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The new kid on the city's theatrical block, the PUREtheatre Company, makes its debut this week at the Port City Center with the comedy/drama "Lobby Hero" by Kenneth Lonergan, also known for the powerful play "This Is Our Youth."

PUREtheatre was founded this summer by actors, directors and producers Rodney Lee Rogers and Sharon Graci, both of whom have performed in a number of local productions. Graci also has written and directed children's plays in Mount Pleasant. Having acted for four years with the Charlotte Shakespeare Company, Rogers worked in theater and film for eight years in Seattle, where he wrote and directed the film "Steaming Milk," winner of Best Director and Best Actor awards at the 1997 Seattle International Film Festival.

Lonergan's Oscar-nominated film, "You Can Count on Me," had a small-town setting, but he switches to the big city in "Lobby Hero," setting it in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building.

The play, first performed in New York at Playwrights Horizons Theatre off-Broadway in 2001, delves into the professional and personal backgrounds of two security guards and two New York City police officers. As the two cops clash in a power struggle regarding a situation in which one of the security guards is embroiled, the dialogue is said to deliver a biting critique of the justice system and indirectly brings up how systematic racism and sexism touch everyday lives.

Jeff, one of the security guards, is described as a slacker who presides over the cramped interior of the lobby "like an urban court jester." Although Jeff works under the watchful eye of William, a highly disciplined boss, he manages to establish a budding romance with Dawn, a rookie cop whose tough shell masks a nervous insecurity.

Rounding out the cast is Dawn's partner, Bill, who is said to resemble a tough guy from a David Mamet play but without the signature staccato delivery of Mamet characters.

When his brother is charged with murder, William faces a dilemma: Should he lie and corroborate his sibling's alibi, or should he testify honestly and send his brother to jail?

Meanwhile police officer Bill offers to help William by pulling a few strings in the good-old-boy network down at the precinct house. However, this channel is far from reliable.

Even though the story deals with those who exist near the bottom rung of the economic ladder, generally through no fault of their own, playwright Lonergan refuses to talk down to the struggling working stiffs or treat them with pity, according to New York critics.

In fact, "Lobby Hero" holds out tangential hope for better times for at least two of the characters -- Dawn and Jeff.

Director Ken Foreman of New York, who became friends with Rogers while taking an acting class in Manhattan, says, "I think Ken Lonergan is one of the most perceptive and freshest voices of the decade; he has written a comedy that deals with serious contemporary issues, but yet is not really a 'dark' comedy because it doesn't rely on morbid humor and is not cynical in any way."

Taking the role of William is Charlestonian Henry Clay Middleton, with Andre Marrero, a New York actor, as Bill. Graci and Rogers portray Dawn and Jeff.