Little Foxez

“This play better be good.” That was the thought I had in my head and the thought I posted on Facebook as I was getting ready to leave. As we were headed towards the city, by train and subway from Long Island, I hoped more and more that this play would keep me entertained. Thank the Lord, it did that and much more.

I have to admit when the play first began it took me a little while to get warmed up to it. I thought the acting was a bit overdone and fake but afterwards as I realized the true intentions of the characters it made sense that they were overdoing it because their characters were putting on a facade. Overall I was really impressed with the actors, especially the woman who played Alexandra and the woman who played Addie. They really did a splendid job. Which also goes to show that there really are no small parts because Addie was one of my favorite characters with her sassy attitude.

When the play first opens up all you notice is purple and big empty stage? What in the world?? Well I have to say I believe the director really made a great choice with the set design. As I surfed youtube on other productions of “Little Foxes” I hated it when they used a very intricate setting. It looked as if someone threw up antiques all over the stage just to fill it up. I preferred the big emptiness much more. I came to the conclusion that the reason they did this was because, as you looked at the stage you could tell that they were wealthy and that they lived in a big house through simple objects, like the chandeliers, and through the way the characters presented themselves. But to make the stage empty just went to show how even though they had so much more than the average joe they felt as though it was not enough and they needed more. I also think it symbolizes the fact that due to their constant search for more material objects, each character ends up “empty” and alone in the end.

Colors really played a big role in this play. Notice how my blog is purple?(kind of…Haha) So I became really curious about the color usage and I decided to go online and research colors. I found some very interesting things. Purple  stands for royalty(as if you didn’t know already) and another interesting thing is that it also stands for being artificial because it is rare in nature. Just like Regina who was wealthy but fake at the same time. Her whole life was fake. She never really showed her true self to anyone until the very end when she made all her needs known. All Regina wants is power, and lots of it. She and her brothers are all very ambitious. When Regina first comes out she is wearing all black which denotes strength and authority. She came off all powerful from the very beginning. On the contrary, Birdie is wearing red which is the color of fire and blood. It stands for passion, desire and love as well as war, danger, power and determination which is why Oscar and Ben were wearing them as well. Oscar and Ben though were wearing a darker red which actually stands for malice, wrath and leadership. Going back to Birdie I believe that her character was actually very strong. She might have started out as weak but as time went on she became stronger. You could especially tell this when Oscar is beating her up and she keeps getting up and walking towards him confidently. I felt that this was sending the strong message that you can keep hitting me but you will never bring me down.

As the play went on Regina changed her color scheme toward more beige and brown colors which represent stability and denote masculine qualities. Throughout the play we see that Regina does not like how men in this society are regarded higher than women when she herself could be just like them if not better.

The girl who played Alexandra was simply amazing. She was really into character throughout the whole show and for someone so young I think she showed a lot of potential. After talking with my classmates I seem to have been the only one who actually teared up when she was asking her uncle to stop her mom and dad from fighting (I’m such a baby…I know :p). Another moment that was almost a tear jerker for me was when Birdie was talking about the past with Oscar and she started pounding the wall like a mad woman. I could feel all the pain she went through just by that powerful moment. It was crazy. I also want to comment on Addie because I fell in love with her character. Her attitude was hilarious especially when she was talking about Alexandra getting married and she was like “Over my dead body.” If I were to play any character in that play I think I’d choose Addie.

One last thing…I promise. We discussed in class how many people were shocked that they used the N word. Unfortunately I have to say that I really wasn’t shocked. I guess I kind of expected it because I knew what time period the play took place. I also feel that I’ve been exposed to that word so many times listening to my friends that it doesn’t really shock me anymore. It shocks me if they use it in a bad connotation but I’ve only really been exposed to it in a playful manner.

Lastly here is a funny video i found online on a parody of “Little Foxes.” I’m only going to post part one but if you really like it you can find part 2 on youtube. :p Peace out.