Christina Harris, Luca Nicoletti, Suzanne Voss, Scott Harris, Donna Jo Thorndale, and Lacy Blake-Vetter (Photo by Nicole Erb)
Reviewed by Katy Kragel
Sonder Theatre Company and The Actors’ Gang
Through September 27
RECOMMENDED
Lacy Blake-Vetter, Nicole Erb, Suzanne Voss, Scott Harris (Photo by Nicole Erb)
Lacy Blake-Vetter, Nicole Erb, Suzanne Voss, Scott Harris (Photo by Nicole Erb)
This past week marked 25 years since 9/11. As someone who was born two years after the tragedy, I’ve seen the intense memories and grief of our nation every anniversary for as long as I can remember. But as we get further and further from the day, it can get harder to picture or even attempt to understand that moment in time. As I sat in the audience for The Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort at the Actors’ Gang theater, it struck me that those lost memories and moments can be cemented and even better understood via live theater.
In fact, the impact that live theater can have in the face of collective grief is part of the reason that Christina Harris was inspired to bring this production to the Actors’ Gang. Harris saw the 2007 Actors’ Gang production of The Women of Lockerbie. The message stuck with her so much that she brought together the Sonder Theatre Company to collaborate alongside the Actors’ Gang for this 2026 production. (Sonder presented this same production at The Covina Theater in May, 2026, reviewed then by Stage Raw)
The Women of Lockerbie tells the story of a grieving American mother, Madeline (Libby Baker) wandering the hills of Lockerbie, Scotland to try to find the remains of her son after Pan Am Flight 103 exploded and crashed down there. Simultaneously, a group of Lockerbie women advocate for the American government to release the victims’ clothes now that the investigation has ended, so that they can wash them and return them to the victims’ families. These women serve as a Greek chorus throughout the show led by Harris herself playing the fearless Olive. Their group movement work combined with their unique, quirky, heartfelt characters stand out as a driving force of this whole show. Additionally, the brief but dynamic moments between the head American enforcement officer (Michael Klug) and one of the women, Hattie (Vanessa Mizzone,) shine as a change in energy from the heavy material throughout the play.
Admittedly, the task is tall with a story of this nature. The heaviness of the topic combined with the Greek structure that doesn’t always lend itself to the pace or arc that we’ve come to expect in modern day storytelling make this script unique but also challenging. The dedicated performances of the actors combined with the simple but effective movement and staging choices allow the heart of this script to shine. While certain moments of dialogue feel generic or overly simple when tackling the complex topic of grief, overall, the exploration of the relationship between collective vs individual grief is moving.
An important element of this story and this actual historical tragedy is the location itself: Lockerbie. While the set is not overly detailed, the projections designed by Cihan Sahin perfectly set the ambiance that allows the women to bring us into their tough yet loving environment to really understand the scope of this event in their small town. However, one thing is clear throughout this story: Grief, in all its pain and even beauty, is a universal language, and the power of seeing all of those emotions on a stage will always have an impact.
The Actors’ Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City. Thurs. and Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm, September 10-27 https://theactorsgang.com/events. Runtime: seventy minutes with no intermission.
