[NEohioPAL]Beko review: FROZEN (Beck Center)

[Roy Berko]

‘FROZEN’ at BECK is thought provoking, though talky

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

In recent years the Beck Center has become known for
its quality productions and thought provoking script
selections.  ‘FROZEN’ by Bryony Lavery is another one
of those stagings.    

As with the company’s recent  ‘EQUUS” and ‘PASSION,’ 
‘FROZEN’ explores a psychological theme.   In this
case, the play asks, “Is it possible to forgive that
which seems unforgivable -- the abduction, presumed
sexual assault, and murder of one's child?  And if so,
what effect could that forgiveness have on the mother
as well as the killer?”

Lavery explores the subject through a series of
meetings which take place 25 years after the crime
between the mother, the pedophilic killer, and a
psychiatrist.  

'’FROZEN’ was a hit in London and then New York,
though the Big Apple production only played 128
regular productions.  And, despite its difficult
subject matter, it's the fourth-most-produced play in
the country in the 2005-06 season.

Swoozie Kurtz, who played the role of the mother in
the off-Broadway and Broadway productions states of
the script, "When I first read this play last summer,
it knocked the wind out of me.  I can't imagine what
it is to watch it. I've never been in a play that
people say the kind of things they say about this one.
It gets inside people's hearts and won't let go.  I
mean, this woman has survived 20 years of darkness and
grief, navigating her way past the land mines.” 

The play, besides the subject matter, is not without
controversy.  Bryony Lavery, the script’s author, has
been accused of plagiarism by criminal psychiatrist,
Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis and writer, Malcolm Gladwell
who said that they have found at least "a dozen
instances of word-for-word plagiarism in the play, as
well as thematic and biographical similarities to a
1997 New Yorker profile of Dr. Lewis and a 1998  book
by Dr. Lewis.”  To date, there has been no resolution
to the case.

Beck’s production, under the wise direction of Sarah
May, has an excellent cast.  Derdriu Ring as the
mother (Nancy) wisely walks a tight rope of despair
and depression.  She does so with controlled emotions,
psychiatric nonverbal reactions and total involvement
in the character.  This is a tour-de-force
performance.

Jason Markouc is obsessive as Ralph, the pedophile. 
He is down-right scary in his complete emersion into
the role.   It is impossible to separate Markouc from
Ralph.  

Liz Conway does not fare as well as Ring and Markouc. 
Her psychiatrist is often unbelievable.  Her opening
scene, when she has a panic attack, is overacted and
unrealistic (side note:  as a crisis counselor, I know
about panic attacks).  She often shouts or goes into
speeches with no transitions.  It is hard to accept
her as a credible psychiatrist.

Don McBride’s glacier/tundra setting is chilling.  It
develops the script’s theme of being psychologically
frozen, often below our level of awareness, in subtle,
yet obvious ways.  

Jenniver Sparano’s costume choices are right on.  This
is especially true of Ring’s frumpy English up-tight
early dresses, which morph into brighter colors as the
character reaches outside her traditional self.

Audiences should be aware that there is harsh language
and the subject matter will upset some.  

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   Though a little talky, and
sometimes feeling overly long, ‘FROZEN’ is a
thought-provoking script which is given an intelligent
production at Beck.

‘FROZEN’ runs through June 24 at The Beck Center for
the Arts in Lakewood.  For ticket information call
216-521-2540.


Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


       
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