SETTING THE STAGE...
 Reported cases of child sexual offenses in the United States have sharply
risen over the past 20 years. Consequently, child sex offenses are being
paid more attention than ever in both law enforcement and the media.
Through the popular television series Law & Order: SVU alone, Americans
have become more familiar with this frighteningly prevalent underside of
our culture. This awareness has led to the passing of new legislation, the
formation of new support organizations, and the pursuit by science to
understand, and hopefully prevent, sexual predators…
ABOUT THE PLAY
A critical hit in London’s West End and on Broadway, FROZEN is the gripping psychological journey of three people whose lives are chillingly
connected. Nancy, whose ten year-old daughter, Rhona, went missing 20 years ago, continues the daily balance between keeping hope alive and
accepting the unthinkable. Ralph, convicted of Rhona’s murder, struggles with loneliness, unnatural urges and the possibility of remorse. Agnetha, a
psychologist studying serial killers, attempts to understand the criminal mind, its motivations and total absence of personal responsibility. At once
angry and compassionate, this eloquent drama ponders several complex
and searing questions: What causes someone to commit horrific acts?
Can understanding lead to absolution? Is it even possible to forgive that
which seems unforgivable? Nominated for 4 Tony Awards, including Best
Play, FROZEN is a dark and hypnotic journey of rage and redemption.
Read Excerpts from the Script of FROZEN Online at Google Books
ON THE WEB & IN THE PRESS:
Excerpts from Reviews of InterAct's Philadelphia Permiere production of FROZEN:
"This is harrowing material, and for the most part playwright Lavery presents it in an admirably matter-of-fact
way, avoiding shock tactics and bathos, and instead drawing power from the simple, awful facts ... Jeb Kreager is
every bit as good as [Broadway's Brian] O'Byrne, at once terrifying and pitiable ... an extremely masterful
piece of craftsmanship ... For MacLaughlin, Kreager and the best moments of
FROZEN, this is a fulfilling evening ... "
- D. A. Fox, Philadelphia CityPaper
"InterAct Theatre Company continues its
20-year tradition of presenting challenging fare with director Whit MacLaughlin’s
provocative staging of Bryony Lavery’s Tony Award-nominated drama FROZEN. ... Kreager is simply scary as hell. ... Kreager’s frighteningly unpredictable performance features long
periods of eerie calm interrupted by sudden eruptions of shocking fury. ... Under MacLaughlin’s direction, FROZEN makes for gripping theater (the final two
scenes are spellbinding) ... We emerge from the theater chilled, not only by Ralph’s horrific crime, but
also by the questions Lavery raises about the nature of evil ... "
- J.C. Robb, Philadelphia Weekly
"Jeb Kreager is bone-chilling in his portrayal of Ralph ...His study of a broken, remorseless man is near flawless. Kreager’s
performance positively dares one to take a second look ... in the role of Nancy, Mary Martello also turns in a solid performance. She’s the character most audience members will find themselves empathizing
with, recognizing ... InterAct’s production of FROZEN has its electric moments; and,
with strong performances effectively getting under the skin of its audience, it
is theater very much worth seeing ..."
- MB Case, Philadelphia Magazine
 "It begins with a howl - a kind of primal scream - and then FROZEN ... demands that we follow its three characters wherever they lead us ... a spectacular work that examines some
of the most deeply troubling issues we humans can face ... Director Whit MacLaughlin uses commendable restraint in never interfering with the
inherent power of this highly dramatic, highly disturbing drama. ... The dramatic crescendo comes when a mother confronts her child's murderer, and blessedly, Ms.
Martello and Mr. Kleager [sic] play it out perfectly, cleanly, and without histrionics ... it's impossible not to feel something
about these people we've been with for nearly two high-wire hours ... The three performances are stellar ... gives theater-goers plenty to talk about on the ride
home ..."
