Weird stuff can happen late at night, when you’re working full tilt, not getting enough sleep, and trying to manage a global crisis that no one quite understands. Playwright Drew Fornarola must have channeled these thoughts as he penned Fauci and Kramer produced by First Look Buffalo and now on stage at the Canterbury Woods Performing Center in Amherst.

Fornarola imagines a provocative conversation between AIDS activist Larry Kramer (Louis Colaiacovo) and Dr. Fauci (Steve Jakiel) in the earlier days of the coronavirus pandemic. Thing is, Kramer died just a few days before this conversation.

Colaiacovo and Jakiel do fine work in this two-hander. They trade quips, they reflect on their contentious past, they squabble over the current health crisis. There are small moments that put us back in that time: the off-stage singing of “Happy Birthday” as Fauci dutifully washes his hands, and Kramer running out for a better cup of coffee. And there are huge moments, when the two rehash the early days of their acquaintance when Kramer publicly criticized Fauci for not doing enough and letting people die.  Kramer is Fauci’s conscience when it comes to the human side of a health crisis. It was really quite remarkable to watch this interaction.

Director Kate Powers didn’t cop to cheesy ghostly special effects: Kramer’s presence was very real and the actors engaged as such. The actors captured this spirit of their characters’ complex and evolved relationship: Fauci was conflicted and pragmatic and Kramer was fierce and passionate. Powers did use some very compelling news bites and photos that were all too poignant reminders of AIDS and its devastation and how government and some Americans responded to the crisis at that time. Fornarola’s script didn’t hold back: his social justice message was perfectly stated and spot on.

A word about the Canterbury Woods Performing Arts Center: it’s a lovely spot for this kind of intimate storytelling. It’s a warm and comfortable, comforting environment and it’s a wonderful addition. The campus could improve its wayfinding signage to reach this destination, and for the love of all things holy, do not trust OnStar to get you there.

Fauci and Kramer runs on the weekends until March 17. It’s a well-paced 80 minutes with no intermission. Find tickets and details at www.firstlookbuffalo.com.