TV Reviews : ‘Tender Places’: A Boy’s View of Divorce

Children of divorce can’t always give voice to their pain, but one articulate young playwright did.

Twelve-year-old Jason Brown’s “Tender Places,” written “to let everyone who goes through divorce know that they’re not alone,” was a 1984 winner at the New York City Dramatists Guild Young Playwrights Festival competition. It airs at 8:30 tonight as a half-hour drama on KCAL Channel 9.

Eric (Frederick Koehler) is an unhappy, bitter little boy whose parents’ divorce leaves him wondering if it’s safe to love anybody or anything ever again. His parents bicker about custody, blame each other, overindulge Eric and vie for his sympathy and approval.

He’s understandably confused: They say they love him and just want him to be happy, but he’s never been so miserable. (Brown’s keen-eyed observations of parental folly may make divorced adults squirm, but he also acknowledges their pain.)

A chance meeting with a mysterious, straight-talking old lady (Jean Stapleton) helps Eric let go of his anger, self-pity and misplaced guilt. He realizes that he isn’t to blame for what happened and that if his mom and dad are happier apart, he’ll probably be happier, too. It’s a message of hope for fellow sufferers from a remarkably eloquent young talent.