Show and Tell Post 3: 9 to 5!

I read this musical recently because I learned that Theatre Baton Rouge was doing it. I still am not exactly sure how I feel about it, but it certainly was not boring. As I continued to read the plot I kept saying to myself... really?!? A lot happens in this musical. For those of you who have not read it, and are reading my blog post which is late (hey Dr. Fletcher), the plot follows a "horrible bosses" storyline. That movie and this play have many similarities. This play contains the asshole boss who discriminates against beautiful women and does not appreciate anyone. Clearly, the employees are all unhappy. I absolutely loved the songs about how the three women wanted to kill their boss. They were creative and tied into the story well. As I read this play I tried to come up with a Unifying Principle. I just kept returning to the reasons why people put up with terrible jobs. People work so they can play. All of these women are willing to work hard so they can eventually be happy. Even their boss wants to be happy and he believes that he can be through controlling everyone else. The play wants things to resolve themselves. The moments that make the play speed along are the pleasant moments you want to go on forever. The shorter moments that move quickly are the conflicts that we want to be resolved. Everything in this show points towards happiness. The Unifying Principle for me is get happy. The story and characters are trying to become happy as things progress. This is a cute play with great music.

Drowsy Chaperone

I think one of the things that is most interesting about The Drowsy Chaperone is the contrast between the play world and the play within a play world. The world with the Man is a world with many real worldly troubles. He enjoys to forget about his "real life" problems and escape into the roaring 20s world in the Drowsy Chaperone. I think this idea of forgetting about our problems is something everyone can relate to. The world of the musical is much larger than life, in fact it is much larger than the life of the Man. Although some of the characters may be trying to escape, their problems are ones of a different time. Also, they often use songs to determine changing opinions or worries. This is a feature that is only feasible in the world of the Drowsy Chaperone. The importance of the man is to take us in and out of this fantasy world. It allows the audience to be slightly more separated from the world of the Drowsy Chaperone. The audience can easily compare with similarities and differences to modern times without simply getting caught up in the catchy musical attractions.

Three Viewings

I kept struggling to find a connection no one else found; however, all of the connections seemed fairly obvious to me. I believe this was on purpose to blatantly point out the connections between all of these different people. Aside from the funeral home which ties this play together, Margaret Mary attended all of the different funerals.

A more interesting connection, or pattern, I found between the three monologues was held within the structure. In each of the monologues, some surprise is revealed near the end of the piece. For example, throughout most of Tell Tale, the audience believes that Emil is a nice man with a innocent, yet large, crush on a woman. Little does anyone know until the end of his monologue... he is married! The opinion of Emil is immediately altered. Similarly, the second monologue (thief of tears) begins the monologue sounding like a creep. Mac frankly sounds like a terrible person when she talks about stealing things off of corpses, specifically her own grandmothers. At the end of the monologue, she begins to speak sentimentally about grandmaw. By the end of the monologue, the audience has a new, softer opinion of Mac. Finally, in Thirteen things about Ed Carpolotti, the action follows a similar structure. However, this time change in character is not about Virginia. Moreover, the surprise involves the subject of this monologue, her husband. Throughout Virginia's entire story she is telling the audience how her husband died and left her to deal with debt and secrets. However, at the end of the monologue you find out he set everything up to help out Virginia. Everything worked out because he loved her and wanted to care for her. It was a very sweet outcome.

I also thought it was interesting that the last two surprised the audience with sweeter endings than they originally bargained for. This was a neat change from the first monologue.    

On the Verge

This play has many different ideas that could be used for posters and taglines. For my poster, I would like an image of one of the iconic items that they mistakenly name as something else. For example, I think a very interesting poster would be a huge image of cool whip with a quote from the show underneath. For example, it could say "Noxzema!" underneath. I believe this poster would be cute, funny, and also attract an audience simply out of curiosity. I think an accurate tag line for this poster would be exploring the known. These three women begin to gain knowledge as they travel through time and space. So as they travel and explore, they do know more. This also plays on the idea that this show is filled with tons and tons of pop culture references. Therefore, as an audience we see these ladies literally exploring the known. They are viewing many things from our own recent history.  

Fires in the Mirror

When I first read this play, I was also confused by the seemingly random monologues that didn't have to do with the event per say  However, these monologues were chosen for a reason and should be performed to maintain the integrity of this show. These monologues give the audience a sense of the world that was before the Crown Height events took place. These monologues answer questions about both racial communities, as well as their relationship with each other. You get a taste of everyone's daily life. If you didn't have stories from all sides before the murder, then after the murder you would be more likely to take a side or be persuaded by one group. This production allows you to view this event as a grey event, not black or white. It allows you to question everyone involved without choosing a side. Finally, some of these monologues are the funniest in the entire play. Once people begin discussing murder it becomes very difficult to make the play light or funny at all. These opening monologues allow the audience to be entertained and lifted up before the heavy subject matter begins.

Show and Tell Post 2

Most recently, I read Proof by David Auburn. This was written in 2000 and premiered on Broadway the same year. It also won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony for Best Drama. I had to read it for directing class and it was actually my first time reading this play.
This play deals with the delicate balance between brilliance and insanity. I really enjoyed reading this play.
The protagonist is a young woman named Catherine. We learn that her father was a genius mathematician who also suffered from mental illness. This information sets the stage for the play. We immediately begin to search for signs of Catherine following in her father's footsteps.
I loved the motif's of perseverance. Catherine follows in her father's footsteps in order to prove her work, despite her fears of where it will lead her. Catherine continues despite worries from her sister and father's protege. She worries that she will follow in his footsteps; however, she does so unknowingly most of the time. I enjoy the contrast between the intelligent characters and characters of "average" intelligence because there is a constant war between intelligence and common sense. This is part of Robert's downfall. This push and pull between being smart and unstable is what keeps this play moving and interesting.

Detroit

1. A huge example of ambiguity in this play is the question of who the characters are. There are a lot of questions unanswered about Sharon and Kenny. Who are these mysterious new neighbors? How are they moving into the suburb with low level jobs and previous addictions. A lot of things do not add up with this couple. Similarly, a lot of questions about the action in this play are unanswered. Short and outlandish clips of action make the story hard to fully piece together; however, it is clear this choice is intentional. 
2. I am struggling to write about the irony because almost nothing in this script is concrete enough to be considered a reveal to the audience. For example, we infer that Sharon and Kenny may be lying about who they are; however, I am not sure if this hint is considered irony. I do like the connection between all of the injuries and the relationships disintegrating  this is irrelevant but it is a connection I wanted to touch on. Perhaps other examples of dramatic irony occur during the discussions between the ladies and men. Some of the information they divulge their significant others are unaware of. 
3. One of the largest reality checks in this play occurs in the final Act when Ben and Mary finally discover that Sharon and Kenny are not who they seem. This is a clear moment where an outside character is informing Ben and Mary of a fact. It is interesting that these reality checks stand out. This fact says something about this play world and how vague it is. 
I think that ambiguity is most crucial to this story because it makes the story more encompassing. This story takes place in a unstated city with couples that could be like anyone else. The less details, the more poignant this story is. The way it was written, Detroit makes a huge impact on readers. The audience can relate to this story and the horrific thought that this story is not far fetched.