Theater of war: Wheaton Drama staging ‘A Piece of My Heart’

Seven actors, dozens of characters, decades of perspective.

In undertaking Shirley Lauro’s “A Piece of My Heart,” Wheaton Drama brings to the stage the compelling, sometimes frustrating and often heartrending stories of women’s service in the Vietnam War.

Delivered in first-person monologues and a tapestry of vignettes, the play draws on Keith Walker’s collection of interviews (also titled “A Piece of My Heart”) and tells of three nurses, a USO entertainer, a Red Cross volunteer and a U.S. intelligence officer.

[FREE tickets are available to military personnel and veterans by calling 630.260.1820. Details here.]

“All the raw edges are exposed in the women’s own words,” director Mike Boyna says, “so getting to the visceral was not the challenge; the challenge was controlling those emotions and using them to fuel each character’s through line.”

Humor leavens and often counterpoints the heavy subject matter. Those moments provide a “welcome escape valve,” says Leah Rae Witt, who plays Sissy.

“Life for women in Vietnam was a rollercoaster, and this show mirrors that experience,” Witt says. “The humor gives me a chance to shut the pain away for a while, much like parties and R & R were for the women over there.”

For Ellen Hill, who plays Whitney, that coping mechanism is familiar—and familial.

“I often turn to humor in times of distress,” Hill says. “My dad is also a Nam vet and often relates to his experiences with humor, acknowledging how easy it could be to dwell only on the pain, but choosing to reflect on his past through irony and lightheartedness.”

Shape shifting on stage

In addition to each portraying one central character, every actress plays multiple supporting parts in telling others’ stories. Simple costume pieces help differentiate these auxiliary roles, but performers’ versatility is of paramount importance.

“We are all on stage the entire show,” Hill says, “interacting with every major storyline. Understanding each other's storylines, as well as each actor's approach to their characters, is essential for our process.”

Weaving through these episodes are All the American Men, 28 roles played by a single actor, Garrett Ard.

“Many of the times I interact with the women,” Ard says, “I represent some of the things they had to contend with in their lives/careers/etc. Sometimes these things turn out to be the positive takeaways from their wartime experience, and sometimes they are the challenges they had to face.”

He adds: “They are all telling very human stories. These might be stories of people in the midst of tragedy and madness, but they are still very relatable. My roles provide a bit of a thread that pulls some of their experiences together.”

The familiar drumbeat

As for bringing a bygone era—the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s—into the “now,” Witt speaks of the timelessness of the struggle to retain one’s humanity amid the horrors and surreal experiences of violent conflict.

“War is war, no matter where or when it happens,” Witt says. “Even though the play is set in Vietnam, the message doesn’t change. Why were/are we there, and what is it we’re really fighting for?

“We have the opportunity to tell the stories of women who were overlooked by history, but … it isn’t a melancholy and self-pitying play. It simply shows experiences of the women who were over there.”

The play also looks at the women once they have returned stateside and have put some years behind them—coping with strife and clutching tightly to the promise of a better future.

“Much of the power of this piece,” Boyna says, “emanates from the fact that—even after the terrifying, numbing experiences they shared in Vietnam, and the horrible treatment many of them received upon their return home—these women managed to find the strength, hope and optimism to ‘soldier on’ into their respective futures.”

Bootcamp and beyond

A squadron unto themselves, the cast members have bonded over the rehearsal period.

Auditions and the casting process, Boyna says, “yielded a group of actors that has come to know, respect and support each other as if they’ve been together for years. After just eight weeks of rehearsal, there is a palpable bond that continues to grow each day.”

Witt adds: “This is a cast of talented, strong, funny, kind women (and Garrett), and as we’ve learned about each other offstage, our onstage connections have blossomed.”

Hill concurs: “I'm blessed to work with a cast that is so open and willing to collaborate.”

A caveat, and a thank-you

Boyna offers a caution to theatergoers, given the themes inherent in the production:

“The play explores the cruelty and carnage of war and its effect on these women—individually and as a group,” he says. “Both the situations and language are often quite raw, so we do not recommend this production for pre-teens. There are also gunshots, cannon fire, explosions and descriptions of gruesome injuries and deaths.”

Finally, the production salutes our military—offering free tickets for current and past servicemen and servicewomen, as well as to high school students who are studying the Vietnam War era. (These free tickets are available by calling 630.260.1820. Details here.)

“The Wheaton Drama Board of Governors continues to look for ways to be of more service to our community,” says Boyna, who sits on the nine-member board as Past President. “Extending the free ticket offer is a small token of appreciation that Wheaton Drama happily extends to those who served and those who deserve to learn.”

“A Piece of My Heart” runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons, March 23 through April 15. Information and tickets ($15 to $18) are available at www.wheatondrama.org or by calling 630.260.1820. Cast members are Lisa Savegnago, Sara Cate Langham, Leah Rae Witt, Ellen Hill, Johanna Medrano, Sierra Johnson and Garrett Ard.