“Gypsy” is a play adaptation of the book by Arthur Laurents. The music was by Jule Styne and the lyrics were by Stephen Sondheim. The play “Gypsy” was performed in the Todd Performing Arts Center by Chesapeake College students. “Gypsy” tells a tale of Louise, who was always in her sister June’s shadow. Their mother, Rose, was a woman who loved to travel the world and meet new people and she pushed her dreams on both of her daughters, especially June because she was the star of the family. One day at an audition, Rose met Herbie who was a former talent agent. She promised him that she would marry him if he promised to be her daughter's agent and help them rise to fame. Eventually June starts to resent her mother because her mother is holding
The play shows how Eva Smith is a victim of the attitude of society in
Valle-Inclán and Lorca have both been very influential and important figures of the twentieth century Spanish theatre. During their time, the theatre was mainly made up of bourgeois theatregoers who did not enjoy thought provoking plays, but preferred a theatre that was conventional and contemporary. Both Valle and Lorca departed from convention and showed freedom in their style of writing, therefore earning their reputation of dramatists of utmost importance, respect and originality, who not only brought new trends to the Spanish theatre, but also embodied the signs of change and hope for the Spanish stage.
This play, which is the first part of the novel, symbolizes what is yet to occur—a disastrous love story between April and Frank Wheeler. After the play, April and Frank get into an argument in the car, leading April to walk off and telling Frank he’s, “got [her] safely in a trap” (Yates, 37). April is felt as if she is in a trap because of the role of housewife she is automatically placed in. She wants to be more than a woman who stays home, washes the dishes and takes care of the children, she wants to explore and be free, something that the 1950s gender roles are limiting her to not ...
Caden Cotard is a theater director who is fresh off his last successful production of Death of a Salesman. He was presented a grant and was determined to create a brutally honest play. He gathers together a cast into a warehouse in Manhattan’s theater. He leads them into a celebration of the ordinary, telling them to live out their lives in a small replica of the city outside. As this city inside the warehouse begins to grow, Caden’s life begins to swerve off the tracks. His wife, Adele, who is a famous painter and the mother of his child Olive, left him years ago and traveled to Germany’s art scene. Caden is driving his current marriage to an actress named Claire directly into the ground. The actor Caden has hired to play himself within the play is a little too perfect for the part is making it harder for Caden to revitalize his relationship with Hazel. Caden’s condition is one by one shutting down all of his autonomic functions. Years go by and Caden is concealing himself deeper into this magnum opus. The line between the world of his play and what is reality soon becomes a little blurry. The rehearsal for the play will go on for decades making it unclear if the production will ever launch.
The performance sets up the scene with the female dancers dressed as prominent women throughout history such as Rosie the Riveter, Nillie Bly, Mother Teresa, Amelia Earhart, and Florence Nightingale. The women take turns in the spotlight, using their movements to tell their story and significance in history. The story of Amelia Earhart was told symbolically through the performer’s actions. The audience are introduced to Earhart’s love of flying and her aspirations to be a renown female pilot through the performer’s imitation as a graceful plane flying across the stage with glee. However, her story takes a dark turn when she embarks on a quest to prove herself as a capable pilot in spite of being a woman. We see her downfall when her character, as a plane, struggles to stay in flight and eventually tumbles and falls, exiting the stage soon after to show her mysterious disappearance during her quest. The performer playing as Earhart succeeded in portraying her story and her downfall. The dancer’s performance as Earhart was followed by another significant performance which was the dance of Mother Teresa, who took the spotlight with her reserved yet expressive dances. During her dance, Mother Teresa made a notable move where she wanders the stage and places a hand on each of the women in a caring way, like a mother would do to her child. This action she performed in her dance
The book by Faith Ringgold entitled Faith Ringgold, explains the story of a mother and daughter during the Harlem Renaissance era in New York. According to the book, the series deals with many generational issues of a middle class black family and focuses on the drama, and tension between a mother and daughter who are profoundly different. The series represents a relationship much like the relationship between Faith Ringgold and her two daughters. The story follows a daughter named, Celia Cleopatra Price, a graduate of Howard University, who graduated first in her class. She is unable to identify with her mother, CeeCee. CeeCee had only finished the 8th grade and dropped out due to her pregnancy with Celia. CeeCee is a very creative individual and makes bags; she is married to”the dentist”, who a young CeeCee meets in the first quilt Love in the School Yard. CeeCee thinks Celia has develope...
