When a play receives a standing ovation, it generally means it is something worth seeing.

As the ISU Theatre presentation of “Heroes Among Us” ended, the audience immediately stood and clapped their hands vigorously.

The praise was well-deserved, and “Heroes Among Us” is definitely a play worth seeing.

This remarkable play, written by Jane Cox, associate professor of music, tells the story of 12 veterans from Iowa and their experiences in World War II. The stories are broken up into segments and presented as overlapping monologues.

The characters are quite varied: a wartime nurse, a navy seaman, a marine, a Tuskegee Airman and a 101st Airborne Division soldier.

The play begins on a dark stage. A single female voice clearly singing a tune of the times opens the performance. The lights slowly come on to reveal the 12 actors, scattered across the stage but only spotlighting one.

The stage is simple, and does not take away from the actors. In the background, while the actors are delivering their lines, there are three screens displaying pictures that are relevant to the current monologue. Mid-20th century music plays softly in the background.

The monologues from the veterans vary from lightly humorous anecdotes to sorrowful laments that unveil the horrors of World War II. Some of the stories of fallen comrades and terrible slaughters left the audience members shaking their heads in disbelief.

Karen Colbert, a resident of Ames, appreciated the way the play was broken into monologues, and did not have interaction that took away from the dialogue.

“[The monologues] let you concentrate on the story and not be distracted,” Colbert says.

Through the perfected presentation of dialogue from the actors, the audience can experience a bomb run into the heart of Germany, live through a Japanese prison camp and understand the tension and psychological strife that soldiers and military personnel experience.

Former ISU Professor Nancy Brown enjoyed the interesting and historical performance.

“The cast did a nice job,” she says. “I recognized some of the characters’ quotes from stories in the Des Moines Register.”

The play was presented on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and is a fitting tribute to Iowa and the United States after the events of Sept. 11. Citizens of Iowa will appreciate the significance that some of its citizens played in the major battle of the second world war.

It was exciting when, after the applause, the audience learned that two of the veterans on whom the play was based were in attendance.

The heroes were honored with more applause and shook hands with the actors portraying them. This exciting spectacle brought a new level of realism to the production.

Audience members should take caution that some of the stories and photographs presented in the production are graphic in nature and may not be suitable for some viewers.

The play continues this weekend, and tickets are disappearing rapidly. “Heroes Among Us” will show in Fisher Theater Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and the final performance will be Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $4.50 for students, $10 for general admission and $9 for senior citizens. They are available at the Iowa State Center ticket office.