Discussion Questions for Frozen

1. Do you believe that Agnetha was in love with David and misses him genuinely? OR Do you think that Agnetha is caught up in guilt, not knowing where the affair would have gone and whether or not it is morally right or appropriate to let Mary know the truth?

2. Why do you think that Ralph responds so powerfully to Nancy's calm visit with him when he has never before stated that he felt bad about any of his victims or their families?

3. Do you think, in a twisted way, that Agnetha is very sympathetic and close with Ralph out of a vague need for an emotional "rebound?"

4. Many reviews of the Broadway performance of this play state that Lavery could have done a better job of making the play "as memorable as it could have been." Do you think, given the subject matter of the play, she could have written the play in a more powerful style?

5. Why do you think that although Nancy is a very functional leader of her FLAME group, she seems completely unable to keep up her relationships with the remainder of her own family?

6. Why do you think that Lavery waited until late in the play to reveal Agnetha's personal matters when the personal matters of the other characters were present from the beginning? Did you find it distracting? (You thought you should be focusing on Nancy or Ralph but just wanted to find out what was up with Agnetha)

7. Why do you think that, as time goes on, Nancy seems to grow more bitter, whereas most parents of missing children seem more eager to let things go as time goes on?

8. Do you think that Nancy ACTUALLY forgives Ralph or just says it to convince herself?

9. What do you feel is the significance, if any, of Ralph's connection with his tattoos?

10. What do you think of the "sound effects" written in by Lavery? (ice crashes in the background, sound of machinery, etc.)

Frozen

Frozen was written by Bryony Lavery, a British playwright and writer who, once married and once an actor, now identifies as gay and often writes plays with almost entirely female casts to provide actresses with more room to showcase talent. The play was first performed in 1998 and won the Best New Play Award from the Theatrical Management Association. Frozen's off-Broadway premiere was at Manhattan's Class Company Theatre in February 2004. It moved to Broadway in May and closed in August 2004. Frozen was nominated for the Tony Award for Best New Play and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a play with Brian F. O'Byrne. Controversy surrounded the play when news surfaced that Lavery had plagiarized a significant portion of the play from a The New Yorker article about psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis and from her book. Author the article, Malcolm Gladwell, later called the ordeal a "permissible borrowing."