Skel Osmani and Tammy Mora (Photo by Matt Welch)
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Two Roads Theatre
Through October 4
Tammy Mora and Skel Osmani (Photo by Matt Welch)
There are no words that can adequately describe the tsunami of emotions that washed over the U. S. on September 11, 2001. Even today as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of that terrible day, for far too many, the losses remain and the scars will never heal.
Playwright Art Schulman’s two-act drama revisits that day and its aftermath by combining the story of a married couple and the horrific events that transpired. We first see Jodi (Tammy Mora) and Dan (Skel Osmani) in their apartment, talking with each other. The conversation then turns serious when Jodi admits to an affair with a co-worker.
The next day, Dan and Jodi’s domestic spat takes a backseat to the attacks, and the couple sit glued to the television watching the horror unfold. A broadcaster (Michael Berckhart), seated at his desk reports on the chaos,
The scenes continually shift from their living room where they are following events on television to an admixture of on-site interviews with people at ground zero and breaking briefs on the news.
This awkward staging by director Stan Mazin does not work well all the time, though some of the interviews are compelling, and add a needed emotional resonance to the play.
There’s the woman (Jillian McWhirter) holding a placard with the image of her loved one, pleading for information; the firefighter (Andrew Edmondson), whose brother was lost in one of towers; the poignant moment when we meet a father (Morry Schorr), who lost the son he wanted to take over his business, and the American-Arab (Harout Yesayan), who has been beaten bloody by an enraged mob. There is humor provided by Jane Bonem as a high-energy huckster selling flags and fake Rolex watches, and Ezra Black as an Islamic scholar featured in a comedy skit.
By Act 2, however, this format starts to wear thin, and the working out of Don and Jodi’s marital problems has become a drab afterthought. The ensemble does well in their on-site roles. Mora’s performance is spot-on, but Osmani’s is missing the necessary convincing flair and polish.
Two Roads Theatre, 4348 Tujunga Ave., Studio City. Fri.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Sun., 3 pm; through Oct. 4. https://onstage411.com/sept10 Runtime: Two hours with an intermission
