I could never understand why my mom thought that good actors in a movie/play could be reason enough to watch it. For me, it was all about the plot and I did not want to depend on the actor’s skill to make up for the story line. “The Break of Noon” proved me wrong on that end because it was the actors who had to make or break the play (for lack of a good plot) and I actually enjoyed watching them do it.
Unfortunately, I found the storyline to be painfully clichéd. The story of a man who received a message from above is as old as life itself, and its context out of religion and on a stage seemed forced. Though I am a moderate believer, I couldn’t get myself to take the story seriously and this undermined any interest I had in the plot. As a result of the unnatural setting for the story, David Duchovny’s character also seemed out of his comfort zone. At times, I felt strained listening to his pronunciations because they seemed fake and over-played. This wasn’t, however, Duchovny’s fault. It was his character who just didn’t fit in a play that just didn’t fit, with me at least.
Duchovny’s acting on its own was wonderful, however, as was that of all of the actors. Despite my not being able to get into the plot, I appreciated their performances and admired their skill. They were quite entertaining and the passion that they put into their acting made for an enjoyable experience. I viewed their recitals as isolated events, however, and tried to take the most out of them, out of the context of a play. I saw in them aspects that I had learned at a Shakespeare workshop and acting class and respected the actor’s mastery of the skills that I had learned there. Without an engaging plot to tie it all together, I took the scenes in isolation as sad, funny and/or insightful lone moments.
The other thing that the play afforded me was a few surprises. The shocking light and sound effects in-between the scenes sent my adrenaline rushing, though not enough to warm me up from the air conditioning that was blowing in my face throughout the play. Before the performance began, I had asked the theater’s show master to lower the air conditioning and she had promised to, but apparently, had not done much to that end because I was forced to watch the show in my jacket and gloves and with my scarf wrapped around my head. This constant chill made the experience quite unpleasant, even though I tried my best to keep my mind on the stage. I was surprised when only four people came out to bow at the end because I had thought that every actor only had one role, which works to underscore the dramatic success of the actors. They really made the show for me.
