Critique of Parallel Lives
I viewed Parallel Lives on April 12th 2002 in the Charles Johnson Theatre. Before the show even started I was ready for it to end. A play was the last place I wanted to be on this Friday night. Although promptly at 7:30 the lights went down and the music was turned up.
As I studied the program of the play, I saw "Based on the Kathy and Mo Show", and wondered just who they were. Kathy Najimy co-stared in Sister Act in 1992, and Mo Gaffney has been in a long line of movies and television shows. These two women are behind one of the funniest plays I have ever seen. Parallel Lives is a story of two angels or supreme beings that created the world as we know it today, then look down upon the world to see just how things will work out. The play tackled topics like dating, high school, religion, Shakespeare, and sins of all different kinds.
One aspect of the show I enjoyed was the acting of Kris and Jeff's First date. Having my girlfriend sitting right beside me, it seem like a video of the first time we went out to eat on our first date. Amanda Mallott played the part of Kris, the blonde co-ed, and Rachel Hope played Jeff, the college jock. In this scene the couple encountered different comfortable and very un-comfortable situations like the awkward silence, and Jeff's mind constantly drifting off to unusual topics, at least for a date. Amanda and Rachel are two brilliant young actors. In my opinion, it not only takes talented acting but astounding memorization of every action performed. In each scene these women had to change to completely different characters and have a complete costume change. This play was not easy to perform, because of this.
Another aspect of the show some may have overlooked was the music between each act. There was one thing that never changed every artist played was a women. I heard artist like Madonna, Bjork, Alanis Morisette, among various others. Its not hard to see the reasoning behind this. Because Parallel Lives was written by women and performed entirely by women, its only right having just women artists play between each act. I think it really glued, or connected, the entire play.
This major production for Venice Theater was a success in my opinion. It was well worth doing; as I cant remember a moment that was not full of laughter from the audience, as this play kept everyone on the edge of their seats. They did a fantastic job finding actors and actresses who did outstanding with their rolls. Any escapist would thoroughly enjoy this production.
Not knowing what this play was about, I went to go see it Wednesday after noon at Holyoke Community College in the Leslie Phillips Theater. I had many mixed emotions about this play. I thought some parts were very funny, but others were a little uncomfortable because of some racia...
I thought this play was very tacky in a sense. There were only three actors in the play. Seth Reichgott one the actors played 13 different characters. James Goode plated up to 16 different characters.
For a college production, the acting was outstanding. I really felt the emotions. The lead Wendla, who was played by KyLeigh Zimmerer, was amazing. I have also seen bits and pieces of the Broadway version which starred Lea Michelle, and obviously if I were to compare the acting, the Broadway version would be victorious. However, for a college production, these actors have limited past experience, but their acting was professional. Also, when they sang the song "Those You've Known," I felt chills and had goose bumps because that was such an emotional song. You could feel all the emotions and guilt Melchior, played by Ryan Ramirez, was feeling because both his best friend, Moritz, played by Justin Noblitt, and the girl he impregnated, Wendla, died and he believed he was to blame. Moritz committed suicide while Wendla died from a botch abortion her mom for...
"Constant Star" by Tazewell Thompson is a play which sticks out in my mind as being one of the best I have ever had the priviledge of watching. The play is centered around the life of Ida B. Wells, a black woman who stands up for equality at all costs. Although the content of the play is moving and very interesting, the lighting, songs, costumes, props, and special effects are what made the play so extraordinary.
The choreography kept things interesting and the dances in a musical can make or break the performance. Overall, Cherie and Abby did an amazing job directing each person to have a place among a crowded stage. Last but not least, the costumes! This play was set in the 1890s, meaning it is very important to have correlating costumes so the audience can be aware of what time period they are in.
My least favorite aspect of this play was the ending. The ending confused me and was anticlimactic. It was not funny and not entertaining at all.
Their acting chops were very impressive whether it was comedic, emotional, or just stunning overall. Yet, on the other hand, some minor characters weren’t as well heard as others. I feel as the play could be better if some of the minor characters had projected their voice more, allowing their character to be known. However, although some voices were much stronger than others, all actors were full of talent, capable of dealing with script’s requirements, and did a good job
The production had many elements which for the most part formed a coalition to further the plot. The characters, the three part scenery and costumes represented well the period of time these people were going through. As far as the performers entering and exiting the stage, it could have been more organized. There were a few times when the performers exited at the wrong times or it seemed so due to the echo of the music. At certain moments the music was slightly loud and drowned the performers. Many of the songs dragged on, so the pacing could have been more effectively executed. Though the music was off at times, the director's decision to have most of the songs performed center sage was a wise one. Also the implementation of actual white characters that were competent in their roles came as a great surprise to the audience and heightened the realism.
Overall this production was very interesting and well performed. It was somewhat enjoyable to the audience, there were times of boringness but the comedy kept the play interesting. The director did a great job of putting everything together and as a result everything was on point. The only thing to say that would better the play is to make the play more interesting to the audience so that the audience does not get tired of watching.
Besides the fact that I didn't like this play, the actors did do a pretty good job with their acting and memorization of their lines. Couple times Marisol hesitated with her lines but it wasn't too bad. I like the accents they were using. It wasn't to hard to understand what they were saying, but once again there were those times when their accents did effect a little on their pronunciations and my understanding on what they were saying. Overall, I don't think they were too believable with their characters. They didn't reach me.
All things considered, I did enjoy the play. I followed each scene and line easily, for the most part. It seemed as if everyone involved did their part and worked very hard. The story was good, the props and scenes were good, and the actors were good. I would possibly go see the play again in my spare time if given the opportunity. Despite the few negative things that I mentioned, the positive things outweigh them heavily and, with all of this said, the play was a success.
The most successful aspect of the performance for me were the scene changes. I found that the rotation of the blackboard, center stage, where the actors were able to stoop beneath it in order to enter and exit the stage, was an effective touch to this non naturalistic performance. When this was first used, at the end of the first scene, when the characters Ruth and Al left the stage, I thought it didn't quite fit as at the beginning the style was leaning towards realism. But as the play progressed and the acting style became more and more non naturalistic, and this rotation of the black board technique was used more frequently it fitted in really well and became really effective.
Whether they were a drunk or a punctual control freak, each actor clearly put a lot of thought into their work. Each actor was fully committed to every action they made and they moved with a definite purpose. Despite the definite movements and the definite character choices made by the actors, there still appeared to be a sense of forced emotion in their words. For example, the man acting as the drunkard overplayed the alcoholic, hung over, and stereotypical wobbly walk. He made a few obvious mistakes, like flubbing up lines and other things to that effect, and it appeared to be because he was trying so hard to look and act drunk that he forgot to act. The woman playing Daisy was, in fact, one of the best. She had few mistakes and played her role the most realistically out of all the actors. The blocking of the play allowed for a few characters to upstage themselves and others, which made it hard to hear some words and conversations, but besides that, the technical aspects of it were good.
to the suicide of a girl called Eva Smith and how everyone in the play