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Michael Weller's divorce drama, Split,
must have looked topical when it debuted in 1978. Divorce was a hot-button
issue then. Times have changed significantly, however, and the subject is
not as shocking or taboo as it once was. The cynical age we now live in
assumes that most marriages will fail. Such a climate makes the characters
in Broken Watch Theatre Company's current revival of Split—all of
whom assume that most marriages will succeed—look a little naïve.
Split chronicles the breakup of
"the perfect couple," Paul (Leo Lauer) and Carol (Teresa L. Goding), and
the effect it has on their friends. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to
be anything "perfect" about them. Weller withholds the good part of their
marriage, and gives the audience only the bad. We never learn what they
saw in each other, or what made them so "perfect." We only see them either
apart, or at odds with each other. This not only makes them look like an
awful couple, but like stupid and uninteresting people as well.
Considering these shortcomings, the
Broken Watchers are already operating at a deficit. And, unfortunately,
the company doesn't do anything to overcome this. Director Drew DeCorleto
blocks the play unwisely, showing us the backs of the actors' heads once
too often. And, he has no point of view on the material. He leaves all of
Split's meaning up to the actors, which is another unwise decision.
Even though they try hard, the cast is not polished at all. They hit very
few of the play's big moments, and don't allow anything to affect
them—they're too busy "acting" to let anything land. The uniform roughness
of the performances gives Split the feel of an acting class instead
of a professional production.
Hopefully, the Broken Watchers will
learn from their mistakes, and give their future productions the benefit
of their knowledge. Until then, however, we will have to assume that this
young company is full of diamonds in the rough that are waiting to be
mined.
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