Dog-tagged, in fatigues, dragging her huge canvas sling-bag, Tammy, veteran of Desert Storm and now Iraq, suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Giselle, an old school mate (heard but not seen), is filming a documentary. Tammy's agreed to be interviewed, desperately hoping it'll help win back her daughter from her soon-to-be ex-husband. He found another woman -- just one of the terrible things that happened to Tammy when at war in Iraq.
With the aid of a few selected photos and letters, she summons up arguments. How her personal story fits in will make a case, she hopes, for getting custody. And along the way, she manages not only to sum up her country's failed military policies since World War II (three defeats, all against third-world countries) but to personalize all the current arguments against President Bush, his cohorts, and the war they started and sent people like her to fight.
Sometimes Tammy uses puppets to represent husband and his lover, but it's clear she feels she and others like her have been manipulated like puppets by political and commercial interests.
As in so much of Tamara Flannagan's virtuoso performance, her delivery is varied as it is powerful. The fact that Giselle and Tammy come from different social strata, added toTammy and her family before her having proudly served in the military, sometimes seems to drive a wedge between them. When Tammy sings "Soldier Girl," she twists it sarcastically. And she asks a lot of questions...why the U.S. needs so many bases around the world, for instance, or typically, why don't we let Iraqis vote on whether they want U.S. forces to surge...or even stay. Why doesn't Giselle go to Fallujah and film?
Of course, Tammy's not too disturbed to dispute Giselle's practical answers. Happily, they reach a rapport. Giselle strongly makes the point that she wants this story told because no one else will tell it. Maybe that's playwright Gilhooley's reason, too, for this play. If so, he'd be hard pressed to find a more effective Tammy than Tamara Flannagan or better, more cogent direction than by Deborah Barone.
Meg Heimstead as Giselle proves essential while she fittingly stays out of the limelight. In addition to the cogent inherent drama of The Warrior, the teamwork of all involved elevates the Backlot Theater to a Sarasota presenter of importance. And the writer to deserving more productions of his play.
