The play that I went to see for this reaction paper was The Addams Family musical. I saw this show on May 27, at 8:00 PM. This production was put on by The Little Theatre of Norfolk. This paper will include an over view of the play through the four critical lenses, performance and technical aspects. The first lens that will be covered, is the formalistic lens. The formalistic lens looks at the basic elements of a dramatic work. The show is based off the well-known Addams family. It is a story of every parent’s worst nightmare: Their oldest daughter, Wednesday Addams, has grown up and fallen in love with a young man. The young man comes from a respectable family. He is sweet, kind, and smart. Only problem is that he has never met Wednesday’s parents. This story takes you on the journey that Wednesday and her new love, Lucas, must take in order to be together. This is done in English and is considered a musical. The second lens is the materialistic lens. The materialistic lens looks at dramatic work through concepts like power and social structures. The power that can be seen in this play would be the parents of the two young lovers. The parents have almost a …show more content…
All of the character were portraying their characters very well with their body movements and voices. Everyone in the Addams family were slow at walking, shrugged their shoulders, and talked in a more deep tone of voice. This represented their family’s dark and anti-social side. While Lucas’s family walked faster, stood up straight, and had more of a loud and higher pitched voice. This represented their family because they are more social and happy. This helped make the characters in this show much more believable. Both of the families also seemed to show that they were all connected. This helped the viewer in understanding who was a part of which family. You could tell the difference between the two families, simply by how they reacted to one
It is imperative to understand the significance of the profound effects these elements have on the audience’s response to the play. Without effective and accurate embodiments of the central themes, seeing a play becomes an aimless experience and the meaning of the message is lost. Forgiveness and redemption stand as the central themes of the message in The Spitfire Grill. Actors communicate character development through both nonverbal and verbal cues; their costumes serve as a visual representation of this development by reflecting the personal transformation of each character. In the case of The Spitfire Grill, set design is cut back to allow for the audience’s primary focus to be on the actors and their story. Different from set design, the use of sound and lights in The Spitfire Grill, establishes the mood for the play. In other words, every theatrical element in a play has a purpose; when befittingly manipulated, these elements become the director’s strongest means of expressing central themes, and therefore a means of achieving set objectives. Here again, The Spitfire Grill is no exception. With the support of these theatrical elements, the play’s themes of forgiveness and redemption shine as bright as the moon on
The live theatrical production I chose to see was 9 to 5 The Musical. The production was performed by Fayetteville Technical Community College’s very own Fine Arts Department. The musical is based on the film released by Fox in 1980. Collin Higgins adapted the film from the book 9 to 5 written by Patricia Resnick. It wasn’t until 2008 that the film was adapted to a theatrical production. The production was originally brought to broadway by Robert Greenbait and Dolly Parton wrote the lyrics and the music for the Musical. The run on broadway was very short but the production later toured in other countries around the around the world.
Kislan, Richard. The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1980. 84, 110, 116-121, 125-127, 128, 134, 163, 195, 201, 209. Print.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy that has been interpreted in different ways, enabling one to receive multiple experiences of the same story. Due to the content and themes of the play, it can be creatively challenging to producers and their casting strategies. Instead of being a hindrance, I find the ability for one to experiment exciting as people try to discover strategies that best represent entertainment for the audience, as well as the best ways to interpret Shakespeare’s work.
III. Individual Dreams Vs. Family Responsibilities - A central conflict in the play arises when there is disparity between the individual's dreams and his/her familial responsibilities
The Wiz is a musical/movie released in 1978 that was an adaptation of the popular film “Wizard of Oz”. It included several very popular stars of the time, which were Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Nipsey Russell. The movie set place in New York City where the main character, Dorothy, suddenly is swept by a tornado in the middle of a snowstorm. She later then found herself lost in a city she had no clue about and curious as to how she could return home. After meeting 3 other characters during her journey that share similarities, they all embarked on a trip to OZ to fix each of their problems. Throughout the movie characters apply their own soundtrack through singing songs in harmony that compliment the mood of each scene.
words so that the sound of the play complements its expression of emotions and ideas. This essay
The duration and cost of the production have been compared to other media which provide entertainment, such as television and film. A theatre performance is more expensive to attend than cinema. The play only lasted for 85 minutes, a film can go on for two hours or even more. This can have a big influence on why people would choose one medium over the other. Accessibility has also to be taken into account when investigating the relevance of theatre in the 21st century. Television is a medium which can be accessed from home, and usually doesn’t cost a lot of money, whereas theatre costs money and is harder to access. Although the production was Australian, the actors talked with an American accent. Bearing in mind that the play was written in America, which could make it harder for an Australian audience to familiarise with the dilemmas going on, on stage, while the themes discussed seem to be more relevant there than in Australia. Overall this play doesn’t contribute to the relevance of Australian theatre in the 21st century, due to the many other sources people can access for entertainment, and because the play seems to be more relevant for an American audience rather than an
Firstly, I saw the Kuncaitis and Zdazinsky families; the mothers were two very different women; a religious farm woman and outgoing party mom. I personally loved the religious family. I can tell how much the Zdazinsky mom really appreciated the opportunity to get out of her life and do some real family bonding as you can clearly see by the end of the show. I think both families benefited from this
As in all genres, the musicals have had its share of failures. Some worthy dramas have been pressed into service and musicalized and sometimes butchered in the process, and audiences have had to watch a fine play diluted into a mediocre musical. But the successes have been many and spectacular and they have left a long lasting effect on the American art and culture.
The play that we read for this unit is Too Much Punch For Judy, by Mark Wheeller. It is a form of Verbatim Theatre, meaning that it is based on the spoken words of real people. This play is about the story of a young woman who kills her sister in an alcohol related accident. When I first read the play I couldn’t empathize with the story as I haven’t experienced such a shocking event before. In this essay I will describe, analyse and evaluate both my work and the work of other actors in my group, focusing on the mediums, elements and explorative strategies of Drama.
For my second article critique I chose to attend a play at the CORP Theatre in Rowlett to watch Steel Magnolias. Throughout the play my eyes were immediately drawn to many aspects of the play such as the characters and use of spectacles. My overall opinion of the play was positive. Although, unless you have seen the movie before it could be hard to follow along with.
Legally Blonde the Musical, was a fun filled, musical journey, which warmed the hearts of many within the audience. Main character Elle Woods pursues a law degree in attempt to convince her ex-boyfriend Warner that she can be a well-educated, and respectable women. The performers take the audience on a journey following Elle’s college experience at Harvard Law. As Elle faces many hardships she never backs down, showing the audience what a little determination can get you. The musical ends with an happily ever after as Elle does the unexpected. Winning over the respect from her fellow classmates, as well as many more. Showing that all that hard work does pay off in the end, and might present opportunities that you never expected. Elle Woods finds exactly what she has been looking for all along. Which end up being right in front of her the whole time, love.
Miller, D. A. Place for Us: Essay on the Broadway Musical. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1998. Print.
These two plays show dramatically the struggle for authoritative power over the characters lives, families, and societies pressures. The overall tragedy that befalls them as they are swept up in these conflicts distinctly portrays the thematic plot of their common misconception for power and control over their lives.