Plays on Plays on Plays
What is it like to watch 10 plays in a single day? Our kids can now tell you.
While I circled the narrow streets of Greensboro looking for alternate parking, the kids husted into the theatre to start a fascinating day. I caught up after the first show. Here's what we saw:
Metamorphoses
Mary Zimmerman is a Chicago-based playwright who specializes in adaptations of classical texts. Her take on Greek Myths features a giant pool of water in the middle of the playing space...or not, in this case.
The Yellow Boat
This is the same script we saw yesterday, directed with less sophistication and a more comedic approach to the story. I had some major questions about the colors of the costumes here.
Ernest and the Pale Moon
The kids absolutely loved this Poe-like horror show about a man's obsession with a beautiful woman and his own creeping madness. Personally, I was less-than-thrilled by the exploitative nature of the extreme violence against women in the story. You can try to make me feel sorry for a psychotic murderer, but you won't succeed. Also, the director saw this play performed at the Fringe, and I think he lifted a lot of techniques from the original production rather than inventing his own approach to the text. We all learn from each other, but I thought the judges over praised his brilliance when he was largely relying on someone else's previous work.
The Last Nickel
This play involved the memory of a dead sister; moose, pig, and bird puppets; and lots of references to drugs and alchohol. And a trombone. And the song "Wipeout." The judges asked questions for 4 minutes to determine what happened in the play. It's still unclear, but the older sister was a good actor.
The Axeman's Requiem
Set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, this play (from a performing arts high school) was probably produced on a budget similar to what Tim and Meg spend in an entire year on 7 shows. It looked great. It involved book wagons, stilt walking, black light paint, a parade down the aisle, fantastic costumes, and an axe. Apparently, there were more women to chop up. Get your act together, high school scripts!
The Seagull
The kids recognized the obvious skill involved, but were thrown by the cut of the complex story. I happen to be a huge fan of Chekhov, and spent the whole production weeping, not so much for the play we were seeing (a great job by the actors notwithstanding) but the lines and the story I was already familiar with. Questions about art and life and happiness always make me cry. The costumes took a grand tour of 50 years of fashion history, much to my irrittion and the kids' sheepish confessions that they have no idea what makes an 1860's silhouette different from and 1890's one. They don't need to know that, but the costume designer should be ashamed. This show was ultimately upstaged by its own 26 member crew, who marched around like soldiers with their hands behind their backs whenever they weren't moving things. It was self-indulgent nonsense.
John Lennon and Me
Another hospital play, this time a girl with Cistic Fibrosis who learns to make friends. This play succeeded on the charm of its actors, particularly the lead.
Radium Girls
I thought the kids would like this story of women who died horrible deaths due to licking radium on the paintbrushes they were using to make glow-in-the-dark watch faces. Mostly, they didn't. I was familiar with the play beforehand and thought they did a good job. I also liked their costumes, which were effective, but not expensive.
See Ya at the Savoy
This tale of interracial swing dancing in Harlem featured amazing dancing, and costumes that I think were sewn by student volunteers. Tim was taken by the very young looking bartender named "Sam." Still, it was a simple and cheerful story that left the whole audience smiling.
The Diviners
This is possibly THE MOST produced competition play out there. It was done extremely well here, and our gang loved it. They nailed the "big dramatic ending" which, like 90% of competition plays, involves a death, but supported the show with great acting and great design.
