THEATER REVIEW:Actors give proper dose of tragedy

Set in 1938 Brooklyn, playwright Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass,” currently at The Victory Theatre Center in Burbank, offers shocking insights into human insecurity.

Miller’s script, set within days of Hitler’s “Kristallnacht,” focuses on Phillip and Sylvia Gellburg, a middle-aged Jewish couple whose marriage could best be described as brittle. He is an upper-middle-class advisor to a New York business tycoon. She’s a well-kept housewife who has recently fallen victim to an inexplicable form of paralysis.

Phillip, with the assistance of his wife’s physician, struggles desperately to discover some reason for his wife’s malady. As he comes to realize that his wife is uninterested in solving her dilemma and their marital problems, his mental state deteriorates.

It’s a circuitous, sometimes frustratingly repetitive journey which Miller takes us on as we witness a man whose self-loathing includes not only his social status but his genealogy as well. And yet veteran actor Robert Picardo admirably anchors this show as he brings to life Phillip’s horrendous suffering. We see him torn in so many directions. Picardo’s scenes with Diedra Celeste, whose embodiment of the wheelchair bound Sylvia is one of fragile, yet iron-willed strength, are heart wrenching.

Meanwhile, his displays of Phillip’s often irrational anger in scenes with the Victory’s artistic director Tom Ormeny, appearing as Dr. Hyman, and Christopher Rydman, who plays his detached employer, Stanton Case, are shocking. The rest of director Shira Dubrovner’s cast provides firm support. Ormeny perfectly balances his character’s bedside manner with those instances when he must stand toe-to-toe with Phillip’s unfounded accusations.

Injecting some much-needed joviality are Janet Wood as Dr. Hyman’s wife, Margaret, and Randi Lynne Weidman as Sylvia’s sister, Harriet.

Without the work of these gifted actresses, Miller’s play would be an exercise in excruciating depression.

Attention to detail is an important part of directing and Dubrovner’s work is clear and to the point. An excellent example is choosing to have crew members assist Celeste on and off stage so as to preserve our belief in her paralysis even during scene changes.

Dubrovner’s efforts are influenced negatively to a degree by the intimacy of this venue’s space. With the stage divided, for the most part, between Dr. Hyman’s office and the Gellburg’s bedroom, there are times when the action unintentionally appears to bleed from one location into another.

Leonard Harman’s beautifully appointed scenic design is illuminated with touching detail by Robert Murdock.

Caryn Drake’s costuming, particularly the women’s clothing, is period-perfect. In the end, this play, though perhaps not his best work, cements Miller’s legacy as one of America’s foremost tragedians. It’s a disturbing window into the human psyche and soul.

FYI

WHAT: “Broken Glass” by Arthur Miller

WHEN: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 3

WHERE: The Victory Theatre Center, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank.

TICKETS: $22 to $28

PHONE: 841-5421 or www.thevictorytheatrecenter.org