Not overwhelmingly emotional, but incredibly sad at the same time, was one of many ways to describe Anne Nelson’s “The Guys,” which played in Des Moines over the weekend.

The production, directed by Thea Albert and put together by StageWest Theater Company, was developed as a means for Nelson to come to terms with events she experienced on Sept. 11, 2001.

Nelson decided the best route to cathartic representation of these events was through a theatrical production. Thus, she created two characters to portray the actual events she experienced and formed the foundation for “The Guys.”

The simple stage is dominated solely by two characters: Joan, the editor and Nick, the fire captain. These two characters, who would never interact under normal circumstances, are brought together by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. The fire captain has lost eight of his men in the fall of the towers, and is struggling to write eulogies for their memorial services.

Through an acquaintance, Joan learns of the captain’s troubles and is determined to aid him. She invites Nick over to her house so she can help him organize his words and thoughts in tribute to his fallen men.

The format of the play moves between scenes of Nick and Joan speaking in Joan’s living room, to standing inner monologues from Joan as she puts into perspective what she feels and what she hears.

The acting in the play was indicative of well-seasoned actors doing what they do best. Kim Grimaldi captures the role of Joan with cool and collected confidence, going from a ringing laugh to biting back tears in one smooth facial change, and doing so without sacrificing believability.

The actors both allow the piece itself to bring out the emotion and melancholy surrounding the event. The words and composure of the actors lead to a deep underlying sadness that viewers of the play took with them after they left.

The stories the captain tells about “his guys” were touching and even sometimes comedic. Tom Milligan, playing the role of the fire captain, tells these stories as if he has known the men all his life, articulating well his character and the influence behind it.

The firemen who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, were ordinary men, but as the characters find out, the men were ordinary men acting extraordinarily in times of need.

Des Moines theater enthusiast Barbara Martin says a play such as “The Guys” draws the audience in to the event better than by watching television or reading a newspaper.

“It brought you closer in to sit there and watch and feel the emotions of two different people,” Martin says. “The play did this in a very personalized and moving way.”

Perhaps the most powerful section of the play was one of Joan’s final monologues, in which she wishes fiercely she could put a videotape of the event on and watch it in reverse.

She would watch the towers build themselves back up, watch the people run back inside, watch the fire trucks drive backwards to the station and watch the planes fly back and land at the airport.

Though this play recognized the atrociousness of the Sept. 11, 2001, acts, it did little condemning. Instead, Nelson focused on the heroism of the firefighters and the sacrifice they made. The author, as it seems, feels less inclined to meet their memory with bitterness and sorrow, but rather with pride.