The newest offering at Second Stage’s Kiser Theatre is a production of a new play penned by Alexis Scheer titled “Breaking the Story” which centers around a war correspondent who is actively reporting from the front line. The production directed by Jo Bonney was a bit confusing for this audience member, finding the elements of magical realism not clearly defined. The question that arose at the end of the play was whether in fact the main character was suffering from PTSD or if the previous eighty minutes reflected her life as she lay dying in the arms of her colleague while they were reporting from the war-torn front line. Regardless of the perception, too much incidental, non-essential humor plagues the seriousness of the subject matter at hand. War correspondent journalists put their lives on the line to report actual events in real time, witnessing and experiencing some of the most atrocious acts of violence attributed to war, making it difficult to understand how humor would make their story more relevant. On the other hand, if the action of the play is in real time and the lead character Marina, (a convincing Maggie Siffs), is suffering from PTSD, the absurd magical realism is merely an intrusion.

In any case, the action of the first scene shows Marina and her videographer colleague Bear (a reasonable Louis Ozawa) reporting as bombs are exploding around them in a war zone. Marina is hit by gunfire or an explosion and Bear rushes to her side and holds her in his arms, comforting her. The very next scene evolves as Marina is retiring from her career as war correspondent, buying her multi-million-dollar dream home in Massachusetts, and is receiving a lifetime achievement award for her journalism. Bear is there for the event, and after a bit of character exposition, they decide to get engaged and are going to get married that weekend since friends and family will already be there for the award ceremony. Enter Marina’s daughter Cruz, (a feisty Gabrielle Policano) who certainly makes the issue of her divorced, single mother seeking a career and never being around to raise her or be concerned about her future very evident. Then there is best friend Sonia (a dominating and funny Geneva Carr), a socially elite philanthropist who takes charge of planning the wedding as if it were a socialite charity fundraising event and floats the impression that she is Cruz’s surrogate mother in Marina’s absence. Gummy (a poignant Julie Halston), Marina’s mother is there for the festivities and reveals she also was not the best role model as a mother, admitting her faults raising a child. Add to the mix Marina’s ex-husband Fed (the always pleasant Matthew Saldivar), who is responsible for giving her personal journals to fellow and competing war correspondent Nikki, (an aggressive Tala Ashe), minus a few torn out pages that question the validity of a certain report. Nikki is creating a retrospect of Marina’s career and presenting her with the award but appears to be a threat ready and willing to take over as principal war correspondent, replacing Marina. The last scene of the play bookends the first with Marina laying in the arms of Bear as he comforts her, with bombs exploding around them.  If this sounds complicated or unclear, it is.

Whether it be the fault of the playwright or director Jo Bonny there is not enough of a story within the broad story. Characters are not developed so how could an audience feel any empathy for the ambivalent war correspondent who wears her wounds and shows her scars, not as badges of courage, but as a distorted temptation to return to the war zone. Or perhaps there is a realization that domesticity is the war zone she is avoiding. All the important themes that are connected to the subject matter are present but never really addressed. The cast of brilliant actors does a fine job, but they are not given the material to exercise their craft to the fullest. Unfortunately, this “Breaking the Story” is broken into too many pieces to understand the entire story.