BWW Reviews: MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE Lacks Power

Taken from the writings of Rachel Corrie and edited by Alan Rickman and journalist Katharine Viner, the play MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE is known for being controversial. At its heart, it is a play that exposes the atrocities that occurred during the Second Intifada (September 28, 2000 - February 8, 2005), or the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. The politics surrounding the Gaza Strip are complex and convoluted, and MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE puts the audience on the front lines.

Naturally, as Rachel Corrie protested on behalf of the Palestinians, the show's message is Pro-Palestine. As a one woman show from the point-of-view of Rachel Corrie, this show has absolutely no obligation or requirement to examine both sides of the situation. So, we are given the thoughts and ideas of a real human being who allies with other human beings in the hope of bringing peace to unending and unyielding turmoil. Rachel Corrie's activism, at the basest level and especially when paired with the speech we see her deliver in the final moments of the production, reminds the audience of the importance of human compassion.

With the controversy surrounding the play, which ultimately caused several of the first proposed United States productions of MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE to be met with objections and/or abandoned, I expected the work to be more powerful and more gripping than it was. Holding the attention of the audience for 90 minutes is a tough task, and Charlotte Hemmings is definitely up for it. However, during the performance the middle portion of the play seems to give her some difficulty. Lines were flubbed, with words being delivered out of order and then immediately corrected. This onstage self-editing jarred me from the moment and broke the illusion of Charlotte Hemmings as Rachel Corrie. Also, there were moments where she seemed to actually be reading lines from the various journals that are used as props throughout the show, which is distracting as well.

Despite these issues with the performance, Charlotte Hemmings brought emotional weight and gravity to the performance. She really comes to life on stage in the final third of the production, which makes me wish that the opening was trimmed down so that her experiences in Palestine could be explored more. Discussing the destruction of wells, the blatant disregard for the laws of war set in place by the Geneva Conventions, and the desire of the people in Palestine to know what kind of peaceful people they are outside of Palestine gives the production its poignancy and power. This is the relevant social commentary. This is the emotional depth. And, I simply feel that we don't get enough of it in the show.

The sparse set design by Linda Hartinian is versatile, allowing us to see the stage as both Rachel Corrie's Olympia, Washington apartment and her living quarters in Palestine. Lucrecia Briceno's lighting design works well off of the set, and is most effective when perfectly times and evocative color washes flood the deconstructed, corrugated plastic pieces that make up the upstage cyclorama.

I wasn't as moved as I felt I should have been by MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE; however, it has encouraged me to learn more about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Thus, it is an interesting piece of theater, but is not one that stands out in the hustle and bustle of New York City's myriad of cultural offerings.

Sawtooth Productions' presentation of MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE continues to play at the Culture Project, Inc.'s Lynn Redgrave Theater (45 Bleecker Street, New York City, NY 10012) through April 12, 2015. A special benefit performance in honor of Rachel Corrie's birthday is planned for Friday, April 10, 2015. For tickets and more information, please visit http://cultureproject.org or call (212) 925-1806.

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