Last Thursday, November 17th, after participating in the demonstration, I went to Baruch College to watch a comedy called Sorrows of Stephen by Peter Parnell, directed by Thom Garvey, and performed by Baruch students.
Sorrows of Stephen is about a guy called Stephen who is headstrong, impetuous, and irrepressible to be in love. A bit similar to Don Giovanni, Stephen desires for a relationship with female. Right after his girlfriend Liz broke up with him, he goes out and look for new date. He asks the female driver for a date to opera, but she says she has to work. As he is in the opera, he sends a card to the lady sitting in front of him for a date, but the lady leaves after a while. When he dines at a restaurant later, he meets a hot waitress and ends up sleeping with her. What’s worse, later, he starts pursuing his friend William’s girlfriend Christine. Eventually, Christine decides to marry to William and break up with Stephen.
Overall, I think it is a pretty good show, but with some drawbacks. Marlon J. Suarez, who plays Stephen, is perfectly match to this character; he looks like a nice guy, but with a bit of badness, just as the character. In my opinion, he acts best; he presents his character vividly, showing the character’s shyness and rascality simultaneously. However, I don’t like the way the character Christine is presented because the actress’s voice has high pitch, but she does not control it. So, when she speak emotionally, she is like screaming, which is not agreeable. Also, this play takes places in many location, so they change the setting very frequently, which is distracting. Nevertheless, the setting is excellent; it has real bed and food.
Unlike the Bald Soprano’s absurdity, this play is a normal comedy, which has logical plot. However, I don’t understand that Stephen seems like is pursuing a stable relationship but he never treats a relationship seriously. He breaks up with his girlfriend and begins new date right after that. He seems like does not know what he really wants, but just keeps falling love. Comparing to the Bald Soprano, the play Sorrows of Stephen is more dynamic. The actors clothes and the scene keep changing, but it also makes the audience feel that everything is a bit rush, from the beginning to the end.
What do you think the playwright was trying to express by the varied efforts of Stephen? Were they all sorrows? Was there a lesson to be learned in the end? The most successful (and even the most complicated) of plots can often be summarized in a single sentence. The emotional push and pull of the characters is usually what the story is about.
I just realize that there is another character who only appears for three times and a few seconds. He is poor in the beginning and beggars money from Stephen. However, in the end of the play, he wears a nice suit and he tells Stephen that his novel is published. I think his success may have inspire Stephen.
After repeated failure in relationship with women and with the inspiration of that guy, Stephen starts his new day confidently in the end.
I think this implies that no matter how desperate you feel currently, as long as you persist, there is always hope.