Saturday night the RC Players presented “Red Eye”, their 24 hour theater spectacular. During the last 24 hours the members wrote, produced and rehearsed two original shows, so that by 8 pm they were ready to perform. Well, almost. Due to technical difficulties the show didn’t begin until almost 8:30 pm. Though they played catchy tunes, by the time it started the audience was getting a little restless.
The performance got underway with a piece called “Berning the Matriarchs”. And yes, Bernie Sanders was featured as the kidnapped president. In addition, this show drew on a wide collection of female symbols of American nationality (our matriarchs), as well as a slightly confusing “Batwoman”, to create a play that was against corporations and pro Bernie Sanders. In an almost counterproductive measure the villain of the story was also a woman, who fought against the “matriarchs”. The person who saved the day was a man named Carl; he just wanted to dance and not get pushed around by the mean matriarchs anymore. It was a funny show that incorporated a lot of chicken based puns (which makes since because the villain was a half-chicken woman…I think), political riffs, and elaborate dance moves. While I don’t think the show was as feminist as it was trying to be, as none of the women in the show were characters I could root for, it definitely promoted sexual orientation inclusivity (two of the matriarchs finally admitted they still had feelings for each other), and smashed big businesses, namely KFC.
These seemed to be the common themes of the night. In “Love is a Battleship”, the show consistently put down the Bath and Body Works franchise and ended with two women getting married. The story consisted of an interesting combination of mice and men (this allusion was mentioned in the show) and women. And a cyborg named Boobies. It capitalized on physical humor at moments while also still getting to its message about freedom and acceptance. No character exemplified this more than the Owen Wilson impersonation that just about stole the show. Performed by Sara Head, her Wilson, his daddy issues, and the repeated catchphrase of “woooow” had people rolling in the aisles.
Overall, despite the slow start, it was a fun evening! “Red Eye” continues to show the amazing amount that one can accomplish in just 24 hours and I can’t wait to see what they turn out next semester.
