MILL FIRE
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In spite of its movie title, Mill Fire has little to do with any conventional action or story line. It is about the spiritual journey toward mental health of a young woman named Marlene, after her adored husband Champ dies in a steel-mill fire. Although she is the primary focus of the story, she is surrounded by fellow sufferers of the same tragedy. A Greek chorus of three other widows speak as a unit, often in highly poetic language that keeps the ritual alive, describing their personal experiences of pain and healing. Marlene’s brother Bo, a mill foreman during the fire, plays out a subplot of guilt and responsibility with his alcoholic wife, Sunny. Their voices and stories surround Marlene as she works through her own private hell.
In more general terms, Mill Fire tells the story of a mill town experiencing a tragedy. The crisis moment, and therefore the frame of the play, takes place on the first anniversary of the fire. A memorial service is being held, and Marlene is reluctant to go. She has become persona non grata with the other widows, as she has refused to take the money that the mill offered the widows as compensation for their husbands’ deaths. During the course of the service, Marlene begins to remember back to the day of the fire, and the year that followed.
