In the Theater Alliance’s production of Flood City, Ryan Tumulty plays Clive, a victim of the 1889 Johnstown flood, who gains the ability to foretell the future thanks to the lead pipe impaled in his skull. Kerri Rambow is a Red Cross worker assisting those caught in the rushing waters. Photo by C. Stanley Photography

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It’s amazing how little it takes for the sound of water to quickly transform from peaceful sloshes and ripples to a mighty, fearful roar. One moment you’re being calmed and relaxed. Suddenly, you’re powerless, swept away and helpless in the malevolent grip of an unyielding and mighty force.

That’s just the first switch that playwright Gabrielle Reisman layers in for us in her surreal black-comedy-with-a-message, Flood City, onstage through June 17 at Theater Alliance in Washington, D.C.

There are gentle surprises, laughs, shocks and moments of confusion. Why is that? Well, imagine that you’re a sensitive writer and you moved to New Orleans just a few days before Hurricane Katrina struck. You might experience a dislocating swirl of responses, don’t you think?

Well, that’s what happened to Reisman. She has perceptively created a world populated with sympathetically drawn characters who find themselves at the mercies of both nature and greed. Characters who may be both victims and victimizers, depending on the exigencies of the moment. You know, people like us.

 The Johnstown floods

But her play isn’t about New Orleans. Flood City is the name Johnstown, Pa., uses to market itself these days.

With the steel mills once supporting it long gone, the town relies on memories of several horrific floods that etched the name Johnstown in the annals of disasters. After all, they give the place an identity and bring in tourists.

The first flood was a massive disaster: the “Great Flood of 1889” wiped away much of the town and the lives of 2,209 residents in an angry torrent of water said to temporarily equal the force of the Mississippi River coming down Main Street. Thousands of people were instantly rendered homeless. The cause: days of heavy rain overpowering a poorly maintained earthen dam owned by wealthy private interests.

The disaster focused attention on the “robber barons” and their responsibilities in cases of industrial damage.

A hundred years later, Johnstown residents were afflicted, less dramatically perhaps but still profoundly, by the loss of jobs as the steel mills emptied out. Reisman ties these events together in an absorbing eddy of drama and dark comedy.

So that’s a lot to get through. But Reisman does it by deftly utilizing several tricks available to writers: time-shifting and fantasy. But the tricks are tightly woven to just enough reality to provide a bracing message.

And here she is aided by director Jenna Duncan’s dynamic pacing, drama-enhancing synchronized movement from Jonathan David Martin, richly produced sound design from Matthew Nielsen, and commanding performances from the talented ensemble of seven actors, several of whom play dual roles.

Deft, sensitive portrayals

Back in 1889, Lolita Marie plays Val, who has lost her children and her man, all of whom “went down,” which seems to be the generally accepted term for those who were swept away. Homeless, with no belongings, Val struggles to survive emotionally.

Marie sensitively shows us a woman struggling with hushed grief and anger. Even during some of the wilder moments as worlds seem to collide, her face is a mask of quiet pain. It’s is a startlingly effective performance.

She is joined by Kari Ginsburg as Stacey, a flood victim who deals with intense grief with a mix of sublimation and opportunism. Ginsburg’s work is vivid, gleefully demonstrating the will to do whatever it takes to survive, while hiding her pain.

Her role also supports several important themes in the work. These include the role of the press, corporate greed, shifting economic conditions, and the plight of unemployed steelworkers, all of which get their moments of exploration.

Ryan Tumulty is outstanding as Clive, an unfortunate flood victim who has a lead pipe impaled in his skull, re-wiring his brain so that he seems to see — and take us into — the future, as represented by the early 1990s. In a role that could be merely silly, he underscores Reisman’s satirical impulses with palpable realism.

The play was mostly written before Donald Trump gathered together enough dislocated, disrespected people in neglected counties to gain the Oval Office, putting those people in the spotlight. But it could serve as a template for what happens to people when time and technology move on, leaving them behind.

Here, Kerri Rambow’s work shines in two roles, the efficient Red Cross worker who assists flood victims in 1889, and the modern-era bartender who contends with laid-off steelworkers. She fully inhabits each role so much so that she truly seems like two people.

Flood City has an ending that will seem either happy or sad depending on your personal outlook. One clue: we see the future, and while it glitters, it may not be golden.

Small theater company

Theater Alliance may not be familiar to some theater-goers. It is a smaller theater company dedicated to staging “thought-provoking, socially conscious work.” And that’s one reason why there is a discussion after each performance.

The company performs in the Anacostia Playhouse, which is reclaimed industrial space, part of a renewal happening in that part of the District. The street is clean and well-lit, and you can park for free right out front.

Flood City continues through June 17, staged by Theater Alliance at Anacostia Playhouse. The theater is located at 2020 Shannon Pl. S.E. in Washington, D.C.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $40 ($30 for patrons 60+ and military). A limited number of “Name Your Own Price” tickets are available at the box office one hour before the performance. Limit: one ticket per person. Groups of 20 or more qualify for group discounts.

There is ample free parking directly in front of the theater, and the theater is accessible by those with disabilities.

For tickets and information, visit http://www.theateralliance.com or call (202) 241-2539.