Lendle

Homeward Bound is not about the Iraqi War or any war. It’s about the people - soldiers and civilians - who survive the wars but now face their toughest battle – going home.

Homeward Bound is the story of three GI’s wounded in the Iraqi War, stuck in a hospital in Germany, waiting to go home. When two wounded Iraqi civilians are temporarily housed in the same ward, they all share the same nightmare. They have been irredeemably changed by their wounds and experiences, and now they must re-imagine their lives if they want to save themselves – and get back home, not as they left it, but as they have become.

Like a deadly disease that strikes out of the blue, the people of Homeward Bound have suffered the sudden trauma of the new battlefield – the streets and interrogation centers of a modern city. No fire fights, no battles – just the sudden explosion that shatters a peaceful city market or the quick push into the back of an unmarked van. And the next thing these victims of modern war know, they are being sent home without a limb or memories or a voice or sight,.

Their only salvation is to find a way to help each other, to find a way to go on, to find a way to live as the new person who has been born of their suffering and loss. Some of them find it in humor, some in music, some in love - however they find their way home, they will never be the same.

Homeward Bound is the final play in Armen Pandola’s trilogy exploring different facets of post-9/11 America. The first of the series, Terror at the White House, which follows the story of a First Family torn apart by political dissension, intrigue and betrayal premiered in June 2004 and was a Stanley Drama Award Finalist. The second play of the series, Devils Also Believe, premiered in May 2006 and was a Smith Prize Finalist for Best New American Play.