When I first heard of a play being promoted as a “Dark & Dirty WWII Prostitute Drama,” admittedly, I was intrigued. Usually, when I think of one of the most devastating and inhumane wars of all time, the last thing on my mind is dark and dirty prostitutes.

Written by Stephen Gracia and directed by Michael LoPorto, the production of NEXT—playing at the HERE Arts Center, 145 Avenue of Americas, through February 19—is not about grand battles between countries or millions of genocide victims; it’s about a group of men standing in line. And that line happens to lead into a mobile whorehouse at an American army camp in Europe during WWII.

A motley band of soldiers, consisting of the naïve country boy, the wise guy, the tough guy, the black guy, the Jew, the dorky Christian, and other archetypal Americans, wait in line for their turn on a woman’s bed. By doing so, they uncover the misgivings and uncertainty of their own present circumstances.

Throughout the play a character simply referred to as The Lieutenant acts as puppet master to these men. He creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, one where you can only “become a man by fucking and killing.” He embodies a repressive America—upholding racist and sexist ideals while reducing masculinity to how well a solider can physically conquer an Army-supplied prostitute.

“There’s no God in Europe, boys,” he claims. “He’s home in America, and he can’t see this far.”

Divides get created when the men try to justify what they did in the whorehouse, or what they’re about to do. In one of the most dramatic scenes, John (Charles Everett), the black solider forced to wait in the separate, non-white line, describes his experience with an Asian woman who seemed to be abused and molested by the entire camp. Some of the men try to justify this as a retaliation towards the Japanese, but none can confirm whether the woman is even Japanese at all. The argument raises several questions, such as: Can war and oppression always be justified? And can the sexual abuse of a woman—any woman, regardless of nationality—ever be right?

An overarching theme in the play is the loss of identity. Both the soldiers and the “whores” need to play an assigned role in order to survive and cope with wartime life. For the soldiers, they’re cattle being shuffled from place to place in hoards. They’re told when to eat, piss, and have sex, and in many ways, they’re also being led to the slaughter.

The whores play a different role. “Who you are and who you are when you’re here are totally different,” explains Madeline (Kendra Leigh Landon), a prostitute that Danny (John Weisenburger), a virgin from an Iowa farm, encounters towards the end of the play.

The job of WWII prostitutes is to become a nameless “hole” for men, to embody the sexual fantasy of every soldier that walks through their door—whether it’s the innocent farm girl, the sophisticated city girl, or the undercover intellectual. In the process, they’re not allowed their own identities anymore. In fact, Madeline has taken on so many female identities to cater to soldiers’ sexual needs, that her real name and personal history are lost to us.

Where NEXT falls short is how it tries to address too many things in the time span of 80 minutes. Yes, racism, sexism, mortality, prostitution, senseless killing, and survival all exist in times of war (and within civilization overall), but when the play’s focus quickly jumps back and forth between all these issues, then the weight of each gets somehow diluted.

The strong suit of NEXT is the depth of individual characters. People break out of defined roles and are given dimension through the slow reveal of childhood experiences and personality quirks. A clear example of this is how the only Jew in the play—who exudes a pompous charm and bravado throughout—is also the most hateful towards entire groups of people, primarily the Japanese. Another pro is the apparent camaraderie among an already strong ensemble cast. Even when submerged in hatred and chaos, the group hilariously breaks out into song about Hitler only having one ball.

NEXT runs through February 19, Wednesday—Saturday at 7 p.m., with additional shows Saturdays, February 9 and 15 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Feb 13 at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets for $18 each, call 212-352-3101 or visit www.here.org.

The play is presented by the Abraxas Stage Company, a social impact theatre company, and was first workshopped with the Barefoot Theatre Company at the Lit Lounge before further development at the ATA of the Sargent Theatre. The production will benefit the non-profit organization On Behalf of a Grateful Nation.

NEXT stars Kasidy Devlin, Charles Everett, Matthew Ferretti, John Harlacher, Kendra Leigh Landon, Sean Meehan, Sean Mellot, Ridley Parson, Christopher Tocco & John Weisenburger.

The production team includes Tom Lenz (sets), Josh Starr (lighting), Tim Fite (sound design & original music), Andrea Varga (costumes), and Kitty Cavalier (burlesque choreography).

Photos by AndreaVarga, from top:

1. John Weisenburger & Kendra Leigh Landon

2. Matthew Ferretti, John Weisenburger, Christopher Tocco, Sean Meehan & Charles Everett

3. Sean Meehan, Christopher Tocco & John Harlacher

4. John Weisenburger & Kendra Leigh Landon

5. Christopher Tocco, John Harlacher, Sean Meehan & John Weisenburger