On May 5th, I watched the production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside. While I do enjoy musicals, I tend to have a drier sense of humor and was worried the comedy would not resonate with me. With this paper, I will be addressing the performance space, the design elements, and the major strengths.
When I arrived, I took notice of the details available. I was taken in by the colorful floor and at the time I was thinking of a conveyer belt. I liked the two chairs with the details of the masks. When the curtain came up and I saw the very detailed and colorful set, I immediately thought of Universal Studios in Orlando and the Dr. Sues land. I am not sure if that was the intention, but I was then thinking this would be a very silly play. The attention to detail was very good, including the water coming out of the lion’s mouths and how this element was part of the script. The bust of Domina was very intricate and looked just like her. Even with the three very detailed buildings, the stage was large enough for the large
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cast and dance numbers, and there was space between the building for room to run around. There were porches on the buildings which were used and they were even able to stand on the roof. The floor which I initially thought of as a conveyor belt I finally noticed was part of the scroll that went up the wall. I thought the attention to detail on this was amazing and my favorite part of the set. I felt the proscenium configuration worked well with this production, every part of the stage was accessible and there was plenty of room for the actors to move around and use every bit of the stage. I enjoyed the design elements of the set and the costume and their contrast in the play. While the set was very colorful, the costumes, for the most part were in black and white. I enjoyed this distinction, which made everything visually stand out for me. Even though the costumes were in black and white, there was tremendous variety in them, no one costume was the same and everyone’s role in the play could be distinguished. I also liked that on the costumes, they were not uniform in the design, each side was a little different and this drew interest. I liked how on the Proteans, not even their socks matched. The costumes were also easy and flowing and the actors were easily able to run around and do their dance numbers. With the three slaves, the Proteans having distinct roles through the play, their costumes were easily adapted to show the different characters they were playing. The greatest strength of this play was the actor Alex Griffin playing Pseudolus.
He had an excellent singing voice and great comedic timing. He commanded the stage and I noticed all the facial expressions. I also appreciated the Proteans and especially enjoyed their facial expression especially on the actor Jarrod Langwinski. Miles Gloriosus played by Hannah Anderson did an excellent job of playing the character of the captain. She commanded the stage and even though she was playing a typically male character, you would never know. I think the changing of several characters in sex, added to the amusement of the play and added another dimension. I found the song and dance numbers amusing and upbeat and really added to the overall telling of the story. The chase scene at the end of the play was well done and I liked how they could use all the spaces in the stage and how everything was
coordinated. I enjoyed the overall ambiance of this play, the set, the costumes, and the musical numbers. I found several actors did an excellent job of their characters and I enjoyed how the gender roles were mixed up. While the comedy parts still might not be for me, I can appreciate the play for the other elements and the work put into it. Everything worked well together, and I enjoyed the attention to detail. I found the songs catchy and well done, and the choreography was well put together. On a side note, I enjoyed your daughters dancing and moving her arms around during the dance numbers.
Overall, I enjoyed this play. Even with the dull ending, I found it to be entertaining and a good use of my time. The cast was great and they made good use of a decent
The choreography kept things interesting and the dances in a musical can make or break the performance. Overall, Cherie and Abby did an amazing job directing each person to have a place among a crowded stage. Last but not least, the costumes! This play was set in the 1890s, meaning it is very important to have correlating costumes so the audience can be aware of what time period they are in.
Their acting chops were very impressive whether it was comedic, emotional, or just stunning overall. Yet, on the other hand, some minor characters weren’t as well heard as others. I feel as the play could be better if some of the minor characters had projected their voice more, allowing their character to be known. However, although some voices were much stronger than others, all actors were full of talent, capable of dealing with script’s requirements, and did a good job
The set of the play was built decent and looked the same. The only thing I didn't like was some of color of the stones that were painted on the walls. But, that’s just my opinion. However, I did have fun splatter painting those walls and the stairs during class. I liked how there was platforms and different ground levels, that made it more interesting. Rather than just having the stage ground there were stairs you could go up or down which set it apart. Overall, I liked the set and I thought it was built well and sturdy.
