Tracers is a classic play that hasn't lost its visceral impact and relevance. First conceived by John DiFusco in 1979 (ten years after his return from Viet Nam) and developed by a bunch of would-be actors who had also served in Nam, Tracers was first mounted in 1981 as a collaborative theater piece. There was no script per se, just six grunts taking the audience on a fragmented, hallucinatory journey through the Nam war.
Comprising monologues, sketches, snatches of jokes, letters and rock music, outbursts of profanity and resentment, simulated battle scenes, men screaming in pain and dying from their wounds in a jungle ambush, Tracers brought Viet Nam to life in stunning and explosive fashion. The play became a huge hit at the Odyssey Theater Ensemble in L.A. and went on from there to equally successful productions in Chicago, New York and other American and European cities all through the 80s and into the 90s.
Now, with America involved in two new foreign wars, the Elephant Theater decided it was an appropriate time to mount a 21st-century production of Tracers. Featuring a youthful cast, most of whom weren't even around during the 60s, the play seems just as fresh and powerful as the 1981 production.
A couple of special touches occurred the night I saw the piece (Nov. 11, Veteran's Day). One of the original actors, Richard Chavez, played the role of the drill sergeant once again, delivering his training speech to the grunts with hilarious, blistering force. Then, after the play ended, a panel of Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan vets took center stage and talked about the play, their lives, the men and women they'd served with, some of whom survived battle, others of whom came home in a box. All in all, a moving and memorable evening.
