Not everything works in Paul Webb’s Warsaw, but by the time it reaches its cathartic climax, there’s no denying the power the International City Theatre World Premiere achieves in juxtaposing WWII Poland and New York City in the weeks following 9-11.

 The date is September 14, 2001, and amidst the chaos of the past two weeks, a woman lies comatose in the comfort of a private hospital suite paid for by an anonymous benefactor.

The patient in question is 74-year-old Krystyna (Suzanne Ford), who has somehow miraculously survived her car being struck by a ten-ton truck, and if things go as hoped, will soon be emerging from a medically induced coma.

As her attending physician Rachel (Anna Van Valin) and clerical collar-sporting 79-year-old hospital volunteer Klaus (Bruce Nozick) await her return to consciousness, Krystyna finds her dream state visited by a certain Dr. Corcoran (Van Valin again), to whom she recounts her Polish past.

Not that Krystyna is the only thing Rachel has had on her mind these past two weeks. There’s also the matter of a marriage shattered by the death of her beloved but troubled brother Jonathan, one of over 2000 who lost their lives simply because they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Alternating between Krystyna’s reminiscences of her youth in wartime Poland and Rachel’s getting-to-know-you chitchat with Klaus, it’s not until about thirty minutes in that Warsaw finally catches fire when Rachel’s now ex-fiance David (Elias Scoufaras), whom she blames for her brother’s death, suddenly bursts into Krystyna’s suite, bound and determined to win Rachel back, which is why I’d suggest trimming its less than riveting first half-hour to about half that length.

I say this because what transpires once David barges in with reconciliation on his mind is when Warsaw starts to get compelling, and even more so when a certain Nicolas (Spencer Del Carmen) makes an eleventh-hour appearance, and if much of Warsaw’s denouement depends on one rather improbable coincidence, the play itself admits as much, so I’m more than willing to cut it some slack.

ICT artistic director caryn desai directs with accustomed finesse, eliciting one powerful performance after another.

Ford is grace and wisdom personified as Krystyna, the always marvelous Nozick gives Klaus equal parts humor and charm, Scoufaras reveals David’s passion and desperation to powerful effect, and recent Pepperdine grad Del Carmen does touching work as a young man whose witnessing of a terrorist attack had fateful consequences.

Most memorable of all is Van Valin, whose dynamic stage presence reminds me a bit of a young Meryl Streep and whose return to live theater is one worth celebrating, in particular when when a fiery Rachel confronts David about the blame she lays on him for something that was truly not his fault.

That being said, it wasn’t until I read Webb’s script that I realized Van Valin was playing two different roles, and though I understand the allure of a slightly smaller cast, future productions might want to split Rachel and Dr. Corcoran between two actors.

 Warsaw receives an all-around topnotch production design beginning with scenic designer Destiny Manewal’s stylish hospital suite, the kind only the wealthy can afford to stay in and one that looks even better as lit by Donna Ruzika, with additional design kudos shared with Kim DeShazo’s just-right costumes, Patty Briles’ spot-on props, and Hunter Moody’s accomplished sound design.

John H. Freeland, Jr. is production stage manager and Filisha Jones is assistant stage manager. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

It takes an ingenious playwright to juxtapose WWII Europe with recent U.S. history, and though Paul Webb’s Warsaw could use some editing, its World Premiere production at International City Theatre is one worth cheering.

International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
www.InternationalCityTheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
May 3, 2026
Photos: Jordan Gohara

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Tags: International City Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review, Paul Webb