Tensions in the Neighbourhood - Clybourne Park!

Sunday evening I took my husband and friend AM to see Clybourne Park at the Citadel.  I had seen it a week or so earlier at the Dress Rehearsal, but I was eager to see it again now that the cast had had a bit of time in front of an audience.  With the kinds of jokes in the piece, getting a feel for the audience is really important.  I imagine each night is dramatically different as it has jokes that are going to land a lot different on a Tuesday night as compared to a Saturday. 

I really liked it in the dress rehearsal. The first act made me cry and that completely caught me off-guard.  I was equally impressed with the second act, but in a very different way emotionally. But I LOVED it last night.  It's such a well tuned ensemble and the script is so, so sharp.  I love that everyone is so present, listening as well as striving to be heard. Some of my favorite moments are actually watching the characters when they aren't talking as they deliver a single look and you know exactly what they are thinking. When their characters are unlikeable, they don't hold back.  That takes courage and trust to do.  Also, everyone seems so perfectly cast, which is a challenge when you consider that they each play two very different characters in each of the acts.

It was also fun sharing it with Mark and AM.  As the house lights came up at intermission, AM says to me, "Ah, so nice to see such good acting." She, like myself, sees a lot of theatre and is perhaps even harder to please so that is high praise. We had fun dancing through the decades with the intermission music (both have requested that I try to get them a copy of the playlist).  Very clever choice of director James MacDonald to take us from 1959 to 2009.  We also talked of the act, and I was careful not to give away any spoilers of what is coming.

And then, after the explosive, hilarious second act, we spent a good 20 minutes talking about the play in the lobby afterwards. AM had a long drive home though, so it couldn't be longer than that. Mark and I however, talked about it all the way home.  Mark's claim, "I know every single one of those people!" (referring to the second act).  He was even talking about it again today.  Apparently he has convinced one of our employees to go check it out.  I have a feeling he will be talking it up with a lot of his patients.  I was glad that I could take him to it.  I wish the boys were a little older, as it was such a fine piece of work, but 12 is too young for it... in a few years...

Clybourne Park runs until February 16th in the Shoctor Theatre at the Citadel.  I would say this one is not to be missed... I might even have to try and see it a third time...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUMMER READING! #yegbookclub

Image
On May 26th we had a lively chat on twitter with author Thomas Trofmiuk about Waiting for Columbu s .  It was wonderful to be able to ask questions about the characters and their possible paths and has the author answer them.  It was very clear that they all continued to live outside the book.  We begged for a Consuela sequel as she was a favorite of many of us readers. It was also great to learnt hat there is a Waiting for Columbus movie in the works.  When I read the book I was struck by how cinematic it was and, like The English Patient , I thought it would lend itself to film. Following the discussion I indicated that there would be some Summer Reading Choice(s) for the next #yegbookclub.  I don't know about you, but I am always hard to pin down for the summer.  With holidays and day camps for the kids and, for this year, directing two Fringe Shows I thought we could have 2 selections to read over the summer and then in September we could take two evenings to chat about th
Read more

Fringe #42 - Sat, Aug 19 - Three Great Musicals and More WORD OF MOUTH Recommendations!

Image
I saw three great musicals on Saturday. They were very different, but enjoyable in their own ways! First I took in Morningside Road , a new musical by Mhairi Berg and Simon Abbott. It was so beautiful. having written a play about a similar topic I thought the way that the story was told was very well done. The music is lovely and sung very well - tight harmonies and gorgeous voices. At the end, I estimate 50% of the audience (if not more) was in tears and there was an instant standing ovation. This is a terrific pick!  Next up was The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes which in the spirit Schmigadoon, the lead character Howard wakes up to find himself living in a a musical and wanting to get out of it. It was a super fun ride of a show. It hit on so any musical theatre tropes and references what feels like a thousand specific shows. The Musical Theatre afficionado should not miss this show! I loved how they really leaned into all the ridiculousness because that's the only way this k
Read more

Bringing The Color Purple to the Stage with Joyous Song and Truthful Storytelling!

Image
Sometimes when you are very excited for something, it fails to live up to your expectations. This is NOT the case with The Color Purple currently running at the Citadel Theatre . As I wrote earlier, I loved Alice Walker's novel and I am happy to report that the production is everything and more than I could have hoped for. From the first few seconds of the show, when Celie (Tara Jackson) and Nettie (Allison Edwards-Crewe) sing a child's rhyme together, you know that musically you are going to be treated to something magnificent. This grows as the full cast joins them onstage and the world of Celie is created. The power and beauty of this cast in their vocals is majestic. It's the kind of music sung so well that it makes you want to lift from your seat. The Citadel has done an incredible job of bringing together this cast which has no weak links, each voice expressive, joyful and strong. Kudos to the cast and to Music Director Floydd Ricketts for creating such amazing sou
Read more