The Shattering of the Golden Pane

Photo/Kymm Zuckert

The Shattering of the Golden Pane needs to be more shatter, less gold: too much of Wilhelm's script is gilded with repetition that endlessly delays both actions and development. Even the few poignant moments--like Verta's frantic attempts to save parasite-infested fish--are related as numbing anecdotes, and until Caleb's appearance late into the second act, the show gives us nothing greater than a flimsy ghost to keep our attention. There's potential in the unrequited loves of all four characters, and there is much creepiness in the way David and Verta openly use each other for sexual solace by pretending that they are different people. But these Goths and punks are too closed off for any of this to be more than the sort of chatter that's only meaningful when drunk.