Oct 29 2012
The Divided Housing Crash
Then I began to take an interest in the play when the stock market and housing crash of 2008 began to be portrayed. This had a strong emotional connection for me because I was a trader during the 2008 market crash. I remembered how bad some bank stocks crashed and remembered the fear and uncertainty during the time. One thing I noticed about the play was that the some of the stock prices during that time were wrong. JP Morgan Chase’s stock was never 62 dollars. Bear Stern’s stock was never six dollars. While most people would never notice these inaccuracies, I did. Also, some stock prices movements were wrong, like Bank of America’s stock being up over 100 percent in a day. This never happened during the financial crisis.
I liked the humor of the two stock traders and how they argued and made fun of each other. It reminded me of some of the experiences I had while trading and reminded me of some of friends that are traders. I also liked how you could visualize their lives.
I thought the tie in into the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was creative,but I felt that it made the play boring. I liked how the play incorporated some of the fear during the time by having interviews with Lehman Brothers CEO. I felt the close up interviewers were done very well and that the use of a foreclosed house was very creative.
Image Source: http://www.bam.org/media/312114/2012_NWF_Mainstage_HouseDivided_613x463.jpg
As you said, I never would have picked up on those inaccuracies if I wasn’t personally involved in the crisis at the time in which it happened. Do you think that they hurt the meaning that the production was trying to convey? Also, why do you think the producers did this? Was it perhaps on purpose to exaggerate the meaning they were trying to convey or was it an overlooked, careless error? I also have to agree that the scenes that alluded to the Grapes of Wrath added a boring edge to the production as a whole. However, obviously they were necessary in the play. I also think that they did the best job that could be done considering how bland and boring the material they were producing was.
No, I don’t think that this inaccuracy hurt the message that this production was trying to convey. I think the producers did this to highlight the dramatic fluctuations in stock prices. It was probably done to exaggerate the meaning they were trying to convey. I agree with you that they did a really great job and that the scenes from the Grapes of Wrath were needed.