As the audience enters, they can see the set. It consists of a living room with a large window and door at the back.
There is a slight step down to a room with a table and two seats. There is the sound of wind blowing. A gray-haired man (Tony Danza) enters from stage right. He states that he is going to tell a story that the audience may not be ready to hear. He doesn’t know if he wants to tell the tale. We are to picture ourselves isolated in the snow. “Just you and a giant serpent with black wings.” We are going to meet the moment to remember in a lifetime of useless memories – the moment everything changes. He then exits.
Thus, we are introduced to Ben Andron’s new play, Broken Snow. Andron is a playwright whose works span theater, television, and film. Here, he has written a tense psychological thriller.
Two men, previously unknown to each other, meet in an abandoned house that had become isolated due to a snowstorm. They are James, an excitable drifter, and Steven, an officer of the law. Michael Longfellow vividly portrays James, an explosive, voluble man. James is conducting a thorough search of the house. Longfellow comes to us from Saturday Night Live. Steve, the officer, entered the house through a window. Tom Cavanagh crafts a character nearly opposite to James. He is a tightly controlled man who tries to use reason. Cavanagh is an actor, director, and writer. He has performed in films, on television, and on stage.
The two are drawn into a search into their shared past. Their unknown father is the uniting factor. Tony Danza is Kris, the father. Danza’s acting career spans over fifty years. Although famed for his television roles, Danza has acted in films and on Broadway. Danza brings Kris to life as a man who has erased himself from society. As James and Steve uncover their father’s secrets, the painful experiences from their past begin to surface. Kris shares important events in his sons’ lives. Kris points out that critical moments in life are like snow – reality fades away.
Andron has created a tense thriller with believable characters. Rapidly sequenced events pull the audience into the play. Andron shows us different reactions to trauma, memories, and a buried past. Snow becomes a symbol for the past. The father views the snowstorm as if everything is a thousand miles distant. Nothing can break away. James points out that snow melts.
Broken Snow delivers everything it promised. This thriller involves the audience in the secrets and traumas of the characters. Broken Snow is 85 minutes long with no intermission. The time is well spent as one is pulled into a well-crafted, superbly acted work.
