David Silverstein (Andrew Harrison Leeds) is a Jewish kid from Cleveland. Mahmoud Rasmi (Amir Salehi) is a Palestinian kid from Jordan. Both become roommates at George Washington University in Washington DC, as part of an international summer study course. They are each thirteen when the play opens and reach the age of eighteen by play's end. It's almost a too-neat conflict that Heidi Joyce sets up, with the kids standing for symbols of the inability of Arabs and Jews to get along. It's so bad the first summer that they must divide their room with masking tape and forbid each other from crossing the line. Slowly, though, they begin to draw close by sharing their mutual insecurities, fear of girls, dislike of parents, and so on.
By the third year, the masking tape has been removed and they have begun to trust and respect each other, only to hit a big obstacle when the intifada impinges on their lives. Palestinians have destroyed an Israeli airliner with a bomb, causing the death of David's sister. David erupts into violence and goes for Mahmoud's throat. The latter defends not only himself but the actions of his beleaguered people. In the end, brotherhood and peace win out over prejudice and war. If David and Mahmoud can get along, then so too might the Arab and Jewish nations.
It's a very human and worthwhile statement Joyce is making, but her play is too predictable and tidy to have any true power or depth. Leeds and Salehi do some worthwhile acting work, though, and will undoubtedly go on to bigger and better things in future.
