4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
PATRICK WEBB PHOTO
Daric Moore, left, plays a serial killer, Toni Ihander
portrays the mother of one of his victims, and
Rhonda Alderman, right, plays a psychiatrist who
investigates the criminal mindset in “Frozen,”
an adult drama opening at KALA this week.
A CHILLING EXPERIENCE
Adult-themed ‘Frozen,’ opening at KALA Jan. 19, highlights responses to the worst crimes
ABOUT THE PLAY
The role of “Ralph,” the serial
killer in Bryony Lavery’s play,
“Frozen,” was based, in part,
on a book about the eight-
year manhunt for Robert
Black, a Scotsman convicted
in 1990 of the murder of four
girls. It was the first major
British police investigation
to use a computer system
whose acronym spells
“Holmes.” Black, who died in
prison in 2016, was sus-
pected in at last four other
deaths. British detectives
were aided by American
criminal profiling expertise.
When “Frozen” was staged
on Broadway in 2004, Brian
F. O’Byrne earned the Tony
Award for best actor.
By PATRICK WEBB
FOR COAST WEEKEND
C
an serial killers ever be forgiven?
That is the core question asked by
the cast of “Frozen,” a play opening in
Astoria this week.
The work by British dramatist Bryony La-
very is fictitious but based, in part, on a study
of a notorious British serial killer who was
convicted in 1990 of the deaths of four girls.
The production, which is a staged reading
rather than a fully produced play, will be
performed at KALA (1017 Marine Drive)
in downtown Astoria. It opens Friday, Jan.
19, and will be performed Saturday, Jan. 20,
Thursday, Jan. 25, and Friday, Jan. 26. The
Jan. 25 performance will be followed by an
actors’ “talk-back” session. All readings take
place at 7:30 p.m.
The director, Susi Brown, said this is an
adults-only play with disturbing content. It
is unrelated to the 2013 animated Disney
children’s movie of the same title.
Daric Moore depicts the serial killer,
Toni Ihander plays the mother of one of his
victims, and Rhonda Alderman portrays an
American forensic psychiatrist who travels
to Great Britain to interview the killer while
researching a paper titled, “Serial Killing: A
Forgivable Act.”
Brown chose to stage the play after
several actors visited her Astoria studio last
summer to read from a pile of scripts. The
trio read “Frozen” without any preparation.
“The three in the show brought it to life,” she
said. “They lifted those words right off the
page.”
The director said she likes working on the-
ater pieces with substance. She said “Frozen”
will challenge audiences to ponder the core
issues of crime/punishment and the nature of
sin.
“It begs the question about serial killers
— can we forgive them or not? It’s pursued
very interestingly. It is a beautiful piece of
art created out of horrific circumstances,” she
said.
Continued on Page 16
IF YOU GO
“FROZEN”
A staged reading of a play by
Bryony Lavery.
Presented by KALA and the
former Pier Pressure Produc-
tions.
KALA, 1017 Marine Drive,
Astoria.
7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 19,
Saturday, Jan. 20, Thursday,
Jan. 25 and Friday, Jan. 26. The
Jan. 25 performance will be fol-
lowed by an actors’ “talk-back”
session.
Suitable for adults.
Tickets $15, at the door.
Produced by arrangement
with Dramatists Play Service,
Inc.