Theater day was an exciting and unique experience that Ill never forget. Ive watched a few Broadway plays before like Phantom of the Opera and Shrek the musical, but Ive never gotten so close and personal to the plays themselves. Reading “The Indian Wants the Bronx” beforehand, I had pretty high expectations about what would be illustrated through the actors and scenery. However, I was quite disappointed because I felt the storyline itself wasn’t realistic along with the acting. At first, this confused Indian walks onto stage and I couldnt even see his face clearly because of the bad lighting. Then, as the play went on, I didnt enjoy seeing Murph and Joey go at it again and again. I felt like the audience got that they were unstable and “mean people” and it didnt have to be emphasized so much. I felt kind of special that I understood what the Indian was saying during the play but also felt weird and curious about how people around me were understanding what was going on. However in the end I felt like my understanding of the language didn’t really affect my viewing as I was still not satisfied with the play. I did understand Joey and Murph’s issues and mental instability which contributed to the way they behaved with the Indian and felt some sympathy but didnt think the situation was realistic at all. I felt like asking, “Why didn’t the Indians son pick him up or know his whereabouts?!”Overall, I think the writing of the plot was on the weaker side and could’ve been more believable.
I completely was not in tune with “What Strong Fences Make” throughout the whole play. I didn’t hear a word of what was said and I don’t think the audience members should have to try so hard to try to pay attention and listen to the actors. I think the costumes were unrealistic and staging was horrible. I didnt get much out of it except that there were two guys that were friends from before and then “Boom!”, there was an explosion. I didnt enjoy it like many people and felt like if we had heard it better, it could have been a better experience.
I definitely think that third play, “Beirut Rocks” was my favorite because I related to it the most, but also because it was better than the other two. Having done a scene from it during the theater workshop i knew it would be controversial and a touchy subject. However, I looked forward to how Horowitz would portray the characters and approach the subject. I think the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict gets people very emotional and felt like the play did an “okay” job of its portrayal. I liked that Horowitz tried to make it unbiased but I still think many people took offense and didn’t think that going that deep into the topic was appropriate for the audience. Maybe if everyone had some educational background on what was going on, it would’ve been more fitting but I think many people weren’t in that place. Even though Benji and Nasa seemed like total opposites, I feel like they had a lot more in common than they realized. I also felt a connection to Nasa because coming from a Muslim background, I know how it feels like to be looked at differently and to be misunderstood about your views on the world. I was in shock when they revealed Nasa from under her burka and I felt offended for her. I think that this made it realistic for me and the fact that I felt an emotional connection to her made the experience so much better. Overall, this topic is ongoing and is bound to show up in our lives so I think its good it was addressed but maybe this sort of representation was a little inappropriate. However, the plays’ realistic characters, costumes, and sound effects enhanced the experience for me and I loved it in the end!
