About 40 percent of the homeless are under 18 years old. If you think that is a rude awakening try this one: more than two million kids in America alone will face a period of homelessness this year. These statistics come from the Covenant House’s official website, which is an organization that is taking great strides towards helping the homeless, especially children.

Last weekend, a different type of awakening opened in Ashland University’s small studio theater: “Marisol,” a play about the political and social problems that go on in the United States today, the main attraction being the homeless.

The studio theater provided little room and the claustrophobic atmosphere set the mood before the play even started. Everything was too close, too personal – it was an instant message that would be delivered over and over again as the play went on, bringing up topics that many of us may not want to pay attention to or choose to ignore since it does not directly involve us. It was a great setting for such a profound topic.

The play is about Marisol Perez, a copy editor at a Manhattan publishing company. After suffering a near-death experience, Marisol is told by her guardian angel that she will no longer be protected; all the angels have been called to a revolution. They are fighting against an old and dying god, who is killing the Earth along with him. The angels must fight against the old god and then find a new one, who will restore the world to its natural order. As the revolution pours into the streets of New York, Marisol must slowly adjust to being alone and homeless, and encounters many poor souls along the way. However, those more fortunate than most take to the streets and torture and curse the homeless for being so pathetic and out on the streets, creating a dangerous environment that forces the homeless to either join the angels in their revolution against god or die at the hands of their cruel fellow human beings.

Brittany Hartman starred as Marisol. It only took two minutes on stage to see why she was the lead. Hartman shone in the second scene especially, which was one of the most profound, setting the mood for the whole rest of the play; challenging moments seemed to be present and Hartman scaled them with seeming ease.

Helping the second scene come alive was Sarah Saddler, who played Marisol’s angel. The second scene was where Marisol and her angel meet for the first time and both girls matched each other’s abilities well. Saddler’s energy grabbed the audience and kept them in the moment with her sharp voice and powerful stage presence. Besides Saddler’s obvious talent, her costume was by far the best one, which was Sean Smith’s area of expertise.

Johanna Regan played Marisol’s best friend, June, and while this was her first AU production, she held her own very well. Regan’s character was very complex due to circumstances that changed her halfway through the show and she played both sides well, including a few bone-chilling scenes.

However, it’s possible that Mark Maruschak stole the show. He definitely stood out and it wasn’t just because he was the only man in the cast. Maruschak played four different characters that Marisol ran into throughout the course of the play and each character was brilliantly acted. Maruschak had the most audience reaction and truly kept the play alive, sometimes with humor and other times with sheer terror.

“Marisol” plays this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Both shows have talk backs afterwards. This play can truly broaden your horizons and expand what you think you may know about the complex situations that occur in modern-day America. If you are even the least bit curious and wish to open your mind, “Marisol” is the play for you.