THE BRILLIANCE OF BROKEN GLASS: BUTTON — East of Edinburgh

Review by Celia Ipiotis

In her 70 minute self confessional monologue at 59E59 The Brilliance of Broken Glass, Brooke ricochets from one near death story to another. Not unlike Eve Ensler’s In The Body of the World: A Memoir of Cancer, she unreels a litany of miscalculations by the medical community turning her into a test body. Right from the start, this slender, attractive smiley woman energetically enumerates a life spent in and out of hospital beds and recuperation while simultaneously going to school, playing in the band, gaining math literacy and a keen sense of humor.

However, the arc of the story whips round and round, like a doggie chasing her tail and in the process forging several false endings that swerve into cul de sacs of repetition. 

No question, this brave woman survived monumental challenges, but to digest the litany of indignities suffered requires more breathing space between the whiplash speed of the words and overlay of ideas. Of course it’s a delight to clamp onto some of her references–Joseph Campbell’s hero concept, and lots of Harry Potter asides. 

Childhood film clips show an adorable young girl pointing out her hair, nose, belly button — it’s an innie not an outie. (Of course, having just finished watching Severance, Innie’s and Outie’s take on a whole other meaning.)

But the driving force behind Brooke’s mindset is her holocaust surviving grandmother. Throughout the ever-streaming text, she speaks of her grandmother’s life–if her grandmother could outwit, outlive  Nazi killers, then she too can overcome a few life threatening episodes. And in the end, what are the options?

And survive, she does.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis