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Firebox Theatre Company's Presentation of Shirley
Lauro's A Piece of My Heart Is a Powerful Piece!

Firebox Theatre Company will stage A Piece of My Heart on Sept. 14-24 at "The Graham" in Wake Forest (photo by David Leone)

NOTE: This is not "just another play about Vietnam."

Before taking your seat for Firebox Theatre Company's production of Shirley Lauro's A Piece of My Heart, directed by Tim Artz, at "The Graham" at the Cotton Company Event Gallery in downtown Wake Forest), take a few minutes to peruse the display that they have tucked up against the wall in the lobby. What you are about to witness is based on true accounts, and this will help you prepare.

The Play:

Every actor always does their best to share "a piece of [their] heart" with the audience. In this production, the cast (and the production team) go to great lengths to take that sharing to an unbelievable level.

After hearing appropriately chosen late-60s pre-show music (Hendrix, Dylan, The Kinks ...); and after the house lights go down, we soon meet six young women who, through brief monologues, share with us the path that led them to Vietnam. Three of them are nurses, one is a Red Cross volunteer, another is an army intelligence officer, and the sixth is a country-and-western singer, booked to entertain the troops.

We then follow the next few steps of each, and we quickly learn that things do not work out quite like any of them had imagined. Next, we find ourselves in a plane with all six of them, on our way to Vietnam. (Mini-spoiler: Even before the plane touches down, and more so immediately afterwards, we become aware of the perils that they are about to face.)

Through a series of vignettes (each one focusing on one or more of the women), A Piece of My Heart shares these young women's (often harrowing) experiences and the lengths to which they must go to try to cope. The first act ends with them about to head home.

In the second act, we get glimpses of their futures in which various members of this group become victims of PTSD, Agent Orange sickness, military red tape, unscrupulous business practices, alcoholism, anti-war extremism, male chauvinism, and racism. Again, we see how they try to cope.

Firebox Theatre Company will stage A Piece of My Heart on Sept. 14-24 at "The Graham" in Wake Forest (photo by David Leone)

The Acting:

Among the many strengths in this ensemble production is the teamwork. In each of the scenes that focus on one (or a few) of the characters, the others meld right on in as other supporting (third party) characters. These scenes often include Eli Brand as one of the many "American men" that he plays. Brand is quite versatile and therefore ultra-convincing in each of these appearances.

As nurses, Leeann (Ni Vu), Sissy (Cora Hemphill), and Martha (Kendall Mason) come face-to-face with badly burned and hideously mangled bodies and with dying men breathing their last. All three show their characters' strengths and compassion as well as their vulnerabilities. Each is able to draw in the audience, making us feel their emotional pain and their despair. Pay attention as they encounter their first casualties, their first deaths, and more than one off-duty tragedy.

As a Red Cross volunteer, Whitney (Hilary Edwards) must navigate and follow the plethora of Red Cross rules of conduct, and Edwards makes us see the toll that doing so takes on her. What effects will this have on her social- and/or love-life now and in the future?

As Intelligence Officer Steele, Raénique Dawson shows her character's resolve and her dedication to the job and then the inevitable disappointment that a woman-of-color who is a non-commissioned officer would feel after hitting the institutional roadblocks to succeeding at (and advancing in) her job. The script offers more than one insight into her capability that exceeds that of her superior officers. (Pay attention to the episode involving intelligence pertaining to the Tet Offensive.) Dawson also fits right into the drill sergeant-ish roles that she assumes in other scenes.

As Maryjo, Cassie Barasch Ford exudes the excitement and enthusiasm that a young country-music singer in an all-girl band would feel when chosen to serve her country by pursuing her art and by entertaining huge crowds of young men. And then there are the tragedies, the disappointments, and the treacheries -- Ford plays these well, too.

This show is not a musical, but let the record state that Ford's guitar and voice (with the others sometimes singing backup) definitely enhance the quality of what is already a first-rate show. And this seems to be the appropriate time to commend the "choreography" when Maryjo's band performs "Proud Mary" and when the cast entertains the patients at Christmas.

