"Journey's End"

John Ahlin as Trotter, Stark Sands as Raleigh, Boyd Gaines as Osborne, and Hugh Dancy as Stanhope in Journey's End. Shown is the bulk of the set, which remains surrounded entirely by darkness throughout.

Several people had extolled the virtues of Journey's End on Broadway - friends, teachers, and theatre professionals. All that I knew about the play, written by unknown playwright R.C. Sheriff in 1928, was that it was about World War I soldiers in the trenches. Last night, I went on a whim. I hadn't been too eager, since I knew it was going to be depressing, but sometimes you just have to bear it for the sake of theatre.

The play focuses on a group of British soldiers fighting the Germans in 1918 during World War I. Second Lieutenant Raleigh (Stark Sands) reports for duty under his long-time schoolmate and hero Captain Stanhope (Hugh Dancy), reunited against all odds within the military structure, especially improbably because Raleigh's sister is waiting for Stanhope to return home to enter into a potential engagement. The men are left to wait for an imminent attack by the Germans, counting down the hours and attempting to distract themselves with books and talk of home (some of the most effective moments of the play). A rivalry also presents itself between Stanhope and Raleigh, who, Stanhope fears, may report home to his potential fiance about his constant drunkenness. As the action propels at breakneck speed, Stanhope's second-in-command, Lieutenant Osborne (the inherently charming Boyd Gaines), and Raleigh are chosen to conduct a raid that spells almost certain death for the both of them. What proceeds is terrifically powerful, aided by the near-perfect integration of theatrical elements that combine to present this squalid dugout.

Talk about PTSD: Post-Theatrical Stress Disorder. The play absolutely shook me to the core, physically and emotionally (you have to see it to believe it; I know it sounds silly). It's a play that absolutely needs to be experienced by those who love theatre. I generally hate wartime dramas, so I was most especially leery, but, like many works of art, the play essentially boils down to a study of humanity. I felt that I had gotten to know the characters extremely well by the end of the play, which is an underrated virtue in a work for theatre, where oftentimes stagecraft and design overpower emphasis on truthfulness.

While I consider myself a sophisticated theatregoer, I found myself succumbing to the same sorts of celebrity obssession that a lot of theatregoers nowadays seem to indulge in over the past few weeks, and Journey's End was an absolute shock to my system. It's nothing big or splashy, just sparse (but effective) sets and lighting (and especially sound effects) and a group of exquisite actors. Two thirds of the stage were taken up by darkness, and the audience is left in the dark just about as much as the actors onstage are, waiting by candlelight for the bombs that sound in the distance. It's unusual for me to even taken note of the sound design for a play, but for this one, the sound effects were absolutely spectacular and had a direct effect on the impact of the piece as a whole.

Word of mouth should be propelling this show, which has been running to shockingly small audiences (only the orchestra was full the night I saw it - a Saturday). For the most part, an average of about 35% of the house is filled over the course of a week. If you're a student and have $20 (cheaper than most rush policies), go take advantage of the rush policy. The seats in the first few rows provide an absolutely powerful experience, and you don't have to get there well before the show to get them. Take my word for it, especially if you're sitting nearby the speakers.

Go see Journey's End! Hands down the absolute most visceral theatrical experience on Broadway this season.