Even though south side chicago had a low amount of hope, the characters of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Walter, Beneatha, and Mama found a way to dream big. It led them to doing what they thought was right, eventually molding Walter into a greedy man during most of the play, Beneatha into an aspiring woman that demands respect, and Mama into an improvising woman who loves her
In the play we get to read about the white superior boy Hally and their two helpers who are Sam and Willy, who in many instances engage in debates or dialogue with the young boy. They relates their topic by referring to certain events or historic happenings that took place and are consider to have shaped the world in a positive sense or could be used to help everyday life to be lived better by all people.
The play revolves around Baby and her daughter, Ligaya, who is finally reuniting with her mother in the United States after fourteen years. Set around the 1990s, Baby always wrote letters and sent pictures to Ligaya. Baby had no choice but to leave her daughter, going overseas to find work and sending remittances back to the Philippines. She has another job, being a crier for Chinese funerals. When finding out her mother is crier, Ligaya is also
June, wearing a very feminine outfit, dances to the song of “Let Me Entertain You” while Louise has a more masculine appearance. This gender division continues in the dance, as June seems to be more elegant then Louise. This is a clear example of Frye’s definition of sexism, as both June and Louise are buying into the gender binary. Extrapolating from how June and Louise are contributing to the gender binary, it can be assumed that June and Louise’s guardian also does the same, which is not the case. Rose, their mother, comes onto the stage to critique the children and make it apparent to the director that her kids deserve the part. The dedication and strong will Rose elicits when talking about her kids is empowering, and contrasted by the other stage moms who emphasize the binary by being pushed around and rushed off the stage. Uncle Jocko emphasizes this strength of Rose’s character in his comment “Decisions, Decisions, Decisions” when Rose is talking about the technical parts of the act, implying that he is actually listening to what she has to say (4:50). Rose is different and refuses to fit into this normal feminine category that allows them to be pushed around and get told what to do. This ambiance of individualism is inspiring, but starkly shows how she does not imbue these values on her
The play is about a young woman, Catherine who had been taking care of her father during his last years of life. Anne Heche plays Catherine. Prior to this play, I have never seen Anne Heche in any acting performance. I have to say she did an outstanding job in her portrayal of Catherine. She did a fantastic job of immediately drawing you into Catherine’s world. She aptly portrays the characteristics of a girl who never got a chance to grow up and the slight madness of the genius she inherited from her father. One can easily feel sad for her because after all she gave up all her dreams to take care of her ailing father. Anne Heche plays Catherine so well that it easy for you to fall in love with Catherine and desire only good things for her.
A Streetcar Named Desire was written by Tennessee Williams in 1947 and it is a play that takes place after the second World War in the South of the United States; New Orleans, Louisiana. The play ultimately explores on the conflict amongst Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski as they both have a connection to Stella Dubois. Blanche being her sister, and Stanley being her partner. This play is considered to be a tragedy. Twelfth Night was written by the World renowned William Shakespeare and it explores the story of siblings being separated after a tragic accident at sea. ‘Without character there can be no drama’ is the overall theme of this comparison as every character contributes to a story, causing drama to arise in one way or another. This piece will ultimately explore the similarities and differences between Viola from ‘Twelfth Night’ and Blanche from ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Although Viola and Blanche come from two different books written by two different authors in different time periods, we can draw the conclusion that they both possess the theme of deception.
The role of the male characters in The Virgin and the Gypsy by D.H. Lawrence can best be summed up by Yvette's reaction to her sister's philosophy of marriage:
D. H. Lawrence was from a working class background and was always conscious of his status as an outsider because of his class. In his writing he focused on the idea of transgressing modern class systems in the search of new experiences. This is where the idea of rebellion becomes predominant in his writing. In The Virgin and the Gypsy (1930) he tells the story of a family ruled by a stern powerful Mater and the two young women eager for new experiences. The youngest daughter Yvette is the virgin of the title and it is through her encounters with the gypsy of the title (whose name is only revealed on the last page as Joe) and a soon to be divorcee and her young lover that she goes through a sexual awakening.
Theatre serves to reflect society. From Shakespeare to Sophocles, a playwright’s work illustrates the different mechanics within a culture or time period or society. Theatre offers viewers the experience of taking a step back and looking in on themselves. In this way, theatre is a mirror for the world and the way it functions.