By Eva Trieger in Poway, California
Strange Snow has so much going for it, not the least of which is the music. The soundtrack from the late sixties and early seventies really set the tone for this post-Vietnam war story. Though the play’s world premiere was held in 1982, playwright Stephen Metcalfe sensitively and accurately revealed the post-traumatic stress syndrome that veterans live with. At that time the phenomenon was not a household word, nor did it receive a compassionate reception from society.
The play is set about 20 years after the conflict ended. In some ways it’s a small story, focused around a brother and sister, Dave (Matthew Thompson) and Martha (Rhiannon McAfee), and a fellow veteran, Megs (Steve Murdock). The very fine acting on the part of all three expose the vulnerabilities and frailties in each.
Dave, a truck driver and heavy drinker, appears taciturn and self-involved. He is unaware of his sister’s efforts or the inequity of their arrangement. Martha, a self-described “spinster schoolteacher” runs the household, cooking and cleaning, and caring for her brother to whom she is largely invisible. He has shared little about his time in Vietnam and becomes angry and agitated when the conversation goes in that direction.
Enter Megs, a fellow soldier, and current gas station owner. Though he’s somewhat of a flirtatious wild card, he shows tremendous compassion and empathy. Counter to Dave, his coping mechanism is to talk about the war, the trauma and the loss. He proudly wears the baseball hat of his deceased friend and wants to remember and pay tribute to Bobby by keeping up traditions.
While the topic of war, especially Vietnam, is somber and confusing, our playwright has written in some excellent, honest dialogue and by building in a romance between two unlikely middle agers, keeps the play from being maudlin. The budding romance is sweet, awkward, and clever in its redux of prom night. Dave’s overprotectiveness of Martha, and his warning her against Megs’ character ring true.
Each character undergoes growth in this play and while it is just two hours in length, they each progress miles from opening to final curtain. We see the arc for each. Dave moves from sullen, angry and defeated to owning his actions and seeing how they impact others. Martha realizes she has forfeited her life without giving herself permission to experience pleasure or take risks. Megs acknowledges his near manic energy is a mask for his vulnerability. He comes to understand that his guilt over actions in Vietnam controls his volatile behavior.
The title, Strange Snow is borrowed from the Bard. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act V Scene 1) Theseus is describing something wondrous and paradoxical. The oxymoronic phrase illustrates the duality of confrontation and withdrawal, living in the present or remaining cloistered in the past.
Co-directors and co-producers, Linda Englund and Julia Smith have delivered a masterful play that brings this small story into grandeur. Each actor brought one hundred percent to the stage. Having seen Steve Murdock in several productions at PowPac, I feel compelled to say this is the most incredible role he has even inhabited and he did so flawlessly. The synergy and credibility of the relationships between all three was nothing short of magical.
Audience members were treated to a talk back with the author of the play who answered questions about the play’s origin and the characters. He told us candidly that when writing the original story it was named Jacknife (1989). The screenwriter said he was “taking dictation” from Megs’ character, rather than coming up with the story and script. Jacknife was made into a movie starring Ed Harris and Robert DeNiro. In addition to being a playwright, Metcalfe is a novelist and has taught writing at UCSD and SDSU.
Strange Snow will run through April 19th. Tickets may be purchased at boxoffice@powpac.org or by calling 858.679.8085.
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Eva Trieger is a freelancer specializing in the coverage of the arts.