At some point in time, every person must ask him or herself what is more important in life: what your heart desires or what your life requires. This question is partially explored in City Theatre's production of Pyretown, a contemporary play by the recently deceased John Belluso. Directed by Diane Rodriguez, the play stars Tobias Forrest and Chandler Vinton.

Pyretown pairs up the unlikely couple of Louise, played by Vinton, a 39-year-old single mother, and Harry, played by Forrest, a paralyzed student at a local community college. After meeting in a hospital waiting room, Louise offers to drive Harry home, thus planting the seeds of friendship and eventual romance. What occurs after that is an open and honest portrayal of how physical and emotional respect can hold two people together, and how needing different things out of life can ultimately tear those same people apart.

It takes less than fifteen minutes of watching the play to realize that Belluso has a knack for dialogue. His script is both structurally sound and realistically casual; it's not easy to write a script with both qualities. Every moment of the show plays on something from the one before it. Thanks to the actions that proceed it, you know the end is inevitable. Belluso also knows when moments in life are funny and acknowledges them onstage; occasionally, his characters say out loud exactly what the audience members are thinking. For example, when Harry interrupts Louise's recollection of her problems to inform her that he's falling in love with her, he admits that his timing is bad. Belluso's play does not feel like a show on a stage, but rather scenes from someone's life that the audience just so happens to have the pleasure of observing.

One cannot discuss Pyretown without discussing the wheelchair use in the play. Harry explains that his disability is a result of a diving accident from when he was 16 years old. From that point on, one would expect Pyretown to be about Harry's struggles and daily life as a man with a wheelchair, ultimately ending with some grand moral about the disabled. This is not the case. Harry's issues with his predicament do play a large role in the action, for being paralyzed is an aspect of one's life that no one can skirt around. However, there's no pedestal or award for Harry; his condition is not even the main focus of his character. Belluso, who spent most of his life in a wheelchair, creates a complex and interesting character in Harry, making him a human being first, a disabled man second. 

If Belluso's writing made Harry's character believable, Tobias Forrest's acting made him alive. Forrest uses the natural wit and honesty of the script to create a character that the audience can relate to. Every part of Forrest onstage became Harry, right down to the physicalization of a man who has spent the last six years using a wheelchair. Complimenting this is Vinton's portrayal of Louise, whose sincerity and commitment shine through as Louise decides what's best for her family (three kids that she reacts to, although they do not physically exist onstage) and herself.

Victoria Petrovich's set works for the simplicity of the play as well as for the practicality of scene changes. Using moveable panels, well chosen props, and the occasional chair or bed, Harry and Louise go from the hospital to the grocery store to the bedroom with ease. Also to be commended is Elizabeth Atkinson's sound design, which incorporates contemporary alternative rock into the scene changes which helps the audience stay in the mood of the show.

Pyretown has many things going for it. Belluso's script is clever, engaging, and, most of all, real. Forrest and Vinton take a small, two-person show and elevate it to great heights. More than anything else, though, Pyretown is authentic in its emotions and makes you care. One cannot ask for more from a drama.

Students and those 25 and younger can reserve $15 tickets for Pyretown in advance. Tickets range in price from $15 - $40. Pyretown will be at the City Theatre until April 2, and there is usually at least one show every Tuesday through Sunday. For more information about City Theatre and Pyretown, visit the City Theatre website.

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