Review: Some Win, Some Lose in WAR STORIES

According to the website DiscoverLosAngeles.com, there were 4 million people living in the City of Los Angeles in 2015. If you add all of LA County, the number grows to 10.1 million. That's a lot of hearts falling in and out of love at any given time.

In Sarah Kelly's new play, WAR STORIES, we meet four of them: Chelsea (Sarah Schreiber), an actress constantly attracted to catastrophe; Sam (Clayton McInerney), a writer whose motto is 'never fall in love with an actress'; Jen (Sarah Kelly) a therapist, and sucker for a good love story; and Jake (Brian Guest), an intense actor convinced that love is the worst. Four people. Four separate issues. All of them call LA home.

On the outside, they seem to be reasonably sane, happy people with hopes and dreams like everyone else. What we learn from each of their initial monologues, however, is that they are only showing part of themselves to those they love and it is the distance between who they are and who they appear to be that is secretly causing them pain.

Their stories will intersect as only they can in a city whose foundation is built on the backs of unfortunate betrayals and wishes that don't always come true. And since none of us can escape the relationship rat's wheel, their dilemmas resonate in a surprisingly universal way.

What is so compelling about the play is how nuanced it is. Kelly's writing captures the tenderness and vulnerability of love's uncertainty without crossing the line into cloying sentimentality. Her characters are real. We can relate to them and empathize with the decisions they'll have to make in order to grow.

WAR STORIES has been in development since the beginning of the year and, because it has had time dedicated to the creative process, it is one of the most polished presentations you'll see at the Fringe. Director Stacy Ann Raposa takes four actors, one set, and a play that alternates between monologues and 2-person scenes, and spins it into gold. It helps to have actors who have done their homework and who understand the honesty required to make a piece like this work. Each of them is a complete portrait.

The actors remain on stage throughout. Lighting changes define the active playing areas and also amplify the sense that, even in a city surrounded by millions of people, each one is still alone. That same lighting focuses the audience's attention on the actors' faces, and again, in a city where it's easy to pass by people without even looking at them, we really see these four individuals.

It's beautiful work done with conscious attention to detail. Fringe fellows, see what they have done with their limited resources and let it inspire you. The current running time is an hour but, happily, there are plans to expand it further into two acts.

This play was a surprise. It isn't a fluff piece and it isn't jaded or off-the-cuff. WAR STORIES shows you the life you give up when you don't acknowledge how you really feel and, in some cases, it shows you the way back again. What better place than LA to get an opportunity for one more take?

WAR STORIES
June 4 - 24, 2016
Sacred Fools Theater (Black Box)
6322 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Tickets: $14 at http://hff16.org/3476
Running time: 1 hour

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Best Lighting Design - Top 3

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