Open Window

By MARKLAND TAYLOR

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A Merrimack Repertory Theater presentation, in association with the University of Connecticut's Connecticut Repertory Theater (Gary English, artistic director), of a play in two acts by Brad Korbesmeyer. Directed by David G. Kent.
 
Leah Wilson ... Cecilia deWolf
Judy Wilson ... Angela Parks
Betty Kaelin ... Victoria Boothby
John Wilson ... Mick Regan
Universal
Father ... Keith Randolph Smith
Brian Wilson ... Brian Coughlin
Universal Mother ... Mairzy Yost
 

The insidiously destructive impact of the murder of a daughter or son on grieving family members is potentially nourishing grist for the dramatic mill. But not when treated with the heavy-handedness it receives from the playwright, director and most of the cast in "Open Window," at the Merrimack Repertory Theater. Almost everyone involved ends up beating the disturbing subject matter to death with blunt cliches.

In his program notes author Brad Korbesmeyer, a college play-writing teacher, supplies a number of facts: After the murder of a child, over 70% of marriages end in divorce; and Parents of Murdered Children, founded in 1978 as a self-help support group to help parents and siblings of murdered children deal with their anger and grief, now has more than 50,000 members.

But in attempting to personalize such statistics, Korbesmeyer has been unable to rise above situation-drama banalities. Director David G. Kent and most of the cast compound the obviousness of so much of the play with aggressive, noisy direction and acting punctuated by long, empty pauses and unfortunate elements of symbolism.

Two of the characters are Universal Father and Universal Mother, representing POMC (which the mother of the murdered young woman in the play eventually joins) and all the parents of murdered children in the United States, a device that is a mistake in the first place and only halfheartedly dealt with in the second. And could it actually be that the oft-heard ominous pounding is meant to suggest fate or death knocking at the front door?

The play intermingles fragmentary scenes from both before and after the murder of a beloved daughter by her obsessed boyfriend and during the lengthy, frustrating murder trial. As the months go by, mother, father, son and grandmother vent their grief, anger, guilt and blame on each other and themselves. Ultimately the family completely unravels.

Some of the dialogue has an effective vigorousness, but too much is cliche-ridden, as are many of the play's situations and characters. This is particularly true of the grandmother, a blatant comic-relief curmudgeon, a fact insistently hammered home by Victoria Boothby. Some throw-away acting would be a relief in this production. One actor, Brian Coughlin, at least attempts it.

It's possible that a more sensitive production might reveal hidden subtleties in Korbesmeyer's script. That's probably wishful thinking.

Set, Crystal Tiala; costumes, Laura Crow; lighting, Kendall Smith; stage manager, Janet Tong; casting, Richin Casting. Artistic director, Kent. Opened Oct. 31, 1994, at the Merrimack Rep's Nancy L. Donahue Stage. Reviewed Nov. 2; 386 seats; $ 29 top. Running time:2 HOURS.