AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

War is hell, whether it’s waged on the battlefields of Iraq or in a married couple’s home as theatergoers learn in the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Dying City, playing its regional theater debut at Hartford Stage.

When Peter (Ryan King) pays an unexpected and unwelcome visit to his brother Craig’s widow, Kelly (Diane Davis), mysteries about how Craig (played in flashbacks by King) really died in Iraq, the true nature of his and Kelly’s marriage and Peter’s motives for visiting unfold in a taut and intriguing script from Wethersfield, CT native Christopher Shinn.

Death’s grip extends beyond Craig; other things are dying too. Kelly cuts herself off from everyone and watches reruns of "Law and Order," taking solace in their formulaic ability to solve the mystery of death. She gives up her Manhattan practice as a therapist and literally packs up her past in boxes as she plans to escape back to the Midwest. Peter has just ended a relationship with his lover and, haunted by thoughts of Craig. He's even sentenced his career to certain death, having walked offstage in mid-performance. Peter's shown up at Kelly’s ostensibly to re-establish a relationship, but very eager to share (and viciously savor, it would seem) Craig’s pain-filled e-mail correspondence from Iraq.

The stench of death from the wars Craig fought at home also pervades the play in the flashback scenes deftly staged by director Maxwell Williams and triggered by the memory of a door buzzer or a cell phone ringing. His marriage had been a battle zone and Craig had choked the life out of it and his wife long before he left. Peter, bullied by Criag and seen by Kelly as an unwelcome third wheel, is bearing some old wounds of his own and may be on the attack rather than on a peacekeeping mission. Davis gives a strong performance and infuses Kelly with a wide range of emotion. King creates two solidly different characters, though Craig has more depth. Their interaction in the husband-wife scenes is masterful.

Maxwell uses the thrust stage well and employs physical distance to model emotional space. In one scene, Craig’s e-mails in a backpack placed on the floor, almost seem to become a third character in a triangle with the other two actors. Shinn’s realistic and non-preachy dialogue develops characters as well as provoking thought about the terrorist attacks of September 11, the war in Iraq and God and politics. It’s as much a treatise on current events as it is about the hidden secrets in relationships.

Wilson Chin’s functional apartment loft set, lighted by Traci Klainer, contributes to the realistic feel of the piece while mysterious music at the beginning of the play and during scene changes (Fitz Patton, sound design) reminds us that not all may be as it seems.

---- Lauren Yarger

Dying City plays at Hartford Stage (50 Church Street, Hartford) through Feb. 8. Performance times are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Matinees are Sundays and selected Wednesdays at 2pm. Tickets are $23-$66 with some discount programs available and can be purchased by calling 860-527-5151 or by visiting www.hartfordstage.org.