By Rosie Hertzman
On Thursday, May 9, Journey to the West, directed by Phil Wong, had its premier in a unique performance space: South Bowl. The audience was sprawled out comfortably on their blankets, many wrapped up to protect themselves against the fierce wind. Yet despite the cold, there was something magical about the outside setting that invited the audience to feel connected in its shared experience of this performance.
By Maya Mariner
After so many struggles and setbacks, this past Thursday Community had its season four finale. There were so many questions to ask, but the biggest of them all is, WILL THERE BE A SEASON FIVE???
By Hannah Varadi
The Trojan Women, which premiered in Warner Main on Friday May 3, is as much about parental and communal love as it is about romance. This brilliantly executed play speaks of the devastating effects of human cruelty and psychological trauma.
By Madeline Raynor
The Language Archive, which ran in Wilder Main from May 2-5, is a new play by Julia Cho that has the gift of being able to communicate “what oft was thought but ne’er so well expressed,” as Alexander Pope would say. Fittingly, the play is about language and communication: George is a linguist who knows hundreds of dead languages, but is incapable of finding the right words to tell his wife he loves her before their relationship falls apart. This fascinating premise was sprinkled with many beautiful insights into love and life and a quintet of well-developed, realistic characters. The statements of this rich, complex work cohered beautifully under Annie Obermeyer’s confident staging and direction.
By Madeline Raynor
On Thursday April 25, Wilder Main was transformed into the Weimar-era Kit Kit Klub for Oberlin Musical Theatre Association’s production of Cabaret, but not so transformed as to let the audience escape from reality completely. This production, prudently directed by Hayes Biche, emphasized both the glamour and the danger of escapism and kept the audience on its toes: one moment we were laughing along with the Emcee during the flashy, funny dance routines, and the next we were firmly planted in the real world, wondering where the allegiances of the characters fell in 1931 Germany on the eve of the Nazis’ rise to power.
By Madeline Raynor
Photos by John Seyfried
On April 18, The Laramie Project, directed by Associate Professor of Theater and African American Studies Caroline Jackson Smith, premiered in Hall Auditorium. The play was written soon after the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man in Laramie, Wyoming. This play is not a traditional work of drama: it is a collaboration between playwright Moisés Kaufman and members of his theater company: the Tectonic Theater Project. They used interviews with Laramie residents, journal entries by company members, and other found texts to piece together the story of a hate crime, a trial, a community in recovery, and the event’s larger implications on legislature and the equality movement.
By Jackson Miles Evans
Drugs are intimate, and so was Megan Hardy’s production of The Connection, by Jack Gelber which premiered on April 11 in Little Theater. Two actors even sat with the audience on cushions that surrounded three-quarters of the stage, occasionally standing up to stroll around the room and participate more directly in the action. The audience seemed only half invited to a stage that was both public and private, both an apartment and a drug den, as we watched with eyes selfishly seeking entertainment from a distinctively heavy, hyper-real fiction.
By Mary Fischer
Photo courtesy of Oberlin Musical Theater Association
Touted as an evening of campy fun, Clue The Musical, which opened in Wilder Main on Thursday February 22, certainly delivered its promise. The musical is based on the beloved board game Clue, and immerses the audience in a step-by-step crime scene in which they are encouraged to assemble clues to solve the mysterious murder of Mr. Boddy. Only a minimalistic set and a few props were needed to complement a cast of eight excellent actors and singers as they transported the audience to a world of light-hearted and skillfully executed comedy.
By Mary Fischer
Image courtesy of Oberlin Arts Guide
From February 7 through February 9, Hall Auditorium served as the setting of Paris, London, and Zurich in the 1930s in Lucia Mad by Don Nigro. For a good two and a half hours the audience could watch James Joyce’s daughter spiraling into madness, a madness that could easily be recognized as one’s own juvenile frenzies about life. This play is about a father-daughter relationship, the difficulties of growing up and distancing oneself from one’s own parents, and the “normal madness” of life. It touches upon themes that unsettle us because we recognize them as issues that could turn anyone mad.
By Madeline Raynor
Photo courtesy of ReviewSTL.com
One of the common criticisms of the new film adaptation of Les Misérables is that Russell Crowe can’t sing, which is true. But we knew that, right? None of us were actually surprised when Russell Crowe as Javert opened his mouth and proved that his singing voice is nonexistent. Sure, the redeeming factor here is that he acts the part really well. But what if we could have both? An actor who can both act and sing the role? This seems like an obvious solution. The actors in the movie may deserve praise for singing live, but as Evita star Michael Cerveris pointed out, Broadway actors do that every day, for eight shows a week. And they have the musical skill to back up their performances. Anyone who couldn’t sing their role wouldn’t last a night on Broadway.