelation and study of two very different characters that share one thing (or person) in common. Their grieving centers around Craig, an oddly poetic, misogynic, temperamental soldier who has been killed in Iraq, but who leaves behind him many questions surrounding the circumstances of his death and some specifics about his life. Also played by Thorn, Craig makes appearances in flashbacks to the year 2004, while present events take place in 2005.
The balance and chemistry between the two actors is laudable. A two-person play rests on proper characterization and interplay, which Blood and Thorn most certainly pull off. Thorn manages to make the jump from the über-masculine and often violent Craig to the effeminate chatterbox and wannabe theater guru that is Craig's brother. This transition is often a just a matter of seconds and a few light changes, but it's extremely convincing.
As Kelly, Blood faces a different challenge. Her acting steps up to the character: She is magnificently natural and very believable. Kelly is a nice girl dedicated to her career and patients, and at home, she packs up her memories and stores them away. When Peter's visit reveals a darker side of her late husband, however, she must deal with the times that he hurt her when he was alive and what his death now means for her.
Blood's character, unlike Thorn's, does not face rapid changes during the show. Instead, her vision gradually deepens as the plot moves forward. She becomes more complex; he begins to suffer much more, and her development is simultaneously heartbreaking and pathetic.
Interestingly, it is Craig, the character who is not alive, that adds an element of confusion to the play. Both his wife and his brother love him, but Craig is a complex figure. The audience learns about Craig predominantly through flashbacks. He behaves aggressively with his wife and puts Kelly and Peter at odds with each other. He's moody, unpredictable and even melodramatic.
The playwright and director's intent was not to make Craig a hero. He was a reluctant soldier and confused man who used sex and intimidation as a power tool. He was sarcastic, and he admitted that he did not love his wife.
Craig's ultimate reconciliation with himself and with his ability to deal with the horrors that he has seen is presented to the audience in the form of letters read by Peter - there is no flashback showing Craig writing them. Throughout the rest of the show, he is presented incredibly negatively in his treatment of the other characters, leaving the viewer with a degree of confusion and skepticism about the praise this guy receives during the hour prior. Craig's eventual reconciliation, then, is not believable, even if his wife's and brother's stances are.
The show is liberal with its sexual references - too prolific, in fact. The point was made: These characters objectified sex. They used it as a gratifying tool and not for love, but because they needed to feel power, whether it was over women or over other men. It's an important message, but easily understood. Often, when the show tries to hit home for the shock value, it ends up seeming crass.
Despite its slower moments, "Dying City" is an interesting and challenging look at the meaning of marriage, family and - of course - sacrifice. It offers good acting and a tough, realistic and relevant topic to ponder.
Most importantly, "Dying City" provides good reason to ask the ubiquitous "Why?" to the challenges posed by complex family relationships and the choice to go to war.
