The Civil Twilight Review – A Cautionary Tale

Plays with People Productions in association with the Road Theatre Company proudly present the world premiere of THE CIVIL TWILIGHT. The intriguing story is the brainchild of writer/actor/ director Shem Bitterman, who comments that “I got this idea traveling across the country to see my son at the University of Missouri…I was struck by how the economic, cultural, and population decline of Midwestern towns has left, among those which remain, an opening where hucksters and charlatans can, for a few bucks or some cheap outrage, offer a path to desperately needed change…despite widespread disillusionment, hope lives on – in fact, hope is often all that is left.” Director Ann Tobolowsky agrees, adding, “There is a deep longing for community and a desire to find connection. This play is a cautionary tale of what can happen when that impulse is betrayed.”

Taylor Gilbert and Andrew Elvis Miller – Photo by Lizzy Kimball

The place is a seedy motel in the Midwest, and the time is now. Ann Carlson (Taylor Gilbert) and John Pine (Andrew Elvis Miller) find themselves stranded when their plane makes a forced landing in the middle of nowhere because of the storm of the century. The two strangers decide to join up to rent a car and secure a room for the night while waiting for the storm to abate. To make matters worse, almost every room in and around town has been taken by other frantic airline passengers – forcing Ann and John to dig in at a dingy, shabby, and even squalid place miles out of town. As it turns out, John Pine hosts a popular a.m. radio show – and Ann is his biggest fan. Sounds idyllic? Far from it, as Ann and John get to know each other – and secrets begin to drop like bombshells. Two strangers are slated to become something neither expects.

Andrew Elvis Miller and Taylor Gilbert – Photo by Lizzy Kimball

Skillfully helmed by Tobolowsky, THE CIVIL TWILIGHT slowly and carefully ratchets up the suspense as the pair starts to chip away at each other with innocuous questions which lead to more questions – and some surprising and frightening answers. Gilbert and Miller do a superb job of gradually stripping away their outer facades to reach the innermost level of what makes them tick. Trapped together in a raging storm, the two strangers will soon find out that all is not what it seems.

Andrew Elvis Miller and Taylor Gilbert – Photo by Lizzy Kimball

The Broadwater Studio Theatre is a perfect setting for this intimate show. With only 22 seats, the audience is paces away from the principals in the claustrophobic motel room as the eerie tale unfolds. Joel Daavid’s jaunty Indian themed motel room is a perfect foil for the very un-jaunty story as it progresses. Jenna Bergstraesser’s costumes fill the bill perfectly, and Chris Moscatiello’s sounds of sturm und drang keep the action striding along. As the surface story morphs into the essentials of survival, the audience is sure to be hanging on the edges of their seats. In THE CIVIL TWILIGHT, the terror rests inside each of us.

THE CIVIL TWILIGHT runs through November 24, 2024, with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. The Broadwater Studio Theatre is located at 1076 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA. Tickets are $45 (seniors $25, students $20). For information and reservations, ct****************@gm***.com“>email theater or go online.