Private Wars

Synopsis

Three G.I.s recovering from Vietnam War injuries while away their time on the terrace of an Army hospital. Gately, a hillbilly, fiddles compulsively with a disemboweled radio; Silvio, a streetwise, big-city type, is addicted to “flashing” (even though his sex organs have suffered—he thinks—irremediable battle damage); while Natwick, a prissy “rich kid” from Long Island, writes letters to his mother telling her how much he wants to become a close friend of Gately (while omitting mention of how actively Silvio dislikes him). Comprised of a series of brief blackout scenes, the play blends these into a meaningful mosaic as the three tease, torment, entertain, exasperate and, on occasion, solace each other—maintaining throughout a hilarity that belies their deep concern about the uncertainties of the civilian world to which they will soon be returning.