"We are obligated by law to inform you that this play contains adult language and themes," director Scott Campbell warns before the opening of the world premiere of Under the Circumstances, a play with the purpose of exploring "the relationship between words, friendship, and our own sense of self."

Written by local playwright C. Rosalind Bell, Under the Circumstances takes us into the lives of best friends Amanda and Josephine. Amanda is African-American and lives in Tacoma while Josephine is Jewish and lives in New Orleans. Both are involved in writing. Josephine is a published "mid-list" author, while Amanda is working on a novel but makes her living as a literary escort.   

The love of language permeates the script with a use of vocabulary that plays to an educated audience. Bell doesn't dumb down her writing, which is risky in the age of 30-minute spoon-fed entertainment.  The play doesn't spell out what she wants her audience to come away with; there are no astounding revelations or moral platitudes tied into neat little packages. Instead, Under the Circumstances is an exploration of personal responses to liberty and offense.

In Act I Amanda tries to entice Josephine out to the Northwest by helping to promote a novel Josephine has written. Josephine is more interested in promoting her new book, which Amanda has yet to read. Finally, at the close of Act I, Amanda reads the book and is appalled by what she finds.

Act II opens to find Josephine preparing to fly to Tacoma and Amanda giving Josephine the cold shoulder. The majority of Act II deals with each woman struggling with the ramifications of Amanda reading Josephine's new novel. It all boils down to the repeated use of one particular word and the idea that writers imbue their characters with pieces of themselves. 

Opening night is always iffy, at any theater. Some of the lines were a little rough, but Julie Novak Wenberger as Josephine, and LaNita Hudson as Amanda, performed well in this two-person show. Director Scott Campbell did a beautiful job staging Act I. Act II, however, seemed a little awkward - with the actors making some of the set changes with the lights on and some in the dark. Otherwise, Campbell made good use of one space to portray three or four different locations. 

The play's ending may seem a little rushed and simplistic, but Bell has created a play in Under the Circumstances that can be used as a conversation starter around race relations. It is a very delicate topic, and while Bell's script doesn't preach, it opens up the possibility of dialogue.

Under the Circumstances

Through Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. Friday- Saturday, 2:00 p.m. Sunday, $15
Tacoma Little Theatre, 210 N. I St., Tacoma
253.272.2281