By Carol Kaufman Segal
The Sidewalk Studio Theatre in Burbank may be a small theatre, but their latest presentation, “Two Room,” by the 3KO Broadway Theatre Company is a big and powerful event. “Two Rooms,” written by Lee Blessing, is a story of terrorism and love.
There are “two rooms” in this play, one a windowless prison cell in Lebanon, where we find a blindfolded hostage, a former history professor from American University in Beirut. The other is a Professor Michael Wells’ study back home in the United States. Wells is played by Stephen Ferguson. His wife, Lainie, played by Shelley Boyle, has stripped his office of all its furnishings in order to try to feel the bareness of her husband’s existence. All that remains in the room is a mat that she feels represent the entire room. The mat serves as a place where imaginary conversations between Michael and Lainie take place. Lainie seems to feel his presence in that one room and refuses to leave it. She is visited by Ellen Van Oss (Melissa Bailey), a woman from the State Department, who tells her that the government is doing all they can to obtain the release of her husband and that she must cooperate with the government and keep a low profile. But her other visitor, Journalist Walker Harris (Jack Millard), tries to convince her that the government doesn’t care about Michael and that she must let him write about her and Michael; leave her room to be seen publicly, and do all she can to arouse public interest in her situation. As the months go by, and the government only makes excuses for not trying to negotiate for Michael’s release and to go public with her story, after which the story takes on events that come to its conclusion.
The scenes in this production are heartwrenching, the performance are the actors so perfect. During the scenes where we can find Michael alone in his cell, we can almost feel the existence of his torturers. We can feel the love that exists between Michael and Lainie. The character Ellen is cold-hearted in her capacity as a spokesperson for the government, and Bailey is able to show her as tough but empathetic. And though Walker is looking for a good scoop for his newspaper, Millard is able to make us see that he is deeply rooted in his concern for Lainie. Asher Lewis has done a superlative job of directing.
“Two Rooms” plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., through Nov. 19 at the Sidewalk Studio Theatre, 4150 W. Riverside Drive in Burbank. For reservations, call (818) 685-9939. I highly recommend this production. |