Tag: Department of Theatre & Drama

REVIEW: Junk: The Golden Age of Debt

IseeUsee Leave a comment

I don’t know where to begin. Junk was a phenomenal show and the team behind it really put effort into every. single. detail.

Let’s begin with the actors. It is hard to think who acted the best because all of them were so good. The plot of this play was quite corporate and the actors carried the theme of the play well.
They spoke dialogues in a believable tone such that I could see real CEOs speaking like that. Their strong delivery also made it stage-worthy. They combined the best of both worlds to up the stakes of the story.

Another star of the show was the set design. I have rarely seen such a well-integrated setup. The set was designed perfectly. It wasn’t meant to be beautiful but to go complement the plot. And complement the plot it did. They had lightboxes that synced up fast-paced music and blinked. It reminded me of stockbroking and the 80s architectural design. The audience also got to see the set being dismantled when a company lost its financing. To see that happen at the very end was just amazing. It reminded me of how important people working behind the scenes of a show are.

The techniques used in the play for phone conversations were nice and brought out the interconnectedness of the characters in the play. The costumes were well designed and fit the 1980s period (the play is set in 1985). Despite the play being set in the 80s, it had a topic as relevant as could be. Its similarities to the 2008 financial crisis and the chaos of the Gamestop situation reminded the audience of the stakes involved when people play around with stocks.

I really liked the ending of the play (I won’t spoil it for you). It highlighted how much money rules everybody. Some accept the cards they’ve been dealt with, some try to hack the system, and so on. The protagonist tries to hack the system and we see how he too gets trapped by it and it’s all a game of numbers. The system speaks in another language and only some can understand it and those who do try to get to the top. Others might have different interpretations of the ending but I think it was about the irrationality of who gets the most money.

The show got a standing ovation from the audience so you know everyone loved it. It showed a lot about the financial world and the power of money without being too dramatic or obvious. It was a great show!

REVIEW: Hay Fever

csatter

In their delightfully funny and entertaining production, The School of Music, Theatre & Dance brings Noël Coward’s comedy Hay Fever, full of eccentric characters, witty dialogue, and intriguing plot, to life. Set in the English countryside during the 1920s, Hay Fever is centered around the Bliss family, Judith, David, Sorel, and Simon, a somewhat bizarre cast of characters who have a very theatrical lifestyle. The play takes place over the course of a weekend, when each member of the Bliss family has invited a romantic interest to stay at the house without telling any of the other family members. Unsurprisingly, numerous misunderstandings and hilariously awkward situations ensue.

One of the best features of the performance was the strength of the cast. Although the portrayals of the Bliss family were all wonderful, Liz Raynes’ portrayal of mother Judith, a retired actress longing for drama and a return to the stage was particularly great. The cohesiveness of the group and the ease with which they interacted with each other created a great family dynamic which let all of the members shine. Not be overlooked though, were the strong portrayals of the four houseguests, Richard, Sandy, Myra, and Jackie. Arguably just as eccentric as the Bliss family, the houseguests’ distinct characters highlighted the outrageousness of the Bliss family and added humor to all aspects of the play.

Although great separately, when the Bliss family and the houseguests came together, the result was spectacular. One such moment was during the second act when after a series of misunderstandings and accidental run-ins by Judith, half of the houseguests find themselves engaged to members of the family, while the other half are being held responsible for breaking up a marriage. As the houseguests look on in horror, Judith alternates from dramatically accusing everyone of hurting her to accepting the turn of events. Matching her theatricality, the rest of the family gets in on the fun and plays along. The highlight of the scene, however, is when, to the confusion of the guests, Judith and the children seamlessly break into a scene from one of Judith’s plays. As the audience roared with laughter and the houseguests cowered in the corner, the Bliss family took center stage and showed just how hilariously outrageous they could be.

Overall, Hay Fever, was a wonderfully entertaining production filled with great acting and lots of laughs. I highly recommend seeing it. Hay Fever runs through Sunday 2/23. Tickets can be purchased at the Michigan League Box Office.

Preview: “Pentecost’

krithika

The University of Michigan Department of Theatre & Drama kicks off the year with a compelling and well-acclaimed  drama, David Edgar’s “Pentecost”, a play that was originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The play opened on October 7th.

Pentecost, courtesy Dept. of Theatre & Drama
"Pentecost", courtesy Dept. of Theatre & Drama

The theme for the play seems pretty intriguing. It is set in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The drama  is set in an unused church in an Eastern European country. A museum curator discovers a fresco which she believes may be valuable to restore her country’s image. She has many people vying for its ownership. Meanwhile, a group of  refugees from various ethnicities take over the church and  hold the historians hostage.The refugees share their woeful tales in their own language and the resulting confusion and interaction among the various characters forms the basis of the play.

Just one unknown foreign language can confuse us. Imagine Bulgarian, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Sinhalese and others in the same play.  That too without translation. Wow, that would be interesting!

Malcolm Tulip is the director of this challenging drama. It is a tough one as the acting has to be really good to convey what language can’t as surely the audience would not know all the languages! And the theme is significant too in context of multitude of  immigrants trying to flee to countries with stable societies.

If you are wondering about the title of the play, it is from the Bible. The Holy Spirit descends over the Apostles and gives them different languages to converse. Surprisngly, the Apostles find that they can still understand each other and language is no longer a boundary. A very fit title for this drama indeed!

This will be the last week of the performances! So do catch the show.

Show times: Oct 15,16 @ 8 pm and Oct 17 @ 2 pm at the Arthur Miller Theatre

Tickets at the League Ticket Office!