Sand

Description
For this surprisingly resonant topical drama, Trista Baldwin imaginatively embeds herself in the Middle Eastern desert with three U.S. Army grunts in 2003. A taut, semi-expressionistic study of military camaraderie and the mental strain of warfare, Sand benefits from a fine cast (Alec Beard, Angela Lewis and Pedro Pascal) and Daniella Topol’s resourceful production. Of the dozens of plays that could be credibly termed post–September 11 works, this one wages its battle honorably. Most impressively, although Sand is a solid entry in the Iraq genre, it occasionally transcends categories and approaches something finer: a meditation on mortality and the slipping grains of time.—DC