- S. Fiedman, The Bulletin
"FROZEN, by Bryony
Lavery, mak[es] its gripping Philly
premiere courtesy of InterAct Theatre
Company. Tense and dense in the best
sense ... [Matello, Kreager and Slusar] each offer a letter perfect performance that nearly
transcends the material, which itself is finely honed ... The emotional content and context offers a palpable litany of tightening agony
punctuated with moments of release and revelation in equal measure. ...
beyond crackling language and an engrossing narrative, "Frozen" is filled with
indelible imagery both verbal and visual ... Mary Martello gives a performance that is at once witty and tragic ... Catherine K. Slusar’s Agnetha is cool and clinical ... Jeb Kreager is as subtle and understated as the others, but with a coiled, caged
menace bubbling just under the skin ... Director Whit Maclaughlin has done an outstanding job with a play and talent that are a
perfect match ... He’s done a superlative job all around,
while the production itself is quite striking ... FROZEN is yet another offering that
proves how indispensable InterAct Theatre Company is"
- R. Strauss, Weekly Press
"... It's a simple but impressively staged study of the psychological probing of a
criminal's mind ... a trio of competent actors, a set that's amazingly simple, and
Whit MacLaughlin offers strong direction ... "
- B. Nelson, KYW Newsradio 1060
"InterAct Theatre Company has taken a clear step toward fulfilling their mission statement ... in staging ... FROZEN ... The small cast had a great deal to carry on their shoulders ... and they managed it quite well ... Catharine K. Slusar as Agnetha clearly
presents a woman at war with herself ... Nancy undergoes a variety of changes and
developments throughout the show, and Mary Martello's performance makes them all feel
like natural and understandable growth ... Jeb Kreager's Ralph was laudable as he had an astonishing combination of creepy and
innocent that repulsed and pulled you in at the same time ... This
production takes three characters and instead of just having their stories connect, really puts
them into contact with one another and in doing so, brings them in contact with the audience ...And while I, for one, do not always want such raw
contact with such heavy emotions and thoughts, in the case of InterAct’s production of
FROZEN, it is just as it should be. "
- K. Suni, StageMagazineOnline.com
"FROZEN is a stirring look at the ability of tragedy, pain, anger and guilt to
immobilize a person ... an intellectually powerful Friday night date ... driven by well-written monologues performed perfectly by the cast ... each actor has to be a powerhouse player capable of running the entire emotional gamut. ... all deliver incredible performances, each one
having a breathtaking moment where they make you forget you’re watching people on a stage. ... a stunning psychological study, a play that literally sets the stage for the audience to do some soul-searching and selfdiscovery.
Well-written, brilliantly acted, passionately directed and staged, FROZEN is capable not only of entertaining but
also expanding the knowledge of the audience."
- M. Ray, DigPhilly.com
Excerpts from Reviews of the Broadway production of FROZEN:
"... ...
the characters don't so much vent their intense emotions as betray them through involuntary eruptions that they quickly stifle. In the age of the Amber Alert and Megan's Law, ''Frozen'' brings a coolly discursive attitude to a hot-button subject. This is not to say that it is in any way unfeeling.
The play unfolds as a counterpoint of three voices. ... .
... all three characters have become frozen psychologically. The play charts what happens as each of them thaws. ...
Toward the play's end Nancy and Ralph finally meet, and their encounter is hardly predictable. It's a scene, with finely graded reversals of character that support the general thrust of ''Frozen.'' ... Cool heat, in this instance, melts the heart more effectively than any raging fire could."
- B. Brantley, March 19, 2004
Read the New York Times Review in its Entirety
"... [an] play ... "
- H. Als, March 29, 2004
Excerpts from reveiws of the National Theatre prodction in London:
"… Frozen is a play ..."
- C. Spencer, July 5, 2002
"…[a] play…the force of Lavery’s play, however, lies in its ability to change hearts and minds… this is a play that . "
- M. Billington, July 4, 2002
"…[written with] eloquence ..."
- N. de Jongh, July 4, 2002
"... A major play . . . . … make[s] you see the complexity of the issue, clinical as well as moral. ..."
