Review: Powerful and Evocative World Premiere ROZ AND RAY at Seattle Rep

Powerful plays such as "Angels in America" and "The Normal Heart" have driven right to the heart of the AIDS epidemic by spotlighting the ignorance and bureaucracy at the center of the disease which allowed it to spiral out of control so quickly. But beyond the gay community there was another group on the periphery of this pandemic that were hit equally hard and in some ways worse in those early days when the President even refused to say the word AIDS in public. The hemophiliacs. The Seattle Rep's new World Premiere play "Roz and Ray" offers up a peek inside that world and creates a powerful look at the kind of harm people with the best intentions can do.

It's that concept of "do no harm" that Karen Hartman's play looks at as Dr. Roz Kagan (Ellen McLaughlin) offers up a new miracle drug that will significantly help her hemophiliac patients including the twin boys of single father Ray Leon (Teagle F. Bougere). What could possibly be the harm in giving a hemophiliac's blood the clotting agent it so desperately needs? But even as Ray begins to look on Dr. Roz as his savior a new blood born disease crops up and could mean dire things for those taking a drug distilled from the blood donations of thousands per dose. And so could this savior and friend Ray has found be doing harm to his boys? And is it her fault? Those are the questions.

Rather than attempting to answer those questions for us, the play dances around the issues leaving it up to us to decide. Instead it focuses on the relationship between this doctor and this father and the inevitable sense of betrayal when things go wrong. Hartman's dialog is crisp and effortless making it quite natural and unassuming leaving the play able to tell the story. And the sparse set from Tim Mackabee and the simple staging of the two actors from director Chay Yew allows the actors to convey that story without getting mired down by any external elements. It simply becomes two people having conversations as the intensity of their relationship grows while the circumstances around them crumble.

McLaughlin delivers a subtle and thoughtful performance. Not static or boring but beautifully allowing with its realistic beginnings to grow and change along with the play. Bougere brings in a lovely sense of a father's passion and devotion to his kids making his plight and reactions utterly empathetic. And the two play off each other marvelously giving their relationship honesty and believability.

Does this play manage the power of those others I mentioned? No, not really. But it does manage a heartbreaking look into a side of the story that too often is overlooked. And so with my three letter rating system I give the Seattle Rep's "Roz and Ray" a tearful YAY. Yes, you'll want to bring the tissues for this one. It goes there.

"Roz and Ray" performs at the Seattle Rep through November 13th. For tickets or information contact the Seattle Rep box office at 206-443-2222 or visit them online at www.seattlerep.org.

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