Recent Tragic Events

In one of the first plays to deal directly with 9/11, Craig Wright explores free will versus determinism and the idea of random chance in this character-driven ensemble play. It’s the evening of September 12, 2001 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A clearly uncomfortable Andrew arrives at Waverly’s apartment for what turns out to be an ill-timed blind date. Unsure of dating protocol in the aftermath of a national tragedy, the evening is made all the more colorful by Waverly’s odd neighbor Ron and his sort-of girlfriend, Nancy. As if that wasn’t enough, Waverly is anxiously awaiting news about her twin sister, who may have worked at the World Trade Center. Of course, the entire story could have just as easily played out entirely differently. So says the Stage Manager, the play’s metatheatrical device who solicits an audience member to do a coin toss that will ostensibly determine the outcome of the show. Moments in the story that could have turned out differently had the coin toss yielded a different result are indicated by the sound of a bell, but as the Stage Manager later reveals, the story isn’t as dictated by random chance as we think. Recent Tragic Events is a philosophical, if not quirky, response to the existential questions raised in the aftermath of 9/11.