An Interesting End
I was lucky enough to go to the play with the others on Wednesday. I was very afraid, at first, that I wouldn’t enjoy it because of the review my friend gave me about her opinion of the play when she went to see it with her class. I’m glad that my fears were proven to be ungrounded. It was a good performance with a great combination of music and body language.
The play was enthralling; it really helped to make the story more clear to hear it out loud with the emotions and bodies moving in front of your eyes, rather than just reading it. At the start of the play I thought it was moving a bit slowly but it’s development of the story kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting and wanting to see more. Boy Willie really irked me the moment he appeared on stage, and i think it was my anger towards Willie that contributed most to my enjoyment of the performance. I think the fact that I felt such intense emotion shows how good the actors were. Another good example of this is how sad I felt when Winning Boy arrives drunk and plays his song for Cleotha.
I am very glad that the characters became so much more relatable and real when they are actually given life. I remember thinking that the characters seemed unrealistic and somewhat over the top when I was reading the play; and even though Bernice and Boy Willie still seemed slightly unrealistic, the actors’ interactions with each other made me forget all about the strange personality quirks.
All in all it was a very enjoyable performance. The only complaint I had was the ending. I know that its very hard to do things along the lines of ghosts, and poltergeists with a live performance, but the way they did it was very … I guess the best word I can think of is, childish. The way Boy Willie fought against the invisible foe reminded me of how a child would fight with an imaginative friend or the like, with very exaggerated movements. Other than the way the characters were acted out the rest of the scene was very well done. They made the lights flicker while making the main light blueish, and even lowered the room’s temperature, so I have to give the props for that.
I guess I would give it a 7 out of 10?
Bottom line: It was enjoyable but it wasn’t great, and the end just this awkward feeling all over the place.
Posted: November 26th, 2012 under Reviews, Theater.
