“In the Heart of America”, playing at the Knightsbridge Theatre, is a relevant and thought provoking piece of art directed by Jamil Chokachi, who although directed this show, also wears the hat of actor and stage manager for the Knightsbridge Theatre Company, which has put up over three hundred productions since 1993.
Taking place during the time of the Gulf War in the early nineties, we follow Fairouz Saboura, played by Samara Harris, a young “Palestinian Arab-American from Atlanta” as she describes herself in a scene from the first act. Fairouz is on a mission to find out what happened to her army enlisted brother Remzi who the government listed as “missing”- not “missing in action”- but simply “missing” from Iraq. Fairouz’s journey takes her to his best friend, Private Craver Perry played by Geoffrey Hillback, to get answers. What she finds in Perry is a disturbed war veteran, obsessed with talking about war weapons and unable to make sense of his flashbacks. Hillback’s portrayal of an emotionally wounded Gulf veteran is both haunting and disturbing at many levels, as the play moved forward the reasons he is the way he is, unfold.
The real stand out performance of the play was from Rafael Kalichstein, who played the affable, sensitive, and intelligent soldier Remzi who wanted to sign up for the military to get a “quiet sense of pride.” Kalichstein’s portrayal of Remzi was perfectly balanced- strong and powerful, yet vulnerable and soft. One could simply not take their eyes off him during his scenes.
Wallace’s commentary on war is not so subtle—Chokachi’s direction is to be commended, without his artful lead, this could have been merely an anti war political statement instead of a great piece of theatre.
“In the Heart of America” is playing at the Knightsbridge Theatre through February 11th. Saturday performances @ 8pm, Sunday at @ 3pm. Running time is 2 hours 20 minutes.
Knightsbridge Theatre is located at 1944 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles. For tickets call 323.667.0955