Shem Bitterman’s intriguing play Civil Twilight has been running for more than a month, but now it extends into the New Year, to everyone’s benefit. This perfect two-hander pits celebrity against fandom in an interesting way that sheds light, not only on the human condition, but on the nature of the media circus we’re now living in. Even as I just referred to our present media environment, though, Civil Twilight seems to hark back to a simpler time, when radio held sway of “fly-over country.”
Through a series of events that become clear over time, Joe Pine (Andrew Elvis Miller), a disk jockey billed as “The Lonely Voice of the Prairie,” ends up in a remote fleabag of a motel after an abortive airline flight. Somehow, Ann Carlson (Taylor Gilbert), one of his biggest fans, winds up there, too. Through a long night, their contrasting stories are going to twist and turn until the truth unfolds.
Playwright Bitterman is a master of suspense, having carefully plotted his play through a long 90-minutes with few dropped moments. There is only one time when the passage of time, shown as a long nap, seems unnecessary. However, aided by lighting (production designed by Joel Daavid), we finally reach the moment of civil twilight, described as the time right before dawn when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, and the land begins to be illuminated, yet stars are still visible. This difficult definition brilliantly describes the revelations unveiled in the play. However, this fascinating fact would have fallen flat without the depth of characterization achieved by Gilbert as Ann, the impossibly dressed mid-western fan (Costumes by Jenna Bergstraesser) and Miller as Pine. With the aid of director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, both comfortably inhabit their personas with chilling results. I would love to see what a cinema director would do with this material on screen!
Plays With People Productions in association with the Road Theatre Company presents Civil Twilight continuing on Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm through January 26, 2025, at The Broadwater Studio, 1076 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, 90038. All tickets, $45.00; or seniors for $25.00 and students for $20.00; available online at http://theciviltwilight.ludus.com/, or consult ctbroadwaterstudio@gmail.com for more information.
