Trapped: A Powerful New Play Premiers at the Kelly Strayhorn Theatre in September

“Trapped” is an exciting and thought-provoking play written by London Cain, founder of the Iron Horse Theatre Company. “The whole idea of this political anomaly; a working-class folk hero, and with all the charisma in the world, but still deeply flawed was something that was impossible to resist writing about,” Cain said.

Traficant became a folk hero as Mahoning County Sheriff when he refused to evict laid off steel workers who couldn’t pay their mortgages when the mills closed. He also was accused of taking bribes from the mob around the same time. He defended himself in court and was acquitted in 1983, which helped catapult him to being elected to Congress the following year. The acquittal on racketeering and bribery charges didn’t stop him from being convicted of tax evasion and fraud years later.

He was indicted again on federal corruption charges in 2001 for using campaign funds for personal use. He again defended himself in court, but this time he was convicted, serving seven years in prison and being expelled from the House of Representatives. He died in 2014 at age 73 following a tractor accident at his farm.

Cain didn’t want to reveal too many plot points about his script. “I am hesitant to give away too much, because there are some twists and turns in the play that are going to catch people by surprise,” he said.

‘Trapped” follows Jim Traficant as he battles with his conscience while in solitary confinement. He is visited by Lisa, a mysterious woman who attempts to get him to reevaluate his life’s choices.

“The play explores three emotionally complicated characters: Jim (played by Andrew/Andy Pivarnik Jr.), who longs to do good but refuses to fully admit his wrongs; Lisa (played by Amy Sikora Baschnagel), who tries to help Jim understand the error of his ways; and a sympathetic correction officer (played by Eric Vollmer) who has overcome his own difficult past in search of stability. The production is an emotional rollercoaster filled with striking visual imagery and intense psychological conflict.

It’s safe to say Traficant wasn’t the first — or the last — politician who professed to be a man of the people despite overwhelming evidence that he was driven by self-interest, and that duality is one of the aspects that interested Cain. “He was denying things that were pretty crystal clear (he’d done),” Cain said. “I think even the people who followed him, his loyal constituents, were like, ‘Yeah, we know he’s a crook, but he’s our crook.’ They understood who he was and were willing to accept him anyway.

“That’s sort of what I explored. What would have happened if Traficant had just said, ‘Okay, I did some good things, but I also screwed up. I made mistakes. I’m truly sorry. ‘ Maybe he would have been even more popular, and things would have turned out different for him.”

Traficant isn’t the first real-life figure Cain has built a play around. He wrote and produced “The Golden Rose” a play about George Rapp and the Harmonists of Old Economy. Last year he co-wrote and produced a play about Fannie Sellins (a female union organizer in the early 1900’s) called “Angel of Mercy”. He co-wrote and directed “12:52, The Mike Webster Story,” a play about the Hall of Fame center for the Pittsburgh Steelers who was the first NFL player diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). It premiered at the Iron Horse Community Theatre in 2021. Cain adapted that stage production into a screenplay called “Sonny and Mike,” which will be shot in McKees Rocks, Pa., and other greater Pittsburgh locations this summer.

“Trapped” will be staged at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood for a seven-performance run. Tickets are on sale now at: https://kellystrayhorntheater.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0SVO000005W4jx2AC

“It’s a beautiful theater, ” Cain said. “We’ve got an amazing set and three incredible actors. If you enjoy live theater, this is a play you won’t want to miss.”