I think one main downfall of Seminar was the high expectation that I went in with. With a cast of amazing actors such as Alan Rickman, Lily Rabe, and Jerry O’Connell, I was expected to be blown away. Also, reading that the play was one of the genre “Dark Comedy,” I was very excited to be laughed to tears at jokes such as the ones from Behanding in Spokane. But this was not the case, as I sat and watched Seminar.
I have to sadly state that I did miss Alan Rickman’s first entrance. I had gotten a stomach ache earlier on, before the show had started, but was unable to make it to the bathroom as the line wound around the lounge about three times. I had to escape from my center seat to go to the bathroom mid-scene. This was my first frightening experience of leaving a theatre when the lights were down. Sitting in the bathroom, I could hear the chuckles and applause from the audience above me. I knew when Alan Rickman had emerged when the applause and screams hit the roof; I cried.
Anyway, back to the actual play. It is about a group of college students who hire an arrogant writing teacher to help them with their creative writing. He bashes them and ridicules them. He seems to be a sexist as he picks on Kate’s (Lily Rabe) feminism. He is hard on them because he is hard on himself. He used to be a writer until he was accused of plagiarism. He could never bring himself to write publicly again.
The ending is uplifting for the students in that all of them receive what they need. They get published, or are given some tips by Leonard (Rickman). But for some reason, the play seems void of something. I wasn’t able to sympathize with Leonard’s heartbreak. I wasn’t able to connect, really, to any of the characters and their quirks. The comedy was there, but not how I expected it to be. I wanted something more from such a talented and famous cast. I wanted to be stunned, jaw open, eyes wide. But I wasn’t. It was okay.
Seminar
Golden Theatre
November 12, 2011
Marina B. Nebro
