"Ba ba ba bombs blast ba rat a tat tat. Ba ba ba bombs blast..." The Burning Cities Project has begun. Ricardo Perez Gonzalez quickly emerges as the premier spoken-word poet in the multi-talented cast of the Burning Cities project. His "bombs blast" refrain runs through the play as the prologue concludes, giving way to an opening monologue in which one character declares that she wants to ask questions, but she does not want them to be easy questions. The creators of the Burning Cities Project set out asking, "What happens when our cities burn?" in hopes of seeing how all tragedy connects. There are no easy questions here.

As New Yorkers who experienced 9-11, New OrleansÕ natives and other survivors of tragedy, many members of the cast brought with them specific experiences from which to draw as a starting point for their roles in the Burning Cities Project. Yet the most important part of the "ensemble-created collage of drama, dance, poetry and comedy" that is the Burning Cities project, is that it is not a work about a specific event. This is not the story of solely 9-11, Hurricane Katrina, Dresden, Darfur, Rwanda, Hiroshima or the Holocaust, but all of them at the same time. As Zach Calhoun, the man who put this project in motion, points out, there are blocks of text in this piece that refer to one happening, but could just as easily be about any tragedy. All tragedy is the same. ThatÕs the point of The Burning Cities Project.

The Project is a profound exploration of the human experience primarily in the context of massive or global tragedy, but also in the day-to-day internal struggles that we all face. Personal tragedy is often forgotten as more far-reaching issues are dealt with, but this collection devotes an entire section of the play to the tragedy that two characters face due to their inability to connect with the world around them. One character is broken by living in the impersonal "communal void" that is New York City. Speaking the words "I am lonely" defeats the other. His confession resonates through the theater and a glimpse of the lost soul persona so famously represented by Holden Caulfield can be caught.

Through the unique montage perforated by monologues, which appear to be part of the recording of a documentary, Dreamscape Theater has created a weighty and moving understanding of tragedy. From the mix of serious self-examination and comedic representations of serious issues, such as a depiction of the Holocaust as an outcast teenager in a big red suit, brilliance emerges on stage, yet laughter ensues. The attention paid to minute details, such as maintaining the positioning of an imaginary chalkboard make this play even more impressive. Just about every scene lends itself to rave reviews.

However Vulcanalia stands out as particularly worthy of praise. The entire scene is a direct confrontation of human behavior that drives home the impact of the Burning Cities Project. Two college students give a report of Pompeii: How the volcano erupted and buried the city causing millions to lose their lives, but the city was preserved and passed down to us, yet all we have done is turn it into a tourist attraction. "This is how we remember." We made an amusement park ride called Escape from Pompeii that stimulated that traumatic last day. The presenters continue on to reveal that, although we hate to think about it, 100 years from now, when we are gone, there will be a ride called Escape from the Twin Towers, and people will ride it and walk off laughing as they go buy a funnel cake "because this is how we remember." A pregnant silence hangs over the audience. "It has already started with 9-11, the movies are in theaters, the books are out. " Then, as if turning on themselves, the characters ask the audience, "What is this, the Burning Cities Project? Is it really remembering and mourning or just entertainment?"

With that sobering comment, the epilogue commences as an enriched version of the prologue designed to see if the last two hours have changed anyone. As the cast takes their bows the force of the bombs and disaster all around the world hits. I highly recommend The Burning Cities Project to anyone. Bring an open mind and prepare to be hit because "ba ba ba bombs blast ba rat a tat tat."