“Dying City” – Los Angeles theater review for LA Weekly

Hello dear readers! This week my theater review for the LA Weekly is the *Pick of the Week!*

Dying City, an exciting new(ish) play by Christopher Shinn, is now playing at Rogue Machine Theatre on Pico in Los Angeles.

Click here to go to the LA Weekly’s theater page and scroll down slightly to read it.

~ OR ~

You can just read it here!!

Happy reading!

Dying City

When Peter (Burt Grinstead) unexpectedly shows up at Kelly’s (Laurie Okin) Lower Manhattan apartment, the mood is prickly and awkward. It’s understandable; Peter is the identical twin of her husband Craig, a hard as nails soldier who recently died in a military accident in the Gulf. But during their uncomfortable conversation, many questions tug at this pair, threatening to tear them down into an emotional undertow. Did Craig really die in an accident? Why is Kelly’s phone number unlisted and why is she obscuring evidence she may be moving out?

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, Christopher Shinn’s writing is sophisticated and elusive, only presenting tantalizing fragments and expecting you to make the connections and piece the backstory together. The language is raw and real – people really do talk this way – and Shinn perfectly captures the discomfort of a relationship that only exists through a marital connection yet becomes cathected and extremely complicated.

Director Michael Peretzian stages the one-act play well, using lighting and sound cues sparingly, but above all extracting superb and deeply expressive performances from his cast of two. Both actors are called upon to negotiate some difficult emotional terrain, and Grinstead, in particular, demonstrates his range.

Dying City

Rogue Machine Theatre

5041 W. Pico Blvd., Mid-City, 855-585-5185

Runs May 18, Sat., May 18, 5 p.m.; Sun., May 19, 7 p.m.; Mon., May 20, 8 p.m.; Thu., May 23, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 26, 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 5 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; Mondays, 8 p.m.; Mondays, 8 p.m. Continues through July 8, 2013.