Recent Tragic Events may take place in 2001, but the emotional landscape of its characters mirrors how many Americans feel in 2025: Like the ground beneath their feet has split apart.

As funny as it is unsettling, Third Rail Repertory’s revival of its 2005 inaugural production of Craig Wright’s play (directed by Scott Yarbrough then and now) is proof of the absolute pleasure a polished show with stellar performances and design can provide.

Onstage at CoHo Theatre, the story is set the day after 9/11 in a sleek Minneapolis apartment belonging to a 30-something ad executive, Waverly (Emily Eisele), who’s getting ready for a blind date while frantically trying to contact with her missing twin sister, Wendy, in New York City.

When Waverly’s date, Andrew (Ben Tissell, as wonderful here as he is in many a local musical), arrives, the conversation couldn’t be more awkward, with him geekily nervous and Waverly worried and distracted while trying to pretend everything is fine. To make the date even more of a bust, they both keep a wary eye on the breaking TV news.

Then a neighbor, Ron (Rolland Walsh), knocks on the door, turning the evening into an impromptu pizza party, which also includes Nancy (Rose Proctor), the mostly silent woman who’s been asleep in his bed.

In contrast to Andrew’s tidy khaki slacks and wool blazer, Ron is laid back in draw-string pants and a floral shirt that flaps open to reveal his Earth, Wind & Fire T-shirt (costumes by Bobby Brewer-Wallin). He’s a wildcard of a guy who seems to be on his own planet, saying oddball things like, “No one expects anchovies – that’s the beautiful thing.”

He may be chill, but Ron also has some old-fashioned alpha male tendencies, making sure Andrew knows who’s top dog. “Do what you gotta do,” he encourages Waverly, while calling Andrew “blind date boy.”

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With a blend of sure direction and talented actors, we see these complex characters come to physical life. Ron, for example, takes up space, sitting with his legs open, while Andrew, like a trapped animal, eyes the door as if he’s planning to flee the apartment – and the emotions building in it – while Waverly keeps lurching for her phone.

And then there’s Proctor, who as Nancy has only a couple of lines, but manages to communicate volumes. As she slowly chews on pizza slices, her eyes, framed by long brown bangs, follow the actions of the others, seeming to take in every gesture and vocal nuance. At the same time, though, she can be obtuse about other people’s needs, such as when she terrifies the unworldly Andrew with her scant attire.

As remarkable as her silence is, Proctor is just as impressive in the second act where she also plays Waverly’s great aunt, a character named Joyce Carol Oates. Beforehand, a stage manager (Stephanie Gaslin, who played Waverly in the 2005 production) playfully tells us Oates is a fictional person, not the actual bestselling author. The joke here is that the character is represented by a puppet on Nancy’s hand. Still, maybe I did need the stage manager’s reminder, because Proctor’s voice – and hand motions – are so expressive, I could almost suspend all disbelief regarding the intellect and sentience of a sock puppet.

During a humorously intricate card game that the four – I mean five – characters play, a discussion about free will arises. Are the events that make up our days as preordained as the scripted play we’re watching? Or are they the result of a random luck of the draw? While the humor percolates throughout the first act, the action slows down to debate this question at length.

For me, this abstract question isn’t as compelling as the characters themselves … and the psychological state of a society that may never be able to feel safe again, especially with a steady stream of bad news, which of course has astronomically increased since 2001, thanks to the internet.  

Along those lines, Bryan Boyd’s superb scenic design is also intriguing. His set is so beautiful and detailed, I was happy to just sit and take it all in before the play started. (Here’s an extra “hooray” for intimate theaters like CoHo that let us note every detail, from Waverly’s matching abstract paintings to her coffee-table books on Marc Chagall and Michelangelo.)

Beyond the idyllic curving walls and sleek staircase, the pristine apartment brings up more questions about what we can and can’t control. Waverly’s expensive books may look perfect on her Ikea shelves, but can her income and good taste keep calamity at bay?

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Boyd’s set also symbolizes a type of pre-9/11 American innocence, maintained by the illusion that a disaster of that proportion couldn’t happen in the U.S., just as before January 2025, many people once had faith that our nation had a foolproof plan against authoritarianism. Is a sense of safety no more real than a sock puppet is a person?

Behind the scenes, excellent sound (Cullen Elliot and Saibi Khalsa) varies between the everyday (a blow dryer) and horrifying (Bryant Gumbel’s voice reporting on the attack). Spectacular lighting effects (Samantha “Sam” Kemp) also add to the drama, taking us beyond Waverly’s graceful lamps to suggest the show’s cosmic-sized questions.

Considering that the Nov. 9 matinee drew a full house on what was bound to be one of the last golden afternoons of autumn, Portland theatergoers accurately predicted how engaging this probing production would be. Which proves that sometimes such assumptions are delightfully safe to make. 

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Third Rail Repertory’s Recent Tragic Events will continue at CoHo Theatre, 2257 N.W. Raleigh St., through Nov. 23. Find schedule and ticket information here.