Now, maybe it was a result of stilted dialog (I mean real people just don’t talk that way), minimalist direction (so spare as to be invisible), or performances that ranged from way over the top to practically phoned in, but something rendered Source Theatre's production of Lee Blessing’s Two Rooms impenetrable if not downright unbelievable. Two Rooms, as presented, failed to come off the floor from lights up.

Michael Wells (Jonathan Ward) has been held hostage for over two years somewhere in the Middle East. He spends his time isolated, on the floor of a dark room blindfolded, not allowed to remove it under threat of another beating as he waits for word the world has not forgotten him. Lanie Wells (Melissa Blue) sits at home on the floor of what once was her husband’s office (now stripped to the walls) in an attempt to share his suffering and feel some semblance of closeness to him. Compelling stuff, no? Uh…no.

During Michael’s opening monologue I was distracted by the unconscious tapping of his foot. He was sitting on the floor describing the events leading up to and the horrors of his captivity and his foot developed a mind of its own. It was as if his brain and body were operating at different wavelengths. I kept looking to see if it was a “character” trait, but his voice and demeanor reminded me more of a third party reading a letter written by the hostage… a sort of hostage travelogue, if you will. There was an emotional disconnect between actor Jonathan Ward and what was being said by Michael. The words rang hollow. I began to wonder why the woman was so devoted to him.

Melissa Blue was fighting an uphill battle

The fourth character in Lee Blessing’s “masterpiece” is Ellen Van Oss (Kathleen Moore), the ineffective state department hack assigned to Michael’s case. You know her. She’s the petty bureaucrat that pretends to care, but is more interested in maintaining government protocols and a low profile instead of bucking the system. You may not have seen the play but you can picture her. Can’t you? Take a second and envision the dark business suit, glasses maybe, tight wrapped hair. Now, look up “stereotype” in the Webster’s. Kathleen was handed a stinker of a role. She certainly gave it a good go, but there just isn’t enough there to dress Miss Van Oss in other than caricature. Once again Melissa had to man the tiller alone and steer the production to its obvious end.

Melissa as Lanie Wells was the real victim of isolation in Two Rooms. She had no one to help her sustain the emotional broil needed to carry the audience through her horrific journey. She was believable and honest in her characterization, but a mediocre script and little support on stage blunted her performance.

In the final moments of Two Rooms, Blessing mounts the pulpit and,

at the expense of poignancy, rhetoric takes center stage.

In order for Two Rooms to work it has to become personal. The story is, after all, about people. We have to care what happens to them. To do that one must be compelled to suspend belief and live the story. The reality of today’s events and the people involved and affected are far more dramatic and compelling than anything Mr. Blessing has put on paper and Source Theatre has mounted at 40th Street Stage.