Critique on Arsenic and Old Lace
On Thursday, April 7th I attended the production Arsenic and Old Lace at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre. I have never heard of this play so I was very interested to see what it was about. The three main factors that I focused on was the lighting, scenery, and costumes they all had great detail but there were a couple mistakes that I believed should have been improved.
The lighting was good it was a simple yellow light that focused on the production most of the time during the play. It helped the scenery look like it was really from back in the day. It connected well to the time that it was supposed to take place in. Another thing I liked was when the lights at some points focused all on one character when they
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were talking to make you have all your attention towards them. Also when they were doing the lighting for making the time go by faster was cool. It gave a good illusion that it was. The lighting was well done. The scenery I thought was really interesting.
I couldn’t tell if the wallpaper on the set was from either spattering or feathering it gave it a good texture whatever they had done. I liked all the pictures it gave it a more olden days kind of look. The only thing wrong with the pictures was a couple times when they were slamming the door on the set they would move and become crooked. I especially like the deer on the wall with the single eyeglass it gave it character. The stairs seemed like a good touch because it lets you believe there was more than one floor. That window that people would look out of whenever they thought someone was there was cool. I would have never thought of having that I would think that there might have been a peep hole on the front door or maybe a curtain next to the door. The window seat was probably my favorite part of the whole set. It was interesting that they could fit anyone in there. I could imagine that they probably had an opening on the other side to put real people or dummies in and out. Another part of the scenery that I thought could have been improved was the illusion of going downstairs. I wonder if they could have found a way to make it look like they were walking down the stars instead of sideways. Other than that it was enjoyable.
The costuming was unique. I felt like they had the proper attire for its time. I was especially shocked when the two ants walked down the stairs in their funeral clothing. I was not prepared for black gowns
and the black veils. They fit the aunts because they seemed like they were the unique over the top kind of people. The only thing that I did not enjoy was, even though it might be considered under makeup, but it is connected to the costume was Jonathan stitching. In my opinion, I didn’t think it looked that good and should have been improved a little bit. In conclusion lighting, scenery, and costumes were good besides a few things. For the lighting I thought was done well. The scenery what I thought could have been improved was making sure the pictures wouldn’t move whenever a door slammed on set. Also to see if they could of found a way to make the down stairs look like they were going down instead of sideways. For costuming the only thing I found wrong that is probably connected to makeup was Johnathan scar. Other than that, I thought it was an enjoyable play.
The setup of the stage was very simple. It was the living room of a home in the early 1980’s. It looked like a normal household, and it had small things such as crumpled up pieces of paper lying around the wastebasket. It also had a couch, circular class table and a recliner in the living room. The dining room was to the left side of the stage and only had the dining table and surrounding chairs. There was a door in the back of the set where characters entered and exited through. Beside the door was a table and stool where Willum presumably worked on his blueprints for the hotel. The lighting design was great; it put you into the atmosphere of the
The Hippodrome setting played a big role in the success of the play, because the seats were close to the stage, which made the audience feel more intimate with the actors. The set was filled with everyday electronics and video games that were popular with today’s generation, and it was good way to capture the attention of the younger audience. The costumes worked for the actors because they were outfits that teens and young adults would wear, which made it easier to relate to the characters. The lighting for the production was awesome because it went well with the sound effects. For example, when Ian was doing a simulation for his new job, he set off a missile and when it exploded the lights changed from blue to red to symbolize seriousness of the situation.
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.
The production had many elements which for the most part formed a coalition to further the plot. The characters, the three part scenery and costumes represented well the period of time these people were going through. As far as the performers entering and exiting the stage, it could have been more organized. There were a few times when the performers exited at the wrong times or it seemed so due to the echo of the music. At certain moments the music was slightly loud and drowned the performers. Many of the songs dragged on, so the pacing could have been more effectively executed. Though the music was off at times, the director's decision to have most of the songs performed center sage was a wise one. Also the implementation of actual white characters that were competent in their roles came as a great surprise to the audience and heightened the realism.
