My overall impression
Lee Blessing’s “Two Rooms” is a well written, thoughtful, subtle examination of the agonizing stresses faced by the wife a long time middle east American hostage. Lainie (Belinda Gosbee) can only survive by turning her husbands home office into a cell that mirrors the various cells that her husband Michael (Christopher Devinny) occupies. Both find strength in each others imagined presence. Lainie is faced with the dilemma of whether to use the press to publicize her husbands cause. Making the cases for and against are journalist Walker (Mario Vernazza) and State Department Apparatchik Ellen (Catherine Siggins). Their own dilemmas, self interest and the demands of their jobs versus growing sympathy for Lainie add another layer to this well balanced and moving piece.
The cast is outstanding. Gosbee inhabits Lainie with vulnerable strength and increasing desperation. Vernazza finds an unexpected humanity in what could too easily be a routine jaded journalist, while Siggins hides behind her State Department mask with chilling efficiency until her own doubts and sympathy start to leach through. Devinny, a recent graduate of AADA, matches the experience and skill of the other actors, presenting a convincing portrayal of a man desperately surviving on little but his own memories, imagination and love for his wife.
Director Amir Korangy ties this all together with a light, subtle hand. Eschewing fireworks and trusting in the power of the story, he brings out the best from his actors. He embraces the simplicity of the black box environment by creating a set so bleak and spartan that even a tea cup can seem an intrusion.
“Two Rooms” is proof positive that the Fringe can match the very best of traditional theatre. I urge you to see it.
