Life is fiction when there is no truth.
Ultimately it is truth that remains the core theme throughout the play “Breaking and Entering,” which focuses on writer W.J. Trumbull, played by Steven Shaw, struggling to write another novel, more than 20 years after his first hit. In comes Milly, played by Meredith Bishop, a fan of the author and a novice writer. Breaking into Trumull’s house, Milly hopes to get the author to read her first novel.
The play is short ““ only 90 minutes long ““ which can be viewed as both a negative and positive aspect. The downside is that the first half of the play is drawn out, and it takes a while to get the ball rolling. There is basically almost a half hour or so of plot-building, from seeing Trumbull’s struggles with writing to the long introduction that takes place between Milly and Trumbull. This gets exhausting before anything really interesting happens and makes the play feel longer than it really is.
The upside of the short play is that the second half quickly catches
up to make up for its initial lack of excitement. No time is wasted,
and the story quickly unfolds, which in turn heightens the excitement.
The
story becomes captivating as secrets are revealed, though sometimes
it’s hard to tell if these secrets are true or if they are fiction.
For
example, when Milly recounts her experience in reading Trumbull’s book
and how it changed her life, you take it to be the truth. However,
later it is revealed that the same exact recollection was written into
her novel, and it then becomes confusing as whether the memory is real
or imaginary.
The mysteriousness of the characters also helps in
giving the play more layers as back stories reveal the characters’
imperfections. As the play goes on, Trumbull’s true character is
revealed. Thankfully, Shaw is able to carry the character well, making
the audience hate Trumbull but also pity him.
Meanwhile, Bishop
delves completely into the character of Milly. Bishop gives not only a
completely believable performance but also an emotional one, which
helps to give the play its ambiguousness in that the audience can never
see past her performance. It’s easy to buy into what she says, only to
later discover she may be bluffing.
However, “Breaking and
Entering” still has other flaws. Throughout the play, Trumbull listens
to a baseball game on and off from his radio. Yet, the two announcers
(played by Lary Ohlson and Christopher Gehrman) become annoying
whenever they appear. Their importance also seems to be lost on the
audience, and while their main job is to provide the play’s overall
humor, the jokes are subpar. Also, the constant “Trumbullisms,” famous
sayings from Trumbull’s book, become tiring and often makes the
audience wonder exactly how these lines ever become epic.
In the end, the play is essentially a drama at heart, despite its weak attempts at lightheartedness. With the charming performance of Bishop and the surprising revelations of the storyline, “Breaking and Entering” ultimately achieves its purpose: To show that when it comes to truth and fiction, the line can easily blur.
The upside of the short play is that the second half quickly catches up to make up for its initial lack of excitement. No time is wasted, and the story quickly unfolds, which in turn heightens the excitement.
The story becomes captivating as secrets are revealed, though sometimes it’s hard to tell if these secrets are true or if they are fiction.
For example, when Milly recounts her experience in reading Trumbull’s book and how it changed her life, you take it to be the truth. However, later it is revealed that the same exact recollection was written into her novel, and it then becomes confusing as whether the memory is real or imaginary.
The mysteriousness of the characters also helps in giving the play more layers as back stories reveal the characters’ imperfections. As the play goes on, Trumbull’s true character is revealed. Thankfully, Shaw is able to carry the character well, making the audience hate Trumbull but also pity him.
Meanwhile, Bishop delves completely into the character of Milly. Bishop gives not only a completely believable performance but also an emotional one, which helps to give the play its ambiguousness in that the audience can never see past her performance. It’s easy to buy into what she says, only to later discover she may be bluffing.
However, “Breaking and Entering” still has other flaws. Throughout the play, Trumbull listens to a baseball game on and off from his radio. Yet, the two announcers (played by Lary Ohlson and Christopher Gehrman) become annoying whenever they appear. Their importance also seems to be lost on the audience, and while their main job is to provide the play’s overall humor, the jokes are subpar. Also, the constant “Trumbullisms,” famous sayings from Trumbull’s book, become tiring and often makes the audience wonder exactly how these lines ever become epic.
In the end, the play is essentially a drama at heart, despite its weak attempts at lightheartedness. With the charming performance of Bishop and the surprising revelations of the storyline, “Breaking and Entering” ultimately achieves its purpose: To show that when it comes to truth and fiction, the line can easily blur.
E-mail Ta at jta@media.ucla.edu.