Christopher Shinn’s Dying City, now in it L.A. premiere at Rogue Machine, is a kind of ghost story. One of the ghosts in this dark, tautly-written drama is Craig, a young man who volunteered to fight in Iraq because he thought the cause was just, only to become so bedeviled by the brutality of battle that he eventually committed suicide. Iraq -- and by extension 9/11, the root cause of that war -- are additional spectral presences in the play.
Craig's gay twin brother, Peter (Burt Grinstead, who plays both roles), is a successful but tormented Broadway actor who shows up unannounced one night at the Lower Manhattan apartment of Craig's widow, Kelly (Laurie Okin), ostensibly to comfort her. Still smarting from Craig's death (the year is 2004), Kelly has been avoiding Peter, fearing his presence would deepen her pain and suffering. She also blames him for having failed to persuade Craig to stay out of the Iraq war. (She's guilty on that count herself).
Peter is the driving force in the play: a complex person who is both self-destructive and nurturing, sympathetic and manipulative. He has brought with him photos and e-mails that Craig had sent to him privately. Does he really think these messages, some of which contain shocking truths about Craig's feelings for Kelly, would help her to understand and heal? Or does he, perhaps subconsciously, really want to hurt and even punish her?
These are just a few of the questions raised by Shinn in his provocative psychological drama. A lot of strange, questionable things happen in Dying City, such as Peter attempting to make love to Kelly, but the play's power and mystery catch you up in its spell nonetheless. Okin and Grinstead turn in splendid performances, helped by first-rate direction and production values.
