A basement has the potential to be a great metaphorical setting for a drama dealing with the underlying pain of dark secrets, but not much real drama happens in Shadley Grei's earnest two-hander. At the center of Marshall's Law are Zach (Grei) and Abby (Danielle Taddei). Abby's ex-husband Roger, who left Abby for Zach, has recently died in a car accident; Zach and Abby’s nine-year-old son, Marshall, were also in the car but managed to escape. Marshall, who wants Abby and Zach to talk openly about the accident and other unresolved issues, lures Abby to Zach's house under false pretenses, then locks them in the basement to hash things out. A series of arguments and confessions, heavy with clichéd dialogue—"Love shouldn't feel like a fight for survival"; "Sometimes 'I hate you' is code for 'I need you'"—leads to a convoluted reveal and predictable conclusion. Throughout the play, the unseen Marshall feeds notes under the door to Zach and Abby to guide their conversation. His goal is to trap them until they make amends; the audience feels trapped along with them.—Robin Rothstein
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