The Connection

The place is Cu Chi, Vietnam; the year is 1967. It is the Vietnam War, and six brave women are doing their best to serve their country and aid the American soldiers in Lake Braddock Secondary School's production of “A Piece of My Heart,” a heart-wrenching tale of the effects of war.

“A Piece of My Heart” is a dramatic, powerful play written by Shirley Lauro and based on the memoir of the same name by Keith Walker. It follows six American women who served in the Vietnam war: Army nurses Sissy and LeeAnn, Navy nurse Martha, Red Cross nurse Whitney, intelligence officer Steele, and country music singer MaryJo. These characters are based on real women who served in the war, and the play explores not only their experiences in Vietnam but also how it affects them once they return stateside.

Braddock's production is led by six amazing actresses who each portray one of the six women serving. Each actress had her own very distinct character that had a very clear arc from the beginning to the end of the show. The amount of understanding each actress had for her character's growth and interaction with the story was absolutely incredible. Sissy (Adeline Merlo), for instance, created many powerful moments that tied her story together, such as her breakdown over the death of a soldier who carried her photograph and her learning that her daughter was affected by Agent Orange disease. Whitney (Zoey Golabek) and LeeAnn (Jannesta Marshall) also provided strong performances with confidence that helped carry the show; they drew the audience's attention every time they were on stage with their brilliant stage presence. Additionally, Martha (Maddie Hovastak), Steele (MaKayla Super), and MaryJo (Savannah Raeder) all had wonderfully consistent mannerisms that really sold the authenticity of their characters to the audience. Together, the six actresses built a strong, confident leading cast that piqued the audience's interest in every second of the show.

The lighting in Braddock's “A Piece of My Heart,” designed by Ethan Feil, contributed wholeheartedly to the mood of the play, and it did so beautifully in every instance. The cyclorama was lit with a variety of colors based on what was happening in the scene: at Christmastime, it was red and green; while the women were partying, it shifted between different rainbow patterns; and during mass casualties, it was colored a dramatic, bloody red. In addition to this, the lighting was used to create many different effects; for instance, during the bombing scenes, lights were turned rapidly on and off in order to emulate emergency lights. The lighting crew also never missed a cue; every blackout was right on time and every spotlight was in its exact place.

The special effects in Braddock's production consisted of incredibly realistic fake wounds that demonstrated how gruesome the war was to the audience. Designer Aaron Ruggiero created faux cuts, burns, and even amputations that shocked the audience with their realism, building very powerful scenes that showed the horrific sights that the nurses had to deal with on a daily basis. When fake blood from the bodies squirted onto Martha, Sissy, and LeeAnn, the audience truly grasped how terrifying their job was.

Lake Braddock Secondary School's performance of “A Piece of My Heart” was heart-wrenching, beautiful, and powerful beyond words. With a strikingly strong cast and stellar tech design and execution, Lake Braddock Theatre caused every audience member to leave a piece of their heart with this gorgeous story.