As I write this, there have already been 18 school shootings in America this year, with 17 deaths and 22 injuries. That's not counting Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Conn., where Adam Lanza killed 27 people plus himself. His victims were shot between 3 and 11 times. Most were first-graders. It hurts to write that. It truly does.

Newtown tore me up. Who among us didn't feel the same way? Now imagine it's 1999. You're an actor who just appeared 10 days ago in the very first run of American Roulette, a play about a school shooting. Imagine your friend calls to inform you 14 kids and a teacher are dead in Columbine, Colo. Imagine you're an alumnus of Columbine High School, and your parents still live there. That's all true for Brian Hatcher, director of a new incarnation of American Roulette in the Capital Playhouse space. I'm convinced of the sincerity of his work, and it shows in the quality of performance on display.

As a critic, actor and theater geek, I've come to cherish those moments when we witness an actor arriving before our eyes. In my review of Julius Caesar last summer, I mentioned the "obvious growth" of Christopher Rocco. Well, he's full-grown now. He plays Mike, a construction worker who finds himself in one of those wrong place, wrong time scenarios. I also liked Sofia Sanchez-Muir as Megan, a cheerleader whose path touches Mike's, and 14-year-old Molly Ellenbecker as her sister. Myia Johnson makes a lovely appearance late in the play. Morgan Picton's comic timing and intensity are perfect for Dan, a drive-time deejay, and Ryan Hendrickson is well-cast as a jaded history teacher. Two actors should've swapped roles, but all bring their A game. The earnest effort here is clear and appreciated.

So what does it all mean? A few minutes into each play I review, I ask myself, "What's this play trying to do? What's its primary job, so I can evaluate whether it gets that job done?" This time, I don't think I ever got an answer. The script itself either avoids advice or has none to impart. I didn't stick around for the talkback, but maybe I should have. Maybe it's the purpose of the play, to get us talking and feeling and caring. I don't know. All I know is I watched at a remove, as if steeling myself against the pain I felt last December. I heard sniffles and tears in the house, but none of them were mine.

Is that a pan? I don't think so. It's probably more about me and my reaction to those ravaged little bodies in Connecticut. Try as I might, some reviews are subjective. Even so, Hatcher offers a solid production of an all-too-timely script. I just couldn't let it in.

AMERICAN ROULETTE, 8 p.m. Thursday - Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 24, Capital Playhouse, 614 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, $12, 360.688.7294