Tony Danza Photo by Shirin Tinati

Kris (Tony Danza), a very damaged man who had always been on the run, has recently passed away, leaving his sons, James (Michael Longfellow) and Steven (Tom Cavanagh), to pick up the pieces. Being a man who trusted nothing and never made anything easy, Kris had not informed either sibling that the other even existed. When Steven was a baby, he and his mother were abandoned by Kris, leaving Steven scarred. The younger, quick-tongued James was raised by his father and, as we see from some of the more unpleasant flashbacks with Kris, that was no favor.

Both brothers, meeting for the very first time, view each other with suspicion and hostility and both are too private and too injured to simply explain things. As a result, there are interactions that are truly emotional and sometimes downright funny, but it can be a bit of a long haul watching Steven and James threatening, dodging, and challenging each other between their recollections of Kris. Even when James and Steven finally work out the circumstances that made Kris into the harsh, broken man that he was, and talk about their parts in his life, the payoff does not feel quite worth the buildup. And yes, there is even an exchange about "Broken Snow" that sounds more significant than it ought to be.

Colin Hanlon does the best he can to direct Broken Snow without letting the unevenness and dubious moments of the play interfere too badly with the fine work of the actors onstage (Tony Danza, Michael Longfellow, and Tom Cavanagh all give solid performances), and he does very well in showing Steven and James reliving their individual encounters with Kris. All the same, the final pivotal moments just get too obscure to be effective or even believable. We never even get to find out exactly why Kris has focused on the constantly mentioned "serpent with the black feathery wings" as his image of judgment.

The abandoned house where James and Steven confront each other and evoke the shade of their father is most suitably represented by Scott Adam Davis's scenic design, while Jeff Croiter's lighting also contributes greatly to the show's memory play nature. The principals are all quite fittingly clad by Lisa Zinni, and when Kris dons his gray winter overcoat, he is a presence indeed.

Broken Snow features some excellent acting from very good performers, but they have to labor against the disadvantage of a rather drawn out and somewhat vague script.