As a story, The Things They Carried gives a chilling personal account by an aging Viet Nam veteran about before, during, and after he was drafted into the army. Actor-narrator David Sitler stoutly acts out the story, colored by extraordinary lighting and realistic sound. But this adaptation basically retains a narrative structure in which there’s neither a sustained conflict nor an end that grows from it. The engaging story begins with Tim’s long, impressive account of his fellow soldiers in Nam. He vividly characterizes each in terms of the things they carry in their backpacks. His own has photos of a girl about whom he romanticizes. One of his buddies has tranquilizers that will figure in his death. Minnesotan Tim then flashbacks to his call by the draft to a war he didn’t believe in, thus his travel to the Canadian border. He spends a memorable few days with a well imitated gruff but kind old man who keeps cabins. Tim gets what he needs for an escape—and here’s the conflict—feels patriotism, a call to duty, but mostly apprehension at being thought a coward in his home town. After a break, Tim gets back reluctantly to Nam and into a substantial poncho and a dark, foxhole-like situation. Each will play a substantial part in a tragedy. His best friend Kiowa is part of his effective kinesthetic descriptions there. Tim’s blackest night comes with the death he feels responsible for. He presents an excruciating picture of extracting the body. The details recall the dead soldier spoken about in Act I. Tim returns to the place with his daughter years later. Here actor David Sitler shows a depth of feeling that the daughter couldn’t share. Sitler conquers many difficulties in mime and enunciating speech while moving. Director Kate Alexander was wise to get a Movement specialist to help coach the actor. Surprisingly, for a director rightfully lauded for her work with monologues as well as complicated traditional dramas, she hasn’t got everything perfectly coordinated toward conclusion on a high note. I heard younger couples and an older women saying they liked this offering, but two older vets were disappointed, as was I. It did give me an incentive to read Tim O’Brian’s story as he wrote it.
