“The Library” isn’t a great play, but as staged by Steven Soderbergh, it’s a very good show. The prolific movie director may have little theater experience, but he sure knows how to create a chill.
His frequent collaborator, writer Scott Z. Burns (“Side Effects,” “Contagion”), is less assured here, though his rookie effort is an effective mix of drama and thriller.
The show looks at the aftermath of a Columbine-like shooting — 11 gunned down in the school’s library — as parents, cops and kids argue over what happened, and how to move on.
In the eye of the storm is injured 16-year-old Caitlin (Chloë Grace Moretz, from the “Carrie” and “Kick-Ass” flicks), who learns that fellow student Ryan (Daryl Sabara) is accusing her of telling the gunman where the rest of the kids were hiding.
Caitlin suspects yet another student of ratting out their friends, but nobody believes her — not the investigating cop (Tamara Tunie), nor grieving mother Dawn (Lili Taylor).
Even Caitlin’s own parents (Jennifer Westfeldt and Michael O’Keefe) aren’t sure.
The show isn’t concerned with the tragedy itself but with the stories people tell afterward, from he said/she said testimonies to the search for perfect victims. Dawn’s late daughter, a religious teen named Joy, sure makes a better martyr than the frazzled, socially inept Caitlin, whom Moretz plays with aching vulnerability.
“Don’t you see that’s all we do?” Dawn tells Caitlin. “Exchange pain for reasons. And then reasons for hope.” And Dawn knows about therapeutic processing: Joy’s death inspired her to write a best-seller, “Teach My Heart to Fly.”
Other aspects of “The Library” aren’t as spot-on as that title — a big plot contrivance tars an otherwise suspenseful confrontation toward the end. But overall Burns steers clear from both pathos and finger-pointing.
Soderbergh’s cold, clinical staging also counteracts the loaded subject. For each scene, he creates stark images, precisely positioning the actors on Riccardo Hernandez’s spare set, bathed in David Lander’s gorgeous lights — bold blues, icy whites, blood reds.
Some may complain that “The Library” is too emotionally detached, but that’s actually a strength: It’s rare to see a show take a step back so the audience can think.