BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: May 5, 2004

Three lives collide like plates of ice in a spring thaw as they confront a gnawing question: is it sin or symptom? Starring Swoosi Kurtz, Brian F. O'Byrne and Laila Robins, Bryony Lavery's FROZEN tackles the touchy subject of a child's murder in an age when the term "Amber Alerts" is an all too common headline on the nightly news.

Directed by Doug Hughes, FROZEN has each character delivering monologues to the audience on a sparsely dressed set, effectively designed by Hugh Landwehr. The broad three-quarter-thrust stage at Circle in the Square provides the viewers no escape from this gruesome brutality as well as a piercing insight into the characters' emotional isolation.

Set in the United Kingdom, the play takes place over two decades. Swoosie Kurtz plays Nancy, the middle-aged mother whose daughter went missing one day, never to return. Brian O'Byrne is Ralph, the incarcerated killer who recounts his heinous act with chilling detail. And, Laila Robins is Agnetha, a forensic psychiatrists immersed in her research which bears the peculiar title: "Serial Killing: A Forgivable Act?"

The loss of Nancy's daughter effects her so deeply that her life has become completely consumed by it. She's spearheads a victims' advocacy groups, claiming that she wants to do all she can to prevent another parent from such suffering. Carrying years of bitterness, the relationship with her surviving daughter grows strained and Nancy arranges a meeting with her daughter's killer in hopes of moving beyond her state of perpetual anger.

Laila, an American, has come to Britain to pick Ralph's twisted brain. When Nancy poses the idea that she wants to meet with her daughter's killer, Laila refuses to recommend this as it may conflict with her own agenda. Still, Nancy prevails and the recalcitrant Ralph shows little remorse for his deeds.

FROZEN is a compelling piece that forces us to see the ripple effects of such a hideous crime. As a simple mother whose life irrevocably changes in a brief moment, through no act of her own, Kurtz delivers a persona sketched with brilliant texture and rich understatement. Her level performance gives the play its scintillating energy.

As the psychopath, Brian O'Byrne's steadfast smolder certainly creates a sense of horror, but it's hard to cotton up to someone whose deeds are so repugnant. Laila Robins' Agnetha is such an odd--dare I say icy--character that it compromises the potency of her notion that Ralph's actions may be a symptom of his mental illness; that he is not inherently evil. Also, the underlying sexual tension between doctor and subject comes off as a titillating theatrical device.