Back in the days when I was in high school and especially college, some of you may know that I studied theatre. And most especially in college, I began the art of the review. Even in plays that I was in, or was part of, I could be unsparing (it was usually a class project and thank you to Dr. John Countryman at Berry College for making that the case for every production we did.) With that disclaimer made of my background and perhaps bona fides, I will say that this production of 2020 was pretty much shit...with some few highlights. Harsh, I know, especially with some very promising actors involved but a production team that has found their work wanting in many past works.
To set the scene, the work begins after a very involved Christmas of 2019 and our actor is moving into his new year ready to turn 47. He spends more money that he truly has to make it the "best Christmas ever", and I quote purposefully because that can be questioned as it is never shared what other highlights may have been missed from years of Christmas past (note Dickens, Mr. Playwright. Make it count!) He is moving off a multi-year run of successful writing and the times seem high before he (and many others) is hit by one catastrophe after another. This reviewer applauds the allegory of Job within the work, but it begins to become a tad too heavy handed after an early death and then a plague. More deaths occur, an oddly timed farce is introduced in the middle of the play, and then ends with...you guessed it. More death. One dare suggests that Hamlet is a sunny, happy picture compared to this vision.
And yet, this reviewer must single out some few performers from this work. There is the wife that loses her husband early in the play. Leaving two youngish daughters without a father, it is a heart-wrenching moment that promises perhaps a brighter future in the manner in which they respond to their grief. Our main actor is certainly part of this, being the brother of the wife, but then we get the plague. This, again to this reviewer, seems hard upon hard and perhaps too much to begin such a production unless it becomes a positive affair. This work does not do this. There is also the mother that loses her child, and not due to this supposed plague. A masterful actress does her best to elevate the work, but the subject matter is perhaps too heavy-handed by this point. And then there is the son that loses his father near the end. A terribly sad scene with two great actors that bring out the pathos, but now we are far past any sort of uplifting. How the audience has sat for this as long as they have (which this reviewer was forced to so it may be reviewed) is rather amazing.
And then there is the farce in between! While this writer is certainly a fan of Moliere, this is no drawing room, comedy of errors type of play. Shakespeare has already been mentioned, but even he did not put Othello or Macbeth through these paces! The great Brian Friel could put his characters through their harsh beats, but this? This is sprawling, across the world, political figures involved...and indeed, a plague! One might applaud the author for being audacious in their vision, but there is only so much grief, destruction and dirt pounding hopelessness that one can take when watching an over two hour production comprising just one year in the lives of these characters. It is too much. Worse, it is not terribly hard to follow because the writer beats you over the head with all of the hardship and destruction. While the aforementioned performances (and some others) elevate the piece due to their excellent acting, it is not enough to save what insane consideration this playwright meant when he sat down to put this play to page.
Given what they had to work with, one does applaud the lighting and scene shop for the excellent set and scene. It is definitely done well to create that slice of life setting, and the sound design is truly exemplary. One would be hard pressed to put sounds to this nearly terrible work, but it is done well. Outside of the actors, only this last joins to truly elevate the work beyond pure trash. Even there, however, this reviewer wonders if the constant reminders of the plague...the call for masks at every turn...the call for distancing when few are doing so...it is ever present and in the end, do not fully represent the characters involved. It certainly does present an ominous tone for each, our main character included, yet each scene is made less by the plague when more heart felt might be the singular instances in which they were found.
Lastly, I must call out the director of the play. I shant call him by name. That, in itself, would be a travesty close to this production as it might give him more exposure and ability to create much of the same. I must say, I wish not to see it. They say that the play is the thing, so I must ask the question...why so heavy handed? Mayhap I am too harsh, because one must blame the playwirght surely. But this combination between writer and director has produced one of the worst, harmful, and terrible plays of the season. One may write it, but it takes another to direct and produce it. This writer hopes he never works again. His behind the scenes efforts notwithstanding, these actors are able to produce their work without such deleterious interventions.
And that is why I must applaud the actors for their valiant efforts in working on this production. I must once more ask the question "why" such a play was produced, but I must say that I do applaud all of those actors involved for raising this piece beyond the intentions of those behind it. As I left the theatre, I was left with their notes...their beats...their hearts. It is that that has moved this from truly terrible to a piece worthy of your eyes and mind. I suggest, should you see this play, that you leave your seats with that in mind. No matter how terrible a thing you have watched may be, there are still some few that may rise above it and make it all worthwhile. As I wise teacher once told me, theatre is a symbiotic and synergistic thing and in times like this presented, one must remember that always.
That is all.
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