The Guys employs a simple but very effective premise: a woman penning eulogies for firemen killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks asks their captain for details about his lost men. Also, to break up the solemn q&a, the interviewer breaks into the occasional poignant, personal solilquy. Even a year after the bombings, Anne Nelson's chamber drama has the feeling of theater-as-therapy, an act not of political questioning or outrage (as was Reno's recent solo), but of communal mourning. As such, the constant restraint is a blessing, touching as much in its silences -- after even the most off-handed remarks -- as it is in its (fictional) remembrances.
On their first day in the play (which is read from scripts rather than memorized), Terrence Mann made a convincing reticent, working-class joe, while the fine Polly Draper, playing the character on the verge of tears throughout, milked more than a few from the audience. That the Flea Theater is in walking distance from Ground Zero adds an extra level of heartbreak.
