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A CurtainUp Review
One Night
By Joyce Friedland
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"Why am I a hero if I die, and a nuisance if I live? I gave up my entire family to fight the war.".— Alicia
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Rutina Wesleyand
Grantham Coleman (Photo: Sandra Coudert)
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Having sought refuge in a run-down motel after their shelter was burned to the ground, Alicia (Rutina Wesley), and Horace (Grantham Coleman), relive their embattled past in Iraq and barely cope with their present homeless state. Flashbacks, as effectively enacted by characters from the past who enter the stage, reveal that Alicia experienced a brutal rape by soldiers in her own troop and has suffered subsequently by the unwillingness of the army to punish the perpetrators of the crime against her.
Wesley's acting is heartwrenching as she represses her rage and allows the extent of her emotional destruction to reveal itself in her posture, repetitive actions, and repugnance to any physical contact. Horace's past is not as well delineated, but Coleman effectively straddles the role of traumatized warrior, who will not admit to trauma even when the noise of trucks on the nearby highway set off a psychotic episode; and the ambiguous role of both protector and destroyer of Alicia's remaining sanity.
In this joint production by the Cherry Lane Theatre and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, the entire play is set in one motel room. John McDermott, the set designer, has provided a place that is both ordinary and claustrophobic. It is a place where cell phones and TVs do not work, and traffic on the highway further isolates the two characters from the rest of the world. Despite the room's ordinary appearance, menace intrudes.
Meny, the motel's sleazy owner (Cortez Nance Jr.), becomes a threat to Alicia, thus extending her vulnerability in the war zone to the home front. Sounds from neighboring motel rooms pose a further threat when they reveal that this motel is being used by pimps and their prostitutes. Back projection of violent war episodes, as engineered by video designer Gil Sperling in grainy black and white, effectively suggest the horror of Horace's Iraqi experience. The room is clearly not a safe haven, implying that these two ex-warriors will never find such a place.
Playwright Charles Fuller, best known for Soldier's Play, has chosen to represent the most violent aspects of the play offstage. The rape, the battle scenes, the deaths, the explosions are all reported, thus, allowing the audience to imagine the worst. The audience experiences only the aftermath in the destroyed lives of Alicia and Horace. By personalizing the tragedy, the author has given the play poignancy and credibility, at the same time making this a universal statement about the plight of returning veterans.
Although the play is gripping and deals with a timely subject, as America tries to disengage from its role in Afghanistan, it could be tightened and, thus, further intensified. Perhaps there could be fewer examples of the running motifs — the attempts to make cell phone calls, the noises from the adjoining room, and the flashbacks. Some comic relief would also help to set off the tragedy that pervades the work. Even without such changes, One Night is extremely moving and very intense.
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One Night by Charles Fuller Director: Clinton Turner Davis Cast: Cortez Nance Jr. (Meny), Grantham Coleman (Horace Lloyd), Rutina Wesley (Alicia G.), K.K. Moggie (Medic, Lieutenant, Troop 2, Captain/Doctor, Interviewer), Matthew Montelongo(Army Major, State Trooper, Troop1, Fire Marshal) Set Design: John McDermott Costume Design: Jessica Jahn Lighting Design: Nicole pearce Sound Design: Sean O'Halloran Video Design: Gil Sperling Stage Manager: C. Renee Alexander Running Time One hour, forty-five minutes, no intermission herry Lane Theatre 38 Commerce St. rom 11/06/13; opening 11/20; closing 12/15/13 Reviewed by Joyce Friedland 11/23/13 |
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