Frozen
Written by Bryony Lavery
Directed by Doug Hughes
At Circle In The Square
1633 Broadway
(212) 239-6200

 

Review by Amy Rhodes

 

Frozen, Bryony Lavery’s haunting play about three people whose lives are connected by the disappearance of a little girl, is aptly titled. Chilling and disquieting, the play explores the paralyzing effect of psychological damage.

At the center of Frozen is a ten-year-old girl named Rhona who, on the way to her grandmother’s house, is kidnapped and murdered. Five years later, her remains are found in a shed owned by a drifter named Ralphie. Ralphie eventually confesses to murdering Rhona, along with the murder of at least seven other young girls. While in jail, Ralphie submits to a series of tests by a doctor who tries to determine whether Ralphie’s crimes were his own sin or if they were a consequence of his upbringing. Throughout her meetings with Ralphie, the doctor finds herself troubled by her own demons. As the years pass, Rhona’s mother, Nancy, struggles to move on. She eventually decides the only way to begin living again is to meet the man who ended her daughter’s life.

In this study of culpability and forgiveness, Lavery writes with a humanity often lacking in productions dealing with this sort of subject matter. Director Doug Hughes gives each of the play’s characters a deserved amount of dignity, but never allows them to become maudlin or undeservedly sympathetic.

As Nancy, Swoosie Kurtz disappears into her role and is completely engaging. Kurtz manages to find humor in her character’s heartbreaking journey and her performance is both powerful and understated. Brian F. O’Byrne is fearless as Ralphie, bravely inhabiting the role of a murderer who, as the play progresses, struggles to suppress the guilt he feels for what he has done. As the doctor, Agnethea, Laila Robins is able to create a rich character whose own life often hinders her ability to separate her emotions from her work. Sam Kitchin, playing the prison guard, nicely rounds out the cast.

Hugh Landwehr’s minimalist set suits the play’s structure and is beautiful and affecting. The set is enhanced by David Van Tieghem’s eerie sound design and Clifton Taylor’s fantastic lighting design, both of which become an integral part in the telling of the story.

Frozen offers up a lot of ideas and, for the most part, leaves the audience to draw their own conclusions. The show’s subject matter is not easy to swallow, and it is not meant to be. The play is unnerving; yet, it is so compelling that even when you want to look away you can’t. And it lingers, with images that are icy and cold, long after you leave the theater.