Broken Snow ★★
Buried Under ‘Broken Snow’
A most apt observation about Broken Snow, the new play by Ben Andron playing at Theatre 71, came post-show from an elderly patron who was openly wondering about the theatrical flakes that began falling late in the play:
“That was supposed to be snow? I thought it was dirt.”
The confusion was understandable, as Broken Snow is a grim and grimy piece of work, a low-energy family drama that despite its intensely masculine gaze is less Pinteresque than Ponder-esque. Set in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere (made effective by strong scenic design by Adam Scott Davis), the play starts energetically as a standoff between two strangers — Steven (Tom Cavanagh) is held at gunpoint by James (Michael Longfellow) — but then has nowhere to go yet keeps on going in a series of loquacious, turgid flashbacks with the offstage Kris (Tony Danza), the one connection between the two.
Shots are fired rather quickly — Chekhov would have no worries about the gun not going off in this play — but that’s all the rapidity the show has to offer, and virtually all the stakes. Few mysteries remain once the two men discover their shared link, and the big secret that’s supposed to be driving everything is a letdown, a paltry swipe from Branden Jacobs Jenkins’ Appropriate.
The cast struggles. Their baffling, understated line deliveries may work on a television set but fail miserably on a stage, and, unfortunately, director Colin Hanlon, a very talented actor in his own right, let them get away with it. Cavanagh barely seems nervous as his life is on the line, and his torpidity never changes as he delivers all of his dialogue monotonically. Danza is an inherently likable and charismatic actor, and he is giving an earnest performance, but as a fundamentally evil character, he ultimately feels majorly miscast. Only Longfellow, a recent cast member of Saturday Night Live, brings some needed energy to the proceedings, but he can only do so much to elevate Andron’s script.
The entire production feels rather unfortunate. It’s possible Broken Snow has ideas worthy of exploration, but like a body buried by an avalanche, all that’s happening right now is theatrical asphyxiation.
Ain’t just the snow that’s broken.
★★ 2 stars
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