“The Little Foxes” is the first and most fantastic play that I have ever seen. I had chills from the moment that the play began. The play began with this eerie music blasting from the speakers. Because I was sitting so close to the speakers, the music actually scared me for a second and made me feel like I was in an old-fashioned horror movie. I think that this music was an excellent way to start off the play because the eeriness and evil quality of the music blended perfectly with how wickedly the characters behaved. The music got my heart racing and elevated the ominous mood of the play for me, such as when Horace tried (unsuccessfully) to get to his bedroom for his medicine and all Regina did was watch. The music was an especially important part of this scene because there was no dialogue in this scene. Every time Regina’s heels stabbed the staircase as she followed Horace to his bedroom, the music got louder and emphasized Regina’s intentions to let her husband die.
My favorite actress was the actress who played Birdie. Birdie was my favorite character as well because she was so good compared to her dirty husband and his siblings. I think that the actress who played Birdie did an excellent job showing Birdie’s childlike and innocent attitude. The actress jumped and danced around the stage and crawled eagerly on the floor, just like a child would. I also think that the actress did an excellent job showing how emotionally scarred Birdie was inside. The scene where Birdie broke down and confessed how unhappy she was made me feel such pity for her. What really drove the point home for me was the way that the actress utilized the purple walls to show how trapped Birdie was. The actress pounded her fists and her body against the wall like she was so broken down inside, but just could not escape. Because I was so close to the stage, I could hear the thumping every time Birdie beat the wall. That made the scene more real for me. At the conclusion of the play, I felt the worst for Birdie because as far as I know, she was still stuck with her pig of a husband.
When I thought about the scenery further, I realized that the purple walls actually did a lot to show how trapped the characters were. For example, when Regina revealed to her husband how much she despised him, she just put her head to the wall and scratched it over and over with her hands. It was as if all Regina wanted to get past those walls and free herself, but she couldn’t because she was a female. I think that Regina turning her face towards the wall instead of towards her husband also shows how much she hated him. She couldn’t even look bring herself to look her husband in the face…although she seemed to have no problem watching him die.
The Little Foxes commented on two major issues: the inferior treatment of women and racial tensions. This play commented on the inferior treatment of women because the women were beaten around a lot. Leo grabbed Alexandra’s hair, Ben shoved Regina to the floor and hit her, and Oscar punched Birdie over and over until she fell down. The men constantly asserted their control over the women through violence.
Racial tensions were also brought up in this play. First, the Hubbard’s dropped derogatory words so frequently, I’m surprised their tongues didn’t fall off! They even said these words right in front of their servants. Racial tensions were also brought up in the play when it was revealed that the Hubbards would exploit the poor black and white people to make their millions from the cotton mill. They would increase the tensions between the two groups of people and drive down wages to increase their profit. It disgusted me that people could do such a thing. However, I’m glad that Alexandra vowed to fight this type of wickedness. Someone had to.