- B. Nightingale, July 5, 2002
"… has its own ... I sensed the audience were frozen to their seats … "
- R. Gore-Langton, July 5, 2002
"… an play. At its heart is a debate about moral responsibility: ..."
- July 5, 2002
"… Frozen is in British theatre ..."
- A. Macaulay, July 5, 2002
Read More Excerpts from National Theatre's Reviews on their Website
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
, although a rounded theatre professional, is probably best known as the British playwright of FROZEN, the four-time Tony Award nominee, including Best Play, and winner of the TMA Best New Play Award and Eileen Anderson Central Television Award for Best Play. FROZEN premiered at Britain’s Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1998, was revised for production at London’s National Theatre in 2002, and made its American debut at the Off-Broadway Manhattan Class Company before transferring to Broadway’s Circle in the Square in 2004. FROZEN opened in February 2004 at off-Broadway's Manhattan Class Company Theatre. It transferred to Broadway in May and closed in August 2004. In addition to FROZEN, Lavery’s plays include HELEN AND HER FRIENDS(1978), BAG (1979), FAMILY ALBUM (1980), MISSING (1981), CALAMITY (1983), ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES (1984), WITCHCRAZE (1985), TWO MARIAS (1989), HER ACHING HEART (1990), WICKED (1990), NOTHING COMPARES TO YOU (1995), OPHELIA (1996) A WEDDING STORY (2000), LAST EASTER (2004), SMOKE (2006), STOCKHOLM (2007) and RED SKY, which was featured in the National Theatre Connection Festival and was performed at The Lowry and the National Theatre in 2007. Lavery has written many dramas for BBC Radio, as well as stage adaptations of Angela Carter’s THE MAGIC TOYSHOP (2002), Mary Webb’s PRECIOUS BANE (2003) and Ibsen’s A DOLL'S HOUSE (2004) for theatres throughout Great Britain. Lavery has served as artistic director of London’s Gay Sweatshop and Female Trouble as well as her own company, Les Oeufs Malades. For two years she was also writer-in-residence for the Unicorn Theatre for Children. She has been she was Tutor-Lecturer on the M.A. Playwriting Course at Birmingham University and holds an honorary Doctor of Arts of De Montfort University.
Listen to an Interview with Bryony Lavery conducted by
Francine Stock
at BBC Radio
for the
National Theatre London's July 2002 production of FROZEN (Real Player Required)
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
returns to InterAct, where he last directed DRINK ME, for which he won a Barrymore Award for Sound Design. Whit is the Obie award-winning artistic director of Philadelphia’s experimentalist New Paradise Laboratories where he conceived, directed and designed ten original works. New Paradise Laboratories recently produced BATCH: AN AMERICAN BACHELOR/ETTE PARTY SPECTACLE by Alice Tuan, which was commissioned by the Humana Festival where new Paradise premiered the show at the 2007 festival. Whit has performed at Ontological Theatre and PS 122 in New York City, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Past works include GOLD RUSSIAN FINGER LOVE, a metaphysical look at the James Bond myth; THE FAB 4 REACH THE PEARLY GATES, depicting the Beatles at the end of time; THIS MANSION IS A HOLE, a deconstruction of philosopher Hugh Hefner; ROSE SELAVY TAKES A LOVE IN PHILADELPHIA, an examination of Philadelphia’s utopian history; and PROM, a work of fake anthropology for young adults, which premiered at The Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis.
ABOUT THE CAST & CREW
returns to InterAct after starring in their previous productions of FEAST OF THE FLYING COW. AND OTHER STORIES OF WAR, MISSING LINK, LEBENSRAUM, SEASCAPE, GOING TO ST. IVES, DRINK ME, BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE, and BLACK RUSSIAN. She was last seen at the Walnut St Theatre, playing Margo in MR. BAILEY'S MINDER. Favorite roles include Mrs. Meany and Mitzy Lish in OWEN MEANY, all 24 characters in THE SYRINGA TREE (The Arden), multiple characters in LEBENSRAUM and Gloria in MISSING LINK (InterAct) and Tamara in TAKING SIDES (Act II Playhouse). She's performed on many Philadelphia and national stages winning a Barrymore Award, the Haas Award for an Emerging Artist, and an Independence Fellowship, which took her to France and Russia. She's a graduate of Yale. Catharine teaches at Bryn Mawr, Rowan, and privately.
