“Room 1214” Tackles Gun Violence Told Through Eyes of Teacher Who Survived Deadly School Shooting

“In the dark we hear vague sounds of construction in the background. Then, closer, we hear footsteps in an empty hallway, the sound of a heavy door opening, and a light switch clicking on. A sudden blinding glare of fluorescent lights. Lily is revealed for a split second.”

That’s how the docudrama “Room 1214” by playwright Michele Kholos Brooks directed by Sarah Norris open as it tells the story of the deadly 2018 school shooting at Marjorie Stoneham Douglas High School told through the eyes of a teacher who survived.

In the play, told as something of a memoir, the teacher reunites with her students as they were– playful, funny, and full of life and potential–real kids with bright futures. Some were killed that fateful day and are in the play as “ghosts.”

The world premiere from New Light Theater Productions opened Nov. 21 at the off Broadway 59E59 Theaters and concludes its limited run on Dec. 8.

The leading lady starring as the teacher Lily is Annabelle Gurwitch who has, dare we say, done it all.

She is the host of the long running TBS show, Dinner and a Movie, a past star of the critically acclaimed “Joe and Betty,” and a bestselling author, whose most recent collection of humorous essays “You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility” was a 2021 New York Times Favorite Book for Healthy Living, a “Good Morning America” Must Read and a finalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor Writing. She’s written and developed adaptations of her five books for HBO, F/X, NBC, and Lifetime, and is currently writing one for the Hallmark Channel to star Andi MacDowell. Along with actress Jesica Hecht, she is active with the Campfire Project, which heals young refugees around the world. Exhausted yet?

“I am such a fan of Michelle and Sarah’s work, which has completely knocked my socks off,” Gurwitch says. Their past work included “War Words” and “Hitler’s Tasters,” both which had nice runs off Broadway. “I didn’t even know Michelle was married to Max Brooks,” Gurtwitz adds “He and I knew each other, and we have both been on Bill Maher’s show. Bottom line: As soon as I read this one, there was no way I could not do it.”

Kholos Brooks may be the daughter-in-law of a comedic film legend named Mel, but the subject here is no laughing matter. It is based on an actual history teacher Ivy Shamis who experienced the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. Post performance speakers include David Hogg, a student survivor of the shooting who in the six years since the deadly rampage, has emerged as a gun control activist and Shamis, the teacher whose story is loosely told in the play.

Although the show is inspired by one teacher, the story is not specifically hers. “The amazing irony,” says Gurwitch, is that this teacher was doing a class on Holocaust studies. At this time, it’s important to counter the anti-Semitism messages and all its iterations. Hate crimes are all connected.” [The production is in association with with Lynn Bartner-Wiesel and Elisha Wiesel, who is the son of Elie Wiesel.]

“I grew up in Florida and there was still a sense of the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Gurwitch recalls about some class warnings. Today’s students have anti-gun exercises. “I’m a mother,” she says, “and my child grew up having to be worried about this. I think this play is one small gesture in the hope for sanity over violence. Michelle has somehow found poetry in trying to conjure those who are no longer alive. Can you make a play about this subject that doesn’t retraumatize people...and energizes them a call to action? I think she has done that.”

It seems to be a match made in theatre heaven. “Besides being a talented actress, Annabelle is so very smart,” says playwright Kholos Brooks. “She asks incisive, thoughtful questions in the interest of moving “Room 1214” toward its best realization. In addition, she has genuine concern for the issues highlighted in the play, so she comes to the stage with passion and determination that does not have to be manufactured.”

Gurwitch, amid all this, has been diagnosed with a form of cancer, but one she is feeling hopeful about. The prognosis seems positive. And, like everything else, she finds a way to write about it with resilience and humor. Her next book’s title? “The End of My Life is Killing Me.”

The cast of students includes Thyme Briscoe at Ellie, Ben Hirschorn as Nate, Kleo Mitrokostas as B, Andrea Negrete as Hannah and Alessandro Yokoyama as G.

The people behind the play state it aims to “offer a moving reminder that the best way to honor the past is to learn from it.” The show and Gurwitch’s performance moved many audience members to tears. As well it should.

Michele Willens is the host of “Stage Right..or Not” on Robinhoodradio.