The Music Man made interesting use of the technical aspects of theatre. Sound was used appropriately, as music from the monitors did not overpower the voices of the actors. Lights, however, did not leave any sort of impression on me. Hardly any lights were utilized to enhance the mood were present. This caused for less emphasization on spectacle than what would be expected of such a dramatic play. Although, intricate costumes and set made up for the dull lighting techniques.
The lighting in this movie is very effective. It helps to establish the characters very well. The audience is helping in distinguishing the bad and the good characters through the lighting. The movie overall is very stylized. There are some other strange lighting patterns brought out by Hype Williams, but by far the most effective lighting patterns are ones that help to characterize the main players in the film.
The lighting played a major role in setting the tone for both the theatre performance and the movie. In both the film and play, the lighting was dimmed and the non-important elements, such as background elements, were often hidden in the shadows. In the film the murky lighting also hid Todd in the shadows, in order to increase the suspense and further emphasize his intimidating demeanor. In the play,
When reading through Arsenic and Old Lace I didn’t catch the humor at first. When just reading through the events that happen, it sounds very dark and demented, until later in the script when the crazy events keep happening and it’s impossible not to find comedy in their absurdity. Watching the film version also brought to my attention the comedic value in the character’s reactions to what is happening. I felt that Arsenic and Old Lace expressed comedic most predominately through farce, situational, and character centered comedy.
The setting was cluttered with upside chairs and a dark blue color all across the stage. I liked that everything was cluttered to represent the feeling that the characters did not what to with their life. The setting was boxes stacked on top of each other of both sides of the stage. I didn’t like their setting structure because I only felt that it matched with the waterfall scene in Puerto Rico.
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.
The wardrobe and setting were excellent. The clothes the actor wore were so authentic and representative of the times. I had a conversation with my grandmother and she reminisced with me about the times in which this movie took place. She told me stories of her youthful days. She raised her nine children on Long Island in the state of New York. She witnessed the power of the mafia in the time when the mob ruled. While watching the movie she pointed out several things she had remembered from her youth. There were signs on restaurants and businesses that read, “we have air conditioning” a sign of the times. Signs that advertised things that are either not available today or completely obsolete filled the background. Air conditioning was in its early stages of development. Today I don’t think anyone would patronize a place of business that did not have air conditioning.
When you first enter the theater, you are immediately in awe of the strongest aspect of this production: the set. The stage features a life-sized enchanted forest with “tress” as tall as the ceiling and a lit-up backdrop of a twilight sky. The tress would move around throughout the performance to make way for different scenes. In front of your very eyes, an enchanted forest would turn into the outside of a charming house with a lit porch and a well. The twilight sky would turn to a starlit sky and a soft spotlight simulating moonlight would compliment the faint sound of crickets. Suddenly the house and tress move around and you’re in a town with a little cart selling baguettes, or a lush dining room with Victorian wallpaper, a chandelier, and china displayed on the walls. The world shakes once again and now you’re in, inevitably, a ballroom. A white Victorian gate opens up to become the walls of the ballroom, and a white marble bridge and staircase appear for the outside of the castle. Adults and children alike were in awe of the craftsmanship and technology.
The new production by David McVicar looked like something that was raided from old sets of Die Walkure. Norma's house looks a lot like Hunding's hut, and the centerpiece of the Druid command center was an enormous tree. I really thought Norma was going to pull a sword from the tree. The costumes by Moritz Junger were nondescript dark drapes for most everybody.
There wasn’t any particular scene on stage that made me doubt the integrative work of the director since all the staging work such as lighting, design, costumes and performance were well coordinated and blended for a very good production. The lights were well positioned with well fitted costumes and a very ideal scene to match. There wasn’t much change of scenes in the play except for some movement of tables and chairs. There was an entrance and exit for the performers which made their movements uninterrupted. There was a loud sound of a bell when school was over while the lights were dimmed whenever there was a change of scene. The pace of the production was very smooth since one scene followed the other without delay and most likely because most of the performers wore the same costume; especially all eight students wore the same costume for the entire