Not every play ripped from the headlines remains topical years later, but Lee Blessing's "Two Rooms" is sadly relevant at Everyman Theatre.

When Blessing's 1988 play was done in our area at Towson University in 1994, it was close in time to the civil war that devastated Lebanon. Seen today, the play's examination of religious and political disputes still resonates.

Although the playwright provides specific details about the situation in Beirut in the 1980s, he's basically operating on a broader philosophical scale in terms of how people cope with such issues. That's why his play speaks to concerns associated with current conflicts in that part of the world.

True to its title, "Two Rooms" is an austere chamber drama that takes place in the claustrophobic little room in Lebanon where a kidnapped American college professor, Michael Wells (Clinton Brandhagen), is being held prisoner by Muslim extremists; and a deliberately empty room in Wells' house in suburban Washington, D.C., where his wife, Lainie (Dawn Ursula), huddles on the floor as if sympathetically assuming a position akin to how Michael must feel as a prisoner.

The play alternates scenes in which the blindfolded and handcuffed Michael slumps on a small carpet in Beirut and utters monologues that he describes as verbal letters to his wife, and other scenes in which Lainie slumps on a small carpet in their suburban home and voices her anxieties about his imprisonment.

Everyman's spare set design and director Vince Lancisi's fluid staging ensure that the scene transitions are smooth. This is especially important when you consider that the two actors quietly move on and off the same carpet, with only fast changes in lighting to take us from Beirut to Washington.

If the play adhered to that schematic structure it easily could become static on stage, but there also are dreamy scenes in which Michael and Lainie are placed directly next to each other. They're not actually together, but their words bring them ever so close.

Additionally, Lainie has two regular visitors to her Washington home. Walker Harris (Tim Getman) is an affable newspaper reporter determined to get her to do an interview to tell the world how it feels to be the wife of a hostage. Ellen Van Oss (Deborah Hazlett) is an uptight, by-the-book government official, who keeps Lainie informed of behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to rescue her husband.

Much of the tension in the play involves the conflicting advice that Lainie receives. The journalist understandably wants to tell Lainie's story, while the government official understandably worries whether doing so would further antagonize Michael's already-volatile captors. It's no wonder Lainie often looks like she's about to curl up into a fetal ball.

Although the subject matter is grim and Blessing's metaphoric imagery occasionally assumes a stilted quality, the play also contains enough lively arguments, heartbreaking monologues and humorous ironic observations to keep you alert rather than depressed. It's a well-acted production that's generally sensitive to opportunities for nuance, even though the actors often could do more to soften the playwright's tendency to write wooden lines.

As in his earlier play, "A Walk in the Woods," which was about American and Russian arms negotiators taking a walk during the cold war, Blessing has a knack for personalizing politics. Although the issues are big, the plays are small in their cast size and staging requirements.

In "Two Rooms," the political playing field has been reduced to a tiny carpet, which is all the space the playwright needs to suggest the bigger picture.

"Two Rooms" runs through Feb. 21 at Everyman Theatre, at 1727 N. Charles St., in Baltimore. Call 410-752-2208 or go to www.everymantheatre.org.

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