"Block 8" tells the story of Topaz, the relocation camp outside Delta, Utah where over 8,000 Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II.

The play achieves its aim of shedding light on a critically under-acknowledged period in our nation's history by exploring moments where two people genuinely connect, reaching an understanding across their cultural divide that also brings understanding to the audience.

There is also some unrealized potential in this production. Having only two characters highlights their estrangement from their families and makes the play more intimate, but it also makes it harder to envision the hardships of the camp. It would be interesting to see some of the exposition dramatized.

Bryan Kido plays Ken, a 23-year-old Japanese internee. He is beautiful to watch when he is serene, but he shifts rapidly to annoyance and anger without enough buildup. His rage and frustration feel justified, given his circumstances, but he spends so much time near his peak anger level that it starts to lose its effectiveness before he reaches his most powerful lines.

Anita Booher plays Ada, a Caucasian librarian in her 40s who works at the camp. Booher manages her emotions more smoothly, so that when she finally unleashes them in the play's climactic scene, they have a deep intensity -- enough to push a young man toward a decision.

Randy Rasmussen's gorgeous set takes what could have been a drab library locale and turns it into an abstract world, like an echo of a memory. During the first part of the play, the angled "windows" also serve as a screen for real home movies that were shot clandestinely by an internee at Topaz.

Jesse Portillo's lighting increases the drama at just the right moments, dividing up the many short scenes and adding the effect of sunlight or concert lighting when needed.

At 70 minutes without an intermission, the play moves quickly, thrusting us into the heart of a combative relationship that moves toward peace in one sense, and toward war in another.

There are moments of unexpected humor, which hinge on Ada's tendency to temporarily forget what it means for Ken to be at Topaz. When Ken says that he "foolishly" has hope for the Constitution, Ada asks, "Why foolishly?" and then adds, "Aside from the obvious," which drew chuckles from the crowd.

Watching her begin to see Ken as a fellow human rather than as something "other" offers hope, too -- that if individuals can find a way to respect one another's differences, then perhaps their larger ethnic groups can, too.