Battle of Anzio by
Battle of Anzio is a full-length drama that examines what can happen when people who gather to pay their respects to the deceased are still battling with the living. American and British expatriates, Italian natives, German tourists, and Albanian refugees all help fill the weekend commemoration with harmless flirtations, dysfunctional family reunions, suppressed war memories, and philosophical debates ranging...
Battle of Anzio is a full-length drama that examines what can happen when people who gather to pay their respects to the deceased are still battling with the living. American and British expatriates, Italian natives, German tourists, and Albanian refugees all help fill the weekend commemoration with harmless flirtations, dysfunctional family reunions, suppressed war memories, and philosophical debates ranging from the ridiculous – “Does everybody really hate the French?” to the sublime – “When does one’s liberator suddenly become the oppressor?”
The Battle of Anzio, one of the bloodiest sieges fought during World War II, is solemnly remembered at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial where American service men and women have been buried in the cause of ensuring another nation’s freedom.
Central to the play is the turbulent relationship that exists between Gloria Daly, an actress coming to terms with impending retirement, and her daughter, Lavinia “Vinni” Velletri, an expatriate teaching English on the black market in Milan. Both have come to Anzio to find peace -- with each other and within themselves -- in a place noted only for war. Of the 7, 861 Americans buried at Anzio, one of those is the father and grandfather of these two women.
The Battle of Anzio, one of the bloodiest sieges fought during World War II, is solemnly remembered at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial where American service men and women have been buried in the cause of ensuring another nation’s freedom.
Central to the play is the turbulent relationship that exists between Gloria Daly, an actress coming to terms with impending retirement, and her daughter, Lavinia “Vinni” Velletri, an expatriate teaching English on the black market in Milan. Both have come to Anzio to find peace -- with each other and within themselves -- in a place noted only for war. Of the 7, 861 Americans buried at Anzio, one of those is the father and grandfather of these two women.