BWW Reviews: Theatre 40's Ice-Breaker

The Ice-Breaker by David Rambo directed by Andre Barron Theatre 40 through June 6

David Rambo's The Ice-Breaker is getting its Los Angeles premiere in a handsome production at Theatre 40. Although flawed, the play has enough going for it to capture audience acclaim. Set in Arizona in present time, The Ice-Breaker has an appealing romantic quality like old-fashioned plays, in which two people in conflict end up in an unforseen romantic entanglement.

The Situation in this case is a young geology student, with a rather precarious past, who hunts down a former controversial geologist/professor in an effort to have him read and help her with her university thesis. Sonia (Ashleigh Sumner) intrudes upon Dr. Lawrence Blanchard (Robert Mackenzie), who is no longer into the study of glaciers and the historical significance of the Ice Age. He once called himself an explainer; she, on the contrary, wants to be a forecaster, analyzing the supposed onset of the Ice Age every 100,000 years for its effects on global warming and on the future of mankind. Blanchard kept a journal, which Sonia found while exploring in Antarctica on an Outward Bound community service type project and his writings inspired her to study geology. Blanchard had a profound influence on her chosen life's work, and she is justifiably devastated when he initially treats her with complete indifference.

Of course, things change, they get to know each other, have an affair and share intimacies that only lovers do. At play's end, however, when issues cloud the romance once again, something goes awry. Yes, Sonia goes back to Antarctica to pursue answers where Blanchard left off, so he has properly inspired her to pursue the fulfillment of the dream. It is a credible ending. Blanchard is perhaps too old to make the journey into such a rough and rugged terrain, even if he did agree to it, but to leave him behind is romantically unsatisfying. So, on a realistic level, the play works just fine, but theatrically and romantically, not as much.

On the up side, there are some lovely discussions of the beauty of nature, the texture of fine wine and its origins, and science vs art that Rambo has included. Maybe Sonia's misunderstanding of Blanchard's statement applies to the ending of the play: "Inconclusiveness is conclusive in itself". Maybe this is all that Rambo intended.

Sumner is a delightful actress. She is a pleasure to watch from the beginning, like a wide-eyed child searching for answers to an unending montage of questions. Mackenzie is approriately blase at first, then becomes more interesting to observe as Blanchard succumbs to Sonia's attentions and confides in her. The two actors play off each other quite winningly. Barron has done a stunning job of directing his actors especially in the awkward and intimate moments. Jeff G. Rack's set design of Blanchard's Arizona home, interior and exterior, places us remarkably smack dab in that locale.

This is a pleasant evening of theatre, and despite the scientific jargon that will turn some patrons off, it will move and engage most.