The Tech:

With a few stylized platforms, some benches, and several shoots of bamboo, Set designers Cora and Josh Hemphill deftly create a versatile acting area that serves to signify multiple settings.

Lighting designer Michael Burris supplies appropriate full-light, half-light, and "special effects" when called for.

Director Tim Artz, doubling as sound designer, delivers on sound effects for battles, parties, "choppers," and planes (as well as imaginative choices for snippets of music throughout).

Barbara Holden scores high marks as both costume and property designer. And stage manager Sallie St. Laurent makes sure that it all happens smoothly.

Poignant Lines:

• "They want you, but they don't want ... YOU!"
• "Oh my God! I'm turning white."
• "Where they all look like me."
• "Build a psychological wall."
• "I was the only woman -- it was my fault!"
• "Can't quit drinking."

Firebox Theatre Company will stage A Piece of My Heart on Sept. 14-24 at "The Graham" in Wake Forest (photo by David Leone)

Nice Touches:

• The dressing on the poles on the corners of the acting area (even though I didn't notice until intermission).
• The various all-actor tableaux. (And the choices of when to use them.)
• "Knick-knack paddy-whack" -- every time it was used!

• The "chain-of-command" "dance" that frustrated Steele (and probably cost hundreds of lives).
• The sequences punctuated by the rhythmic clicking of claves.
• The references to interactions with civilians (as well as the scene in which Ni Vu portrays a civilian).
• Use of the term "The Nam" at key points.
• The timing for playing segments from Janice Joplin's "Piece of My Heart" and Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers."
• The decorating for Christmas and "the show."
• Strategic use of the cacophony that must have been pervasive at that time in that place.
• Director Tim Artz's use of "the space." (You will see what I mean.)

From the Department of Picky-Picky:

On a few occasions, the music and/or sound effects drowns out lines that may have been important. (I would either tone them down or ask the actors to amp up a bit.)

The Bottom Line:

See this show! Firebox Theatre Company is still new to our area. Every show they have produced has been out-of-the ordinary and well-produced. A Piece of My Heart shares a piece of the hearts of six women who repeatedly had lost pieces of theirs due to the tragedy of war.

Shirley Lauro's A PIECE OF MY HEART (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21-24), suggested by A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of 26 American Women Who Served in Vietnam (2009) by Keith Walker, directed by Tim Artz, and starring Hilary Edwards as Whitney, Ni Vu as Leanne, Raénique Dawson as Steele, Cora Hemphill as Sissy, Cassie Barasch Ford as Mary Joe, Kendall Mason as Martha, and Eli Brand as American Man (Firebox Theatre Company at the Cotton Company Event Gallery in Wake Forest). VIDEOS: https://www.facebook.com/fireboxtheatrecompany/videos/. PRESENTER: https://www.fireboxtheatre.com/, https://www.facebook.com/fireboxtheatrecompany/, and https://www.instagram.com/fireboxtheatrecompany/. 2023 SEASON: https://www.fireboxtheatre.com/performances. VENUE: https://www.thecottoncompany.net/, https://www.facebook.com/fireboxtheatrecompany/thecottoncompanyofwakeforest, and https://www.instagram.com/thecottoncompany. DIRECTIONS/MAP: https://www.google.com/maps/. A PIECE OF MY HEART (1991 Off-Broadway play): https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/478/a-piece-of-my-heart, https://www.shirleylauro.com/a_piece_of_my_heart_11298.htm, and http://www.iobdb.com/production/1316. THE SCRIPT (excerpts): https://books.google.com/books. SHIRLEY LAURO (Des Moines, IA-born playwright, screenwriter and 1985 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellow, nee Shirley Shapiro): https://www.shirleylauro.com/, https://www.gf.org/fellows/shirley-lauro/, https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/264/shirley-lauro, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/shirley-lauro-8659, http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/10715, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0491515/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Lauro. NOTE: Firebox Theatre Company cautions, "Due to the subject matter of war, this play contains descriptions of injury, mature language, and mature themes." TICKETS: $25 general admission, plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: fireboxtheatre@gmail.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: Firebox Theatre Company and the Cotton Company Event Gallery.

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