Saturday, January 10, 2009

You Know They Like It When They're Quiet Or They Laugh

The play of Little Women is playing well. Last night was a full house - maybe 50 people? A goodly number of laughs were had, and the audience went home happy after Jo finally got her marriage proposal from the Professor. 

Hushed silence fell for Beth's "I'm dying" scene. The actress playing Beth, Ava Raddatz, is still in middle school, but she has figured out how to play that scene for real impact. The danger of the scene - I think - is that it could sound too sentimental if played wrong. But she plays it forthrightly, and it works. Our director, Kevin McSweeney, surely deserves some credit for that too.

Ava's mom, after the show, remarked on the sheer longevity of Little Women, which came into the world 150 years ago. A lot of the book is based on Alcott's real family, and you really do get a sense of a vibrant emotional life maintained in the face of adversity through moral dedication.

The play's philosophy
is too altruist for me,
but the sense of family -
tumultuous and warm
makes it a joy to perform.

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