PEACEKEEPER
Reddin’s story involves a young, married lieutenant, Dean Swift, who has just been transferred to a Nebraska missile silo. Reddin places Swift and his wife between two very different couples. On one side is his new commanding officer, Major Jack Gurney, who tries to humanize his unit’s situation with attempts at friendship and warmth. For his trouble, Gurney is secretly ridiculed by the men and emasculated by his wife. On the other side are Swift’s partner, Lieutenant Henry Fielding, and the officer he’s dating, Lieutenant Kim Newman: their idea of love consists of hot sex, major quantities of drugs, and unlimited use of the VCR. Floating among them all is nerdy Lieutenant Ted Barnes. Barnes is the only one with no attachments. He has no girl and he does not work in the silos. He is a misfit, and the other characters feel themselves his superior. Yet Barnes is oblivious to their scorn, and he is the only one in the play who erects no barriers.
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But most stunning of all is Rob Milburn’s sound design, punctuated with roaring jet noises that seem to shake the theater. His metallic thumps before each scene in the silo intensify the sensation of confinement, and the operatic arias between scenes underline the grander scope of the play and act as counterpoint to the deadening of spirit that is going on within the scenes.
