Little Foxes Blog By Rebecca Gagliardotto

I felt that the acting was superb! I felt strongly about every single character. I hated all of the Hubbards and loved pretty much everyone else.

The Hubbards are the very definition of a dysfunctional family. I loved Bertie’s character! I loved her child-like innocence and her scatterbrained behavior. I felt so terrible for her when she told her story about meeting Oscar and falling for his transparent façade. Oscar was a misogynistic asshole. He shut down all of Bertie’s ideas and criticized everything that made her happy (ie. socializing and playing the piano). I felt bad for Leo. He is a product of his environment. All he wanted was to be accepted by his father and uncle. He was taught to behave violently by his father. Regina is a BITCH! She completely uses Horus. She took advantage of his love for her to get to his money when they were first married and doe sit again when she sends San to bring Horus back from the hospital and tells San to tell him that she [Regina] missed him.  She is selfish and as abusive as her brothers, not physically but emotionally. She uses her body and her quick wit to get exactly what she wants. Although he admits to having been a bad person in the past, Horus wants to live the last days of his life as a good person.  While he does deliberately screw with Regina, I think she deserves it. I am proud of him for relinquishing his role as her personal doormat. Zan begins the play like her Aunt Bertie: she is innocent and naïve. In the first scene she asks her mother for her first taste of port and in the last she essential tells her mother to go shove it up her ass. I think Horus is right when he tells Addie that it is better for Zan to understand what is going on around her and lose her innocence.  Once she sees the Hubbard’s for who they really are, then she’ll know it is better to leave. The scene when Zan spits in her mothers face was my favorite part of the play because I absolutely loathed Regina, more so than any of the other Hubbards. I hated Ben as soon as he opened his mouth. His cold, monotone voice reminded me of Lurch from the Adam’s family. I feel like the actor should be recruited for the next production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I liked Addie. She was sassy. She was wise. It was like she could see through everyone.

I thought that the costumes where bland, with the exception of Bertie’s trampy red robe. The dresses were sort of ugly and the suits didn’t fit right. I understand the desire for a minimalist wardrobe, so it doesn’t take away from the play itself, but I prefer the spectacle. I like elaborate costumes and historical accuracy. I feel like it is easier for me to get into the play, the time period if people are dressed according to the time period. When I see a play, I want to become part of a different world, not see a replica of the one I am already living in.

I hated everything about the set design. I hated the ugly purple walls, floor, and ceiling. I hated the stairs in the middle of the room dividing the stage and I hated the LED screen, which was more distracting than supplementary to the performance.  I’m not sure if the carpeting was to make up for the lack of padding worn by the actors, but I just didn’t like it. The giant rectangle obstructing my view of the right side of the stage was irritating to say the least. What bothered me more that the rectangle was how it impacted the actors! While they thought they were out of sight, the actors would stand just in view, awkwardly shifting their weight from left to right waiting for their cue.

I think that realistic costumes and set add to a performance. I think if you want to go the minimalist route, you have to go all the way by having a completely empty, unremarkable space, and black boring costumes so that the actors get all of the attention. I think that the minimalistic set for Little Foxes would have been more practical if the LED screen was absent. When it comes down to it a giant television screen is more distracting than a good or elaborate costume.