By Kimberly Rau
Trinity Rep’s first show in 2025 is the world premiere of “Someone Will Remember Us,” a powerful theatrical documentary piece by Deborah Salem Smith and Charlie Thurston that follows the story of individuals impacted from the decades-long conflict in Iraq, as well as the war in Afghanistan.
This includes the marines who were injured and made it home, the parents of those who did not, the Iraqi translators who had to flee for their lives, and the refugees who had to find a new home when “home” became unlivable. Some stories directly connect, others only tangentially, but the throughline is humanity. Through a series of rapid dialogues and interwoven vignettes, the audience gets to know the real-life stories of 12 individuals, many of whom were present on opening night.
Several in the cast of eight (some actors play more than one role) are making their Trinity debuts with this production, and others are familiar faces around the Dowling theater, but all bring a full measure of talent to the table. Rachael Warren and Stephen Thorne play the parents of Lance Cpl. Holly Charette, the first female Marine to die in Iraq when a suicide bomber hit her convoy. Their grief is palpable at losing their daughter. Ashley Aldarondo plays Holly’s friend who survived the attack, and has to find a way to move on with the scars, literal and emotional, from that night. And Alison Jones plays Millareisha, Holly’s bunkmate who enlists to prove to her father wrong about female Marines, and ends up having to examine her goals after Holly’s death. Thorne also plays two military personnel, including a chaplain who is tasked with working in a military morgue during the war.
Jade Ziane plays Kamal, a student studying English in Iraq when the war broke out. Kamal worked as a translator for the Americans, but found himself unwelcome among the troops after assisting and building relationships with the soldiers. Dereks Thomas plays both enlisted serviceman Tyrone, who struggles with the long-reaching effects of PTSD after going home, as well as Omar Bah, a refugee who would go on to found the Refugee Dream Center in Rhode Island.
Josephine Moshiri Elwood and Jihan Haddad play refugees from different countries who found themselves in America after it was no longer safe to remain at home. Though their characters may have been fleeing from different areas for different reasons, the longing for a home that no longer exists and the pain of trying to reconcile a new life while missing old traditions reaches across both narratives.
Director Christopher Windom did a wonderful job allowing the script to speak for itself, and not distracting the audience with an overly flashy set or too many theatrical devices. When you have a book like this, you don’t need them.
The show feels like “The Laramie Project” and “Come From Away,” with a similar storytelling style and characters doubling up on some roles, and also in the way that it manages to telegraph unspeakable loss alongside the indomitability of the human spirit.
And, just like these other powerful, moving works, “Someone Will Remember Us” doesn’t invent characters for us to relate to. It uses the narratives of actual lived experience to transport the audience to a place they may never have given much thought to before and says: You can’t look away from this. This happened. What will you do to keep it from happening again? How will you stop it from happening now?
Because, cruelly, just as this show opened, the plight of many refugees became even more uncertain, including those who are desperate to gain citizenship through the Refugee Dream Center, which was recently defunded. Its founder, Omar Bah, is one of the people represented on Trinity’s stage. This is not abstract. This is in your backyard.
“Someone Will Remember Us” is Trinity Rep playing to all its strengths, particularly when it comes to original works. It’s raw, creative, highly relevant, packed with talent and not to be missed.
“Someone Will Remember Us” runs through Feb. 23, 2025, at the Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence. Tickets may be obtained at the box office, online at trinityrep.com or by calling 401.351.4242.