As far as acting, the performers were able to convey the feelings they needed to. However, some characters such as Ol' Cap'n played by Dick Lambert and Luttibelle played by April Curry, seemed more committed and engaging in their roles than others. A crucial factor in April Curry portraying her role so well was her vocal talent far exceeded that of any of the other major performers. She had an amazing voice that I was dazzled by from curtain up to down and left me craving for more. This almost compensated for my disappointment when it came to the ensemble singing to the soundtrack. Many performers were dependent on the cd and were not confident as to when to begin or stop singing, which dampered many moments of the performers. Another element of acting that I enjoyed was the exaggerated use of cooning throughout the duration of the performance that brought characters to life, and enabled certain moments to seem real.
I thought this play was very tacky in a sense. There were only three actors in the play. Seth Reichgott one the actors played 13 different characters. James Goode plated up to 16 different characters.
...transition between each stage was flawless. I enjoyed that screens were used to create the background for each scene allowing for the smooth transitions. The screens gave the appearance of being three-dimensional making the scenes seem much more real. I also enjoyed the lighting being used as spotlights during some of the scenes and being used as a transition between scenes, or day and evening.
I feel the University of Illinois Department of Theatre choose this play because it was a great play to surprise you on how much you may like theatre. Personally, I really enjoyed the play because all of the assignments I have completed I saw put into work. It made me think about things I could’ve done to be more creative with my treatments, which made me appreciative of the play. For example, the thunderstorm added sound effects, a background, and water dropping to enhanced the experience of the audience. Another example would be how all the actor were on point at all points of the play. I thought to myself if you are not one of the main people talking at the moment, you would be talking about random things or doing nothing, but this was not the case. I looked around at all the actors and they all played their roles and took even their smaller roles
Throughout the musical, the prowess of each individual performer was on display. Every performer, with the exception of Kristine, expressed a power and vibrato that was breathtaking; the highest notes lilting and the lowest notes thundering. I was in awe during a majority of the performances because of the commanding singing in each performer.
The most successful aspect of the performance for me were the scene changes. I found that the rotation of the blackboard, center stage, where the actors were able to stoop beneath it in order to enter and exit the stage, was an effective touch to this non naturalistic performance. When this was first used, at the end of the first scene, when the characters Ruth and Al left the stage, I thought it didn't quite fit as at the beginning the style was leaning towards realism. But as the play progressed and the acting style became more and more non naturalistic, and this rotation of the black board technique was used more frequently it fitted in really well and became really effective.
Since this is a review and its based on my opinion, I would have to say this was one of the worst plays I've ever seen in my life. I wasn't entertained by the play at all. The only good parts were the good-looking girls in the play. I like the main character Marisol based only on her looks. She played on ok job of acting. I realize she had a lot of lines to memorize which she had down, but she just didn't get to me. I think the costumes were ok. They had nothing special, or out of the ordinary except for the angel's wings, which were pretty nice. I didn't like the lighting or the scenery. I didn't know where the scene was supposed to be at some points.
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
The bold personality of Adolfo, played by Joey Rodriguez, was excellent. The ditziness of Kitty played by Torrie Hughes was on the spot. My favorite character was the drowsy chaperone, played by Aylin White. She was so charismatic! Although she had a very small part in the entirety of the play, her scenes were my favorite. Not to mention her voice is amazing, especially in, “We Stumble Along”. The relationship between the gangsters, played by Cameron Lang and Calvin Chervinko, and their ability to work together made the food pun scenes flawless. I thought that the best man, George, played by Patrick Leaton, looked nervous in the “Cold Feets” musical number and I couldn’t tell if that was part of the scene or whether he was trying really hard to not mess up. One character I did not understand was Trix, played by Marybeth Torres. She did a great job, I just didn’t like her character
Everything was well played and the sound effects did go with each scene. There were some parts where the characters would interact with the audience (i.e. Music). I thought that was creative. Some plays don’t interact with the audience making the play serious and formal. The costumes the characters were wearing were also creative. Changing the costumes is changing their character. The change in costume aids in helping tell the story by knowing what is going on with what character. I liked how all of them at one point played a woman which I found to be hilarious. There were only 4 actors who covered all of the other character. Each actor played more than 3 characters throughout the play which shows that they were able to change emotions and plots very
The director did a fantastic job at creating a stage a beautiful storytelling stage. The audience had a change to be part of the play because of the proximity of the seats to the stage. Some people sat on chairs while other sat on decorated seating pillows. For such wonderful story, I thought this was an effective way to keep the audience engage. On the stage, they had circular shaped boxes colored with blue patterns and the actors used them thought the play.