“Yesterday Iran/Today Iraq” at the Midtown International Theatre Festival at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre
“Yesterday Iran/Today Iraq” at the Midtown International Theatre Festival at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre By L. S. Goldberg Directed by Rebecca Etzine Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
War is a damn ugly business and it is no respecter of time, space, civilians, or soldiers. War “breeds strange circumstances.” “Yesterday Iran/Today Iraq” is a short by powerful look at these circumstances as Pvt. Steven “Stippy” Goodman, on the eve of his deployment to Iraq, finds a shoebox full of his grandfather’s World War II V-Mail which he sent to Stippy’s grandmother Belle. Young Pvt. Goodman is fresh out of Basic and Specialized Training and ready to serve, ready to obey orders, ready to make “kills.” Stippy has ingested and digested all the Army has taught him about the glory of war and the invincibility of the United States Armed Services.
As he reads the letters, Stippy’s grandfather appears and begins a dialogue with his grandson as Lt. Chester A. Goodman. Playwright L. S. Goldberg handles this collapsing of time with great skill and is not at all afraid to have these two characters from two different time periods interacting, even exchanging items. As they “converse,” the audience discovers Stippy’s disregard for his grandfather’s service and for his grandfather’s army’s lack of sophistication and “technology.” The young Goodman’s arrogance is counterpointed by the elder’s humility and their beyond space and time relationship is a wonderful trope (extended metaphor) for intergenerational conflicts and differences in world views.
The audience knows from the play’s beginning that Stippy will die in Iraq; however, that does not lessen the importance of the conflict between the two Goodmans and the plot that it generates. The scene depicting Stippy’s experience in Iraq is powerful but somehow redundant. Ms. Goldberg’s writing is so precise and so rich the audience already “knows” how this scene will play. When Stippy’s grandfather enters in real time, holding the handwritten latter his grandson wrote before he was killed in action, all of the “circumstances” of war become crystal clear.
Ms. Goldberg’s impressive writing is equaled only by the performances of Andrew Hutcheson and Blake Williams who, under Rebecca Etzine’s thoughtful direction, use their craft and generosity to enliven their characters and embody their conflicts in impassioned and touching ways. War is an ugly business and anyone who thought otherwise before seeing “Yesterday Iran/Today Iraq” will certainly have a change of heart. This critic hopes this play will enjoy a longer run in the NYC area soon.
YESTERDAY IRAN/TODAY IRAQ
An AEA-Approved Showcase directed by Rebecca Etzine, the cast of “Yesterday Iran/Today Iraq” features Andrew Hutchinson and Blake Williams. The production team consists of Victoria Sun (stage manager), Scott Epstein (set designer), Aidan Zev Meyer (sound designer), Shane Moan (lighting designer) and Judi Simon (costumes and props).
The Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF)'s fourteenth season will include a slate of full-length plays and musicals, as well as Short Subjects. The Festival will run from July 15 to August 4, 2013, at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, NYC, 1st floor; the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, NYC, 1st floor; the Main Stage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, NYC, 4th floor; and the Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, NYC, 4th floor. Tickets are $15 for short plays and $18 for longer plays. Tickets are available at www.midtownfestival.org or by phone at (866) 811-4111.
“Yesterday Iran/Today Iraq” closed its run at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre (see above) on Friday July 26th at 7:30 p.m. The running time is 60 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, July 27, 2013
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