Rating: 
Posted: 3:46 am
October 13, 2008
THE new Plat form Theatre Group makes an auspicious debut with its revival of Lee Blessing's "Two Rooms." This intense drama about the bond between a hostage and his grieving wife has unfortunately lost none of its relevance since it first bowed in 1988.
The rooms of the title refer to the one in Beirut in which Michael (Michael Laurence), a university professor, has been imprisoned by terrorists for more than a year, and one at his home back in the States, which has been stripped bare by his wife, Lainie (Angela Christian), in solidarity. It is there that she communes spiritually with her husband, whose thoughts directed toward her are expressed in a series of heart-rending monologues.
Other characters who figure in the story are an
officious State Department official (Adinah Alexander) who tries to placate Lainie with government-speak platitudes covering up their lack of action and an ambitious reporter (Patrick Boll) who hopes to convince her that her husband stands a better chance of being released if she lets him pursue the story.
Although talky and self-indulgent at times, the play nonetheless provocatively explores the ways human lives are sacrificed on the altars of fanaticism and political convenience.
The piece is well served by director Peter Flynn's gripping staging and by the strong performances by the cast, particularly Christian as the wife whose suffering is intensified by her feelings of helplessness.
TWO ROOMS
Lion Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St. 212-279-4200. Through Oct. 19.
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