Review of Level 11 Theatre's The Library

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called The Library. It was by Scott Z. Burns, and it was directed by Logan Hulick. It is about a school shooting and all the people who were affected by it. It was about a kid named Caitlin (Lindsey Markham) who was blamed for something she says she didn't do. It is about belief, memory, and legacies. I think this is a very heartbreaking show and I found it very intriguing.

Nolan (Scott Olson) and Elizabeth (Tricia Rogers) were the parents of Caitlin. They were very protective of her, but they still didn't believe everything she said because not all of it was true and they had had bad experiences before. But Dawn Sheridan (Maria Margaglione) seemed to need to believe that her daughter Joy ended her life by praying and being perfect. And she thinks that Caitlin is a liar about Joy. When she thinks that Caitlin helped the shooter it makes Dawn feel better about her own daughter. Dawn's Christianity is not depicted as something terrible. It is depicted as something that helps her through everything, but it makes Caitlin and her parents' already difficult lives a lot harder. She is not being mean or anything, but she should investigate her case more before refusing to see any other person's opinion. Dawn starts out being a person who gives forgiveness, even when it is not wanted, and ends up being forgiven. I thought that was a really great character arc.

Caitlin was a very immature teen girl, but even though she was kind of annoying at times, you still had sympathy for her because of her situation. I think everyone has been blamed for something they shouldn't have been blamed for. She wasn't judged like she was without reason. Even though they didn't have proof, they thought Caitlin might be a person who would lie, because she lied about other things connected to the shooting. I think that most of the decisions that she makes at the beginning are not very mature. But you see her develop over time and become a more thoughtful person. She has gone through probably one of the hardest things in her life and now she comes out the other side as a adult. I thought that was really moving.

I thought the way they used the set (designed by Alex Connor) was very cool, how they uncovered bookshelves as the plot progressed. And also they would make the library tables into a hospital bed, surgical tables, desks, and the tables in homes, and finally the tables in the library where the shooting took place. Then they basically recap what the 911 call was and the terror of the entire experience. I though the final scene was very moving and sad but it needed to happen. I thought it wrapped up the story well and it made me cry.

People who would like this show are people who like angsty teen heroines, cool character arcs, and moving tables and endings. I thought this was an insightful play about being a teenager in such a terrible situation. I think this was good show and people will learn a lot from it.

Photos: Kyle Hintz