Despite Tepid Staging, Survivor's 9/11 Tale Still Chills

Herb Tax, left, and Harry Kantrovich together tell playwright Artie Van Why's story of surviving the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. (By Zina Bleck)

Next week's fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks will be marked with events condemning the horror unleashed that day, commemorating the unselfish acts of heroism from so many and mourning those who were lost. We will examine how the terrorists hijacked our national life and wrenched it in unexpected directions, and wonder whether our government's response has been effective. That's the big picture.

But sometimes less can be more. For an intimate look at the effect that Sept. 11 had on one person's life, Zemfira Stage, a new theater company performing at Alexandria's Lyceum, is staging "That Day in September." The play is Artie Van Why's personal account of what it was like to survive the collapse of the World Trade Center. In his case, a new life has arisen from the rubble.

Van Why, who grew up in Gaithersburg, lived in New York City for 25 years. A failed actor and recovering alcoholic, he was stuck in a dead-end job, employed in the word processing center of a law firm in the World Trade Center complex on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. He was working in a building across the courtyard from the twin towers when he heard the first explosion and felt its impact. He found himself outside, alone and bewildered as paper fluttered in the air and burning debris, twisted metal and flailing human beings slammed to the ground.

Shaken by the ordeal and feeling helpless because he could not save those who died, Van Why began writing e-mail accounts to friends and family members. His e-mails eventually formed the basis for a one-man show that he has performed in New York and Los Angeles and recently published in book form. Van Why, who has left New York for Pennsylvania, was at the Lyceum last weekend, but not onstage. Director Zina Bleck has, instead, used local actors Harry Kantrovich and Herb Tax, breaking up the monologue between them.

While it would be more effective to have one actor tell the story, Kantrovich and Tax do an excellent job, seamlessly switching back and forth. They are generally low-key, in keeping with the playwright's matter-of-fact prose, rising to an emotional pitch at a few critical junctures. Van Why's imagery is only occasionally graphic, particularly as he tries to help a grievously wounded man while bodies slam into concrete nearby. Underplaying the storytelling is effective, as mere words cannot compete with the images seared into our psyches that day.

Van Why doesn't explore the geopolitical situation or try to capture the entirety of the event. He opens with the first explosion to rivet our attention, then delves into his personal story and how his life led him to that time and place. What follows is the ground-level experience of one frightened man. And we're right there with him.

Van Why claims neither hero nor victim status. He's just a man who was shaken to his core and emerged a new, stronger person. Some might say he is profiting from the tragedy. Regardless, there is merit to what he offers the viewer.

Bleck has inexplicably eschewed stagecraft. There is no theatrical lighting to soften the sterile ambiance of the room and enhance the storytelling. Slides are occasionally projected on the blank wall behind the actors, whom she anchors to easels holding scripts. That they rise above such limitations and hold the audience's interest for almost 90 minutes is testament to their skills and to the power of the story.

"That Day in September" continues through Sept. 17 at the Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St., Alexandria. Showtime is 8 p.m. Fridays and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. There will be a special performance and reception at 8 p.m. Monday. For information and reservations, call 703-318-0619. For information, visithttp://www.zemfirastage.com. For information on the book, "That Day in September," visithttp://www.lulu.com.