Return of the native

A dimly lit hotel room with light music playing in the background – this is the setting at the Pantheon Theatre on 42nd Street in Manhattan.

Suddenly, two figures emerge through the curtains, feverishly enamored with one another. The lights take on a red hue and engulf the room until it returns to complete darkness, ending a scene of savage passion.

But that’s just the beginning of the play Necropolis, starring Union City native Jim Thalman.

Thalman, 31, is a working actor who has lived in Los Angeles for the past two and a half years.

“It’s absolutely great to be home,” says Thalman, 31. “I’m just so thankful I get to spend time with my family and friends enjoying the city and the old neighborhood.”

Thalman already commanded the spotlight during his days at Union City’s Washington Elementary School. The principal told Thalman’s mother, “Mark my words. That kid is going to become an actor.”

At the age of 17, Thalman got bitten by the acting bug at an annual performing arts festival held at the Park Theatre in Union City.

“The year prior, they had done another play,” Thalman says. “I thought it was cool, so when the opportunity arose, I participated. Plus the fact that there were some beautiful girls involved with the project, so that never hurts.”

After graduating from Union Hill High School, Thalman studied acting and filmmaking at Montclair University, then moved to the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York. He maintained steady acting work in city, including theater and extra roles on TV.

I love L.A.

But on the morning of his 29th birthday, Thalman woke up and thought, “All right, time to move,” he says. So he went to L.A. to continue his work in acting.

“It’s awesome. I’ve been keeping exceptionally busy,” Thalman says. “The city is run by the entertainment industry, so as a result there is an immersion. Everywhere you turn is a project.”

Since moving to L.A., Thalman has appeared in four independent films and two theatrical productions, including Necropolis.

Necropolis is a two-character short play set in a hotel room in an unnamed country in Eastern Europe. Thalman plays Post, an American journalist covering the war-torn country. Feelings of isolation and the need for human contact drive him into the arms of a woman named Anna (Francesca Nina O’Keefe), who turns out to be a sniper fighting in her country’s civil war. Connected by the same feelings and passions, they soon discover how different they are, and their worlds and ideals start to brutally collide. Heated debates on politics, egos, war, and playing God begin to flare between them until they have to go their separate ways.

Critics have made comparisons to the war in Iraq, although Don Nigro wrote this play in the early ’90s. The show received rave reviews during its five-week stint in L.A. and is nearing the end of its five-week off-off-Broadway run in New York. There has also been discussion about taking the play to Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

Ideally, Thalman would like to shoot two feature films a year and perform in one stage show in New York. (So far, this seems to be falling into place for him.) Once his time and finances are in order as well, he’d like to visit the high schools in his community and talk to the students.

“I didn’t know acting was a possibility until someone told me,” Thalman says.

He advises aspiring actors to take classes and participate in any open casting calls, especially since New York is right across the river.

“Go for it – don’t hesitate,” Thalman says. “It’s always difficult in the beginning, but if you do it for yourself and no one else, you will always love it.”

On Stage

Necropolis

Where: Pantheon Theatre, 303 W. 42nd St., Manhattan, (212) 459-9620.

When: Runs through May 29. Performances at 8 p.m., Thursday, May 27-Saturday May 29.

Tickets: $20