Directed with an odd overly zealous and unfocused intent by the usually intense Rebecca Taichman, who did such strong work on the magnificent PH’s Familiar and Broadway’s Indecent last season, has her work cut out for her in this multi-leveled approach to a very current problem. The set, impressively giving us a whole world to take in by designerDane Laffrey (PH’s Rancho Viejo) with lighting by Christopher Akerlind (Indecent) and costumes by Paloma Young (Broadway’s Natasha, Pierre..) flickers of real lives floating onward but sadly distracts from the central dynamic. The initial traumatic clue is mind-blowingly current, a young teenager, Julie, portrayed by the young Ella Kennedy Davis (Fancy Feet’s Peter Pan) is struggling to deal with the emotional after-effects of a school shooting. She made it out of the school unharmed but a number of her school mates, although not any of her good friends, were killed.  It is now almost one month after the violence, and she’s about to return to her school. Not surprisingly, she is having difficulty feeling safe in her own home at night, hearing a threat or a alarming connection from every sound she hears at night, from thunder to the gorgeous cello music floating in from one floor above. Luckily, she is comforted by her over-whelmed father, Dan, a very good Lucas Papaelias (Broadway’s Once, Cyrano) who tries under the weight of his difficult life as a single working parent to make the monsters go away and a normality return to their home.  It’s a beautifully powerful first scene, setting us up for some very emotional moments ahead. And there are, so many well constructed pieces, played out well and powerful, transfixing our attention on the trauma that this violence reaps.

So much is placed on the back of this young actress, as Davis has to carry the emotional arc on her shoulders throughout. And she does a fine job, although the play and the direction hasn’t given her or guided her through enough constructs emotionally.  She does her best though, with what she is given, but the threads are tied to too many aspects and distractions from the core.  There is a subplot about school residency zones, and who should or shouldn’t be going to the school. This is tied into another aspect revolving around a grieving mother, Lisa, well-played by the emotional Cassie Beck (Broadway’s The Humans) and her popcorn dilemma. There is also a mystical and cranky neighbor, Cloris, played by the always good Lynda Gravátt (Broadway’s Doubt) upstairs who imagines playing and teaching cello while philosophizing about music and Julie’s possible future. All this while beautiful cello music is being telegraphed in from the side, performed by the superb Cellist, Christine H. Kim with music direction by Christian Frederickson (CSC’s The Tempest) and sound design by Mikhail Fiksel (PH’s A Life). Wonderful, but maybe one popcorn box too many.

Julie’s current situation and her lack of knowledge about the history of high school shooting doesn’t sit believably over all the dynamics present.  Kids just aren’t that oblivious, and coupled with her and her father’s unthinking attitude about residential zoning and the deception they are trying to maintain, the drama these ingredients create start to feel false and overly constructed.  More care would have been taken, especially by the father in terms of inviting another parent over to their not-as-high-end apartment on the wrong side of the town, and, in the same vein, it’s doubtful that high school friend, Zander, cute and awkwardly played by Ian Saint-Germain (TFANA’s Tamburlaine) would also be allowed over and made aware of their home’s location. As the strange plot of school location requirements, cello lessons, and the popcorn problem start to pile up in the hallway, these different layers overwhelm the storyline without any hope of finding a solid bigger picture or dynamic.  It gets harder and harder to structure all these competing components around a centralized topic that would make for something meaningful. Maybe more time was needed to build an overall schematic conflict that was worthy of the dynamic situation, understand the players on a deeper and more personal level, and weave in the mystical over the reality of the conflict, before trying so hard to wrap this all up in a tidy one-act intermission-less play.