Katherine Reis (left) portrays Matilde, Blaire Dimisa is her sister Edith, and Bart Shatto (standing) plays their father, Rich, in an emotionally heated scene in Cracked Open, by Gail Kriegel.
Cracked Open is about one family’s journey with mental illness after their 18-year-old daughter suffers a psychotic breakdown. Presented during Mental Health Awareness Month, this drama, written and directed by Gail Kriegel, explores the stigma of mental illness and the often bewildering path for a family to find an effective treatment for a loved one.
Set in New York City in 1995, the play is divided into three parts, each capturing a different phase of the family’s journey. “Act I, The Beginning” follows the family as they witness the psychotic breakdown of Matilde (Katherine Reis), nicknamed “Tilde,” on her high school graduation day and deal with its aftermath. “Act II: The Wilderness” reveals the family’s experience through the wilderness of diagnoses and treatments. And “Act III, Afterwards” provides a snapshot of the family as they attempt to rebuild their shattered lives.
Reis (left) portrays the troubled Matilde, and Dimisa is her younger sister Edith.
Although the family’s coping strategies evolve over the course of the play, their first reaction is to hide the fact that their oldest daughter has just suffered a psychotic episode. They realize that others are likely to blame them—and judge them—for their daughter’s psychiatric disorder. Indeed, the father Rich (Bart Shatto) frantically warns Tilde’s younger sister Edith (Blaire Dimisa) to keep quiet about where Tilde has gone:
Don’t tell anyone that Matilde is in this f---ing freak ward, whatever you call it! You hear me? Edith? If anyone asks, we’re going to say she’s visiting relatives. Relatives in California. No, no—she got into the advanced program, went to college early.
Tilde’s psychotic break affects each member of the family differently. The mother Mae (Pamela Bob), an architect based in New Jersey, shows signs of depression. She shows up at her office sporadically. She neglects to do the family laundry, often staying in her pajamas all day.
Edith withdraws from the family. She suddenly prefers staying overnight at her grandmother Lillian’s (Lisa Pelikan) house. However, when Edith returns home to get Tina, her teddy bear, and her mother asks her for a “sweet kiss,” Edith lashes out at her: “I hate you!! I can’t bring any of my friends home anymore. You’re always in bed crying.”
Rich is concerned he might lose his reporter’s job at the TV station, if word gets out that their older daughter is “crazy.” To protect the family’s privacy, Rich immediately visits his medical insurance office after Tilde’s psychotic episode. There he not only lies about why his daughter had psychiatric hospital bills (“They just put her there because they didn’t have enough beds. … Hurt her knee. She’s a terrific basketball player. … That’s why I’m here.”), but he also takes Tilde off his current plan—without consulting his wife. Although it seems a reckless action, he knows the company’s personnel had once passed sensitive information about a work buddy’s son going to rehab, and the leaked information cost his friend his job. Anticipating their gossip, Rich refuses to be another victim.
Shatto with Pamela Bob (left) as Mae, in Cracked Open. Photographs by Russ Rowland.
Although Mae is initially outraged that her husband took Tilde off the insurance plan, with bills for hospital and psychiatric treatments pouring in, she reluctantly sees her husband’s perspective once she hears him out. The upshot, however, is that they can’t afford to place Tilde in a private residence, which their doctor recommends. Instead, they choose a residential treatment center.
Cracked Open doesn’t pull any punches. The audience gets an insider’s look at what goes on in a residential residence, including violence. But it isn’t all doom-and-gloom. In fact, there’s humor peppered throughout. What’s more, an unlikely romance blooms between Tilde and a 28-year-old resident named Billy (Rubén Caballero). In spite of their illness, they dare to dream of a future together, even with the odds against them:
Billy: One of the residents told me that in Italy, they don’t care if a person is crazy. Maybe we should go there.”
Tildy: I don’t want to go anyplace where they call you sick or crazy. In the hospital and here, they call you “special.” Well, I don’t want to be special! And I don’t want to be here. But if I think how sad my family will look when they see me now, I don’t want to go home, either.
The company’s 11 actors portray 32 characters, demonstrating quicksilver changes from one scene to the next. It’s a true ensemble effort, with an emphasis on naturalistic acting.
Indeed, Cracked Open doesn’t give any pat answers to the complex questions surrounding mental illness. But it does reveal the power of family in dark times.
Dream Big World Theatre’s Cracked Open plays through June 28 at Theatre Row. Evening performances are at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; matinees are at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For tickets and more information, visit crackedopentheplay.com.
Playwright & Director: Gail Kriegel
Set: Mikaila Baca-Dorion
Lighting: Yang Yu
Costumes: AC Gottlieb & James Nguyen
Sound: Bill Toles
Fight Director: Judi Lewis Ockler
