Peter James Zielinski and Joe Janes in WNEP's remarkable Let There Be Light..!

In creating Let There Be Light..!, co-authors Jen Ellison and Dave Stinton fell into a number of theatrical traps that usually mean doom for any production. The characters spend the majority of their time speaking in monologue and many of their 'scenes' are with imaginary people whose voices have been pre-recorded. Nonetheless, Let There Be Light..! works exceedingly well, due to a well-paced script that combines some very funny moments with some truly poignant ones and an exceptional cast that avoids any urge to take their characters' psychological twists over-the-top, instead creating four very different, very troubled men.

Based on John Huston's 1946 documentary of the same name, Let There Be Light..! explores the psychological trauma visited on men who had faced the horrors of World War II. With occasional voice over'in classic, upbeat 40s style'this play follows the treatment of these men through to their eventual release. Sgt. Terry Lebeaux (James Yeater) has lost his memory. Sgt. Patrick Keane (Peter De Giglio) has developed a stutter. Corporal Joe Hardy (Chad Reinhart) no longer can work his legs while PFC Jeremy Friend (Peter James Zielinski) seems withdrawn and troubled. Each receives treatment from a military doctor (Joe Janes).

While, the psychological underpinnings of each treatment are relatively simplistic, the success of these stories lie in each actors' willingness to invest in the confusion their characters feel about returning home from war. 'I think I found my calling,' says Reinhart's Hardy, speaking of the killing he's done. The fear of each of these men to return to a post-war world is palpable. In particular, Zielinski excels as a man with the least definable symptoms, though he may, we discover, have faced the most troubling experiences.

As our military involvement in the world increases, it behooves us not only to support our troops but also to understand how their experiences may have changed them. Let There Be Light..! speaks to this in a clear, effective way.