Women are not usually the first thing you think of when you hear "The Vietnam War" yet they drive the storyline of 'A Piece of My Heart.' The cast is full of women with only a few male actors, something very uncommon in the world of the theatre. The play is very monologue driven, the women address the audience directly as they tell their stories. They're all interwoven together in a fluid emotional way. It's a beautiful thing to see so many women working together to tell the stories of other, real women, stories that many of us have never heard before or even considered. As one of the characters states "Men wanted that war; men made that war". But that doesn't mean that women were not affected in many different aspects. 'A Piece of My Heart' shows the tragedies of war, the strength of women, and a hope for the future.
The women each have different reasons for ending up in Vietnam, but all are naïve about the experiences that are to come. The women are immediately put to work taking care of men with some of the worst injuries imaginable. Some of the women are not even given proper training, but must learn as they go. This is not to mention that these women's lives are in danger from before their planes even land on Vietnam soil, danger that lasts until the war has ended. It is no wonder that, as more and more time passes, the women must find ways to cope with the horrors they are experiencing daily, whether that be through drugs, alcohol, or sex.
But even when the war ends, the tragedies do not. The women are confronted with many challenges as they try to adjust back to American life. Some discover that their entire lives, and the lives of their future children will forever be changed from exposure to Agent Orange. Others must deal with more invisible diseases like PTSD, depression, and alcoholism. These tragedies are only intensified by the fact that they are women, yet they each find strength within themselves that they did not know they had.
'A Piece of My Heart' is trying to send a message. It shows the horrors of our past in a way that we have never seen before. It is saying to us "this is our past, but it does not have to be our future". It is a message that speaks against war. It is a message that speaks to the many, many veterans struggling with health issues both visible and invisible. It is a message of sorrow and of hope. I am eager to see it next weekend, and I hope you are too.
