We Will Never Forget
We Will Never Forget
By Jason Nettle
Directed by Trevin Cooper
Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival – Brown Venue</strong>
Having seen my share of 9-11 plays on stage and in readings, I’m rather leery of the entire genre. The story is pretty much cast in concrete: “I was minding my own business, there was a big explosion, my friends are dead, and I don’t know what to do next.” Mr. Nettle sticks to this formula as he must, and then looks at multiple vignettes that explore all the basic human emotions from panic to fight or flight to rage and grief and even humor and hopefulness. While this tragedy and its aftermath are still too recent to make a sitcom, his humorous segments were some of his best – the freaked out Afghani cabby hoping to avoid a lynching, the method actor seeking to leverage some auditions, and the young couple who find each other after fearing the worst. Yes, this show is heart wrenching and nothing can replace the lives lost, but it is well executed and avoids dropping into the excessively maudlin more than absolutely necessary. It’s one of the few shows I saw that got an ovation and deserved it.
This show is part of the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. Tickets and other information may be found at http:\www.OrlandoFringe.org
