But Con Melody, a drunken ex-Irish gentry and disgraced Major in Wellington’s British Army, is so caught up in the past that he only drinks and keeps up his ‘gentlemanly manners’ despite being almost destitute. Con’s self-delusion is constantly being fought by his realistic daughter Sara.
Her very first tale – about awakening one morning to find the houseguest who was sleeping beside her had died during the night – transcends what must have been the horror of the experience. As she says, it is not only that he died during his own sleep, he also died during hers. Upon completing the story, Fisher begins the first of her many interchanges with the audience, turning up the house lights to see if they have any questions
The situations are absurd and the acting is spirited even if some of the funny moments seem strained. But as a light off-night show (Mondays & Tuesdays), The People’s Choice fills the bill. Brandon Galatz shows promise as the hapless President.
Not even the leading avant-garde director, Max Truax could , despite a dark, depressing set design (byMichael Mroch) and a totally dedicated cast, could make Henrik Ibsen’s 1866 verse tragedy, Brand, audience friendly. Written while Ibsen was on a self-imposed exile in Italy, Brand is a ‘think” piece about Ibsen’s Christian views concerning freedom of will and the use of sacrifice to illustrate one’s Christian faith.
Kabulitis focuses on two periods in Afghan history: the return of the foreign-educated sons seeking reform, and the aftermath of invasion in 2002; this is done through a single family, a single person: Mildred (Caron Buinis), a Manhattan girl married to the Afghan Hamed (Gustavo Obregon) who is determined to reform his country. They travelled back to Kabul during the Second World War, but were eventually forced out because of the impending danger they faced.
I was impressed at the scope and depth of Musial’s work in the 2011 version. Seldom will you see a more technical stage work that vividly evokes the tragedy of a city-wide fire. The only thing lacking was the smoke and smell of a major fire. Telling the story of a catastrophic event on stage takes daring and loads of stage craft – all of which are ingredients in this thrilling and emotional telling of the story of the Chicago fire from October 8, 1871.
Sean O’Casey is in good hands under the spirited direction of John Mossman and the terrific ensemble acting (each in rich authentic Irish brogues) from the dedicated cast. The quirkiness and the submerged fear storms to the surface in this often-times funny yet sad tale of life and oppression in Dublin during ‘The Troubles” of 1920-23.
Theatre is often about something other than what the people on stage are talking about. And Red is no exception – as Logan himself says. The backdrop is art, but the subject is mankind, fathers and sons, mentors and protégés. Art is the intellectual canvas on which these two characters paint their relationship. “The son must kill the father,” Rothko tells Ken, speaking about what the Abstract Expressionists did to the Cubists. “Respect him, but kill him.”
The dramatic retelling of the events of the Nickel Mines Shooting of 10 Amish children October 2, 2006 and the aftermath is a heart wrenching and complex story especially how the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Amish reacted. Told in an amazing tour de force performance by Sadieh Rifai, The Amish Project is a 70 minute drama that attempts to tell the shooting story and the effects on the Amish, the town’s folks and the shooter’s family.
What makes this play great – and what makes it a tragedy – is that each and every character wills for good. There exists no one with evil in their heart, a wish simply to harm out of malice. Each person wants what is best – for themselves, for the family, for the greater good. They seek what is just. But what is “best,” what is “just,” is not always – ever – agreed upon.