An insightful, moving take on 9/11

Unwavering candor illuminates “With Their Eyes: September 11th -- The View From a High School at Ground Zero.” In its West Coast premiere at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills, this compelling collection of personal accounts by Stuyvesant High School students and staff teems with acute authenticity and assured theatricality.

Four blocks from the World Trade Center, magnet school Stuyvesant had barely begun its 2001 fall semester when the attacks occurred. After evacuation, Stuyvesant became a triage unit/command center for the rescue efforts. Students and faculty temporarily relocated to academic rival Brooklyn Technical High School on Sept. 20, until Stuyvesant reopened Oct. 9.

Then-theater advisor and English teacher Annie Thoms proposed a performance piece, for which student cast members conducted interviews with peers and faculty about their experiences and feelings, inspired by the techniques of Anna Deavere Smith. The resulting work premiered at Stuyvesant on Feb. 8 and 9, 2002, appearing in published form later that year.

Although “With Their Eyes” loses some fluidity on the page, it is a magnificent eyewitness document -- funny, angry and moving -- and it plays like gangbusters. The 23 “poem-monologues” drift into each other as organically as the symbolic white feather that hangs over Masako Tobaru’s minimalist set floats to the stone-painted floor at the opening.

Under Christopher Marshall’s brilliant direction, “With Their Eyes” avoids teen imitation and easy histrionics. Placing the audience on three sides of the playing area, Marshall zeroes in on the specifics of response with invisible control. His inspired use of the jagged wooden grid upstage benefits from a stunning light plot by designer James Jones III and subtle sound effects from designer-actor Casey Long.

The ensemble is seamless in multiple roles, some turns indelible (students from Newport Beach’s Sage Hill School perform the piece on May 28 and June 4). Sarah Moreau’s pregnant teacher is deeply poignant, Alex Bueno’s upbeat Latino earns guffaws and Kelly Huddleston makes her Christian dining hall worker an early standout. Eric Lieberman’s pragmatic swagger is vividly apt, while Clarissa Barton radiates tense concern as the building coordinator.

Matthew Alan fully inhabits his enervated senior, and Kristin Norris’ Muslim student and Long’s heartbreaking custodian have breathtaking commitment. Their invested unity realizes the creators’ intent to hauntingly resonant effect, making “With Their Eyes” a must-see experience.

*

‘With Their Eyes’

Where: Chance Theater,

5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Sage Hill student performances: 2 p.m. May 28, June 4

Ends: June 11

Price: $25

Contact: (800) 838-3006 or www.chancetheater.com

Running time: 2 hours