makes his InterAct debut with FROZEN. Jeb is a founding member of New Paradise Laboratories and has co-created and performed all of their work, most recently BATCH (Humana Festival and 2007 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival). He is also the founder of BrownSquad, premiering CONTEST, his first work as director and choreographer, at the 2006 Live Arts Festival. In his time in Philadelphia, Jeb has also created new work with Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental, Headlong Dance Theater, and Early Morning Opera. Jeb's recent performance work includes MR. MARMALADE (Exile), THE FOUR OF US and RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS (1812 Productions), MR. BAILEY'S MINDER (Walnut Street), THE BFG (Arden), THE FOREIGNER (People's Light) and HIPPIE ELEGY (Headlong). A 2006 Independence Fellow and five-time Barrymore nominee, Jeb attended Virginia Tech, Antonio Fava's Scuola Internazionale dell'Attore Comico (Reggio Emilia, Italy) and Circle in the Square (New York).
returns to InterAct, where she was last seen in THE RETURN TO MORALITY. In addition to InterAct, Mary has worked for most of the Philadelphia area theatres: WST, Arden, Wilma, Prince, Azuka, PLTC, Lenape and to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra as a guest artist three times. Last fall, she performed her cabaret, IN THE STYLE OF WEILL, at the Philadelphia Art Institute. Mary has been nominated for six Barrymore Awards and won three for her performances as Hesione in TRIUMPH OF LOVE at WST, the Baroness in CAFé PUTTANESCA and Mrs. Lovett in SWEENY TODD both at the Arden. Most recently she was seen at the Wilma as Mary Barfoot in the American premiere of AGE OF AROUSAL. She spent many seasons at McCarter Theatre with Nagle Jackson, Foundation Theatre with Julie Ellen Pruzinowski and the Passage Theatre in Trenton. In New York, Mary has performed at Light Opera of Manhattan, Synchronicity Space (a piece by Larry Kirwan of Black 47), the Irish Rep and the Public Theatre. Other regional theatres include BoarsHead, TheatreVirginia, Maine State Music Theatre and Denver Center Theater.
marks his InterAct debut with FROZEN, as well as his debut performance in Philadelphia Theatre. Kyle is a recent transplant from northern California, where he worked as an actor, director and designer in local theatre for 32 years. Recent credits include Lennie in OF MICE AND MEN at the Douglas Morrison Theatre, Gooper in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at the Altarena Theatre, where he won a Bravo Award for best supporting actor, and Inspector Rough in ANGEL STREET for the San Leandro Players. Here in Philadelphia, Kyle has been taking classes at the Walnut Street Theatre and working with a local Improv company.
The design team for FROZEN includes Set Design by Matt Saunders, Costume Design by Rosemarie McKelvey, and Lighting & Sound Design by Jorge Cousineau. Joe Gates will serve as Assistant Director, Andy Campbell will serve as Technical Director and Michele Traub will Stage Manage the production.
EXPLORING THE ISSUES
 During the run of FROZEN, InterAct will host several post-performance talk-backs to encourage further discussion on the issues raised. Speaker Sundays, a series featuring invited scholars, community leaders and artists, are scheduled to follow matinee performances on:
Speaker T.B.A.
Featuring Rev. Nathan Walker, Minister of The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
Featuring Dr. Salman Akhtar, Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson University
Coffee Conversations, an informal discussion with the production's artists and designers, sponsored by Whole Foods, are scheduled to follow performances on Tuesday, April 15; Wednesday, April 16; Tuesday, April 22; and Wednesday, April 23.
THIS PRODUCTION SPONSORED IN PART BY:
 
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Whit MacLaughlin (Director)
