Review: A PIECE OF MY HEART Encapsulates War's Horror

Shirley Lauro's A PIECE OF MY HEART has been revived by The Onomatopoeia Theatre Company at The Gene Frankel Theatre with performances that feel studied but not inspired. The heart of this timeless anti-war masterpiece tackles the consequences of violence for the unsuspecting fighters who sacrifice their sanity in the name of obeying orders. That these orders are frequently wrong minded and logistically unsound is never in doubt. Making peace through war? If ever there was a piece of theatre to reveal that war is ugly, this is it.

While teeming with sensitively wrought portrayals, this production suffers from a lack of pacing and timing that deprives the material of maximum impact. The adage for creating effective theatre is, "louder, faster, funnier"; in this instance I would settle for faster from these performers. Because the "breath of life" is missing in their cueing and the overlap of stories, the drama feels defanged; deprived of its urgency. Though this does not prevent the actresses from digging in deeply to their words, the torpid effect threatens to reduce their work to a collection of casual scene studies.

To read HEART on the page is to be gripped by a drive that propels you forward through to the final word. That full throttle sensation is missing from this production. Perhaps Thomas R. Gordon as a director is simply too awed by the material to push it as needed. Despite that, his staging is simple, direct, and effective. That it does not attempt to break new boundaries shows a sign of understanding that the word is the thing. And what words! HEART should be required viewing for every member of the government and anyone who wants to enlist. What stands out most clearly in HEART is that the men and women who fight to protect our country are too easily discarded upon returning home.

Following a hopeful opening, wherein why each character agreed to enlist is revealed, the drama of warfare is brought to full bearing. This production does not shy away from presenting what happens during war though there is a sense of detachment with these performers; it feels as if they are talking about what is happening to them instead of fully embodying it. On the whole they are all much stronger in the second act as the survivors who didn't really survive and whom are no longer a part of the country that they fought to protect. These women may not make the most compelling war participants, but as veterans who are falling apart at the seams they are vibrant and howling as they flail to stay afloat. The first notion that they will not be okay comes near the end of the first act when Vanessa Rappa's character comes unhinged and nearly strangles an enemy combatant who looks like her nephew while screaming, "I didn't come here to save no gook." The humane inhumanity - watching this soul of sunshine descend into depravity is heartbreaking especially with Rappa; she embraces her inner monster completely with zero regret and with a frightening clarity that seems logical and sadly, unavoidable.

Watching Eliza McKelway dissolve as a former wartime entertainer who was raped, mocked, and discarded by her own wartime colleagues while trying to bring a little beauty to the world hits hard, particularly during this moment wherein horrible men are being called to task for their crimes of sexual assault. That she chooses to leave her art behind because of the pain it causes is all the more gut wrenching. When she picks up her guitar to sing one last song at the opening of the war memorial, a well spring of hope is unleashed; hope that someone with the power to halt unstable hands will see this production and insist that war never be a feasible option. May A PIECE OF MY HEART serve as a threnody for the endless war on terror and a call to arms for common sense.

A PIECE OF MY HEART performs at The Gene Frankel Theatre through November 11th, 2017. For more information, visit: genefrankeltheatre.com

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