Sam's+Critiques

Critiques The Long Christmas Ride Home” Critique by Samantha Krupica

“The Long Christmas Ride Home” written by Paula Vogel and, in this case directed by T. Anthony Marotta, was an intricate and unique experience. The play has a whole delves into dark family story that explores heavy themes of religion and death. Most importantly the play focuses on how specific childhood memories can linger with us throughout our adult life and shape our every decision. Further, with a blend of Bunraku Japanese puppetry and classic Western storytelling, Vogel writes an original thought-provoking piece which incites social awareness.

The several different aspects of the play come together to create a seamless albeit at times confusing final product. However, the confusion appears to be intentional. Most of the play is inferred by the audience and we are forced to read in between the lines. In other words, the audience has to put the puzzle pieces together to make out the intention of the work.

I was rather skeptical at first of the somewhat “creepy” puppets and small cast. The way the play completes itself and travels full circle is a genius take on the name of the play. Further, the way the play repeats itself was a clever aspect. For example, in the first half of the play Stephen blames himself for his father’s abusive tendencies and mumbles, “he does not love me.” This same depressing line repeats itself when Stephen continues a monologue outside an ex-boyfriend’s door. Thus, we see the repetitive theme in action. Also, instead of having the puppets talk, the mother and father figures instead typically vocalized their expressions. The inner-most thoughts of the children began as little bursts of comedy, yet quickly changed into disturbing sexual contemplations, and then changed once again into incredibly depressing bouts of self-inflicted guilt. Another interesting aspect of the play was the stark contrast between the two parts of the play. The beginning of which was slightly unsettling and hard to follow and the latter half of which, being much more interesting and clear cut. In a sense, “the ride home,” metaphorically, means dying and being sent to Heaven or a type of heaven in a religious way. Evidence of this, is the church scene and the conclusion of the play which wraps itself full-circle.

In the program for the show Marotta explains that, “The stage, however, finds its strength in a language of essentialized suggestions and short-hand,” and, “Theatre, therefore, has the ability to touch audiences on a uniquely personal level.” Thus, the gaps in the play are meant to be filled however each individual member of the audience feels fit. The way in which the work is written and presented allows the audience member to connect to their own life and have a personal relationship with the character, almost as if they were in the play itself. In general, the play appeared to be well organized and the actions of the performers were very clear; thus, I believe that the director did his job flawlessly.

In regards to the physical aspects of the play, the stage and props were rather bare; a mostly black stage with three screens and the occasional splash of watercolor. The simplicity of the stage helps to push the focus on the script and the performance. Further, the costumes of the three children were also black and bare so that they could blend into the background when they were manning the puppets. During the second half, the children were each given a single costume addition or two to clue the audience in on the time of the piece and the projected age of the character. The timeline of the play is never specified but by the clues: such as overly large jackets, big hair and the hit-song, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” one can assume that the play takes place around the 1980’s. The blending of Eastern and Western theatre culture was puzzling to me at first, and I suspect that others without a theatre background would also have been slightly lost. However, one doesn’t need to know about Japanese culture or puppetry to understand or enjoy the play as a whole, but an understanding would only enhance the total experience. That being said, I did look into the inspirations for the play and the imagery surrounding the individual scenes. For instance, the idea of ghost dramas and //Noh// in Japanese culture plays a heavy hand in the play. The son Stephen learns about the “Floating World” as a child in his church and his fascination continues throughout his lifetime. He also states that he is allowed to come back and roam the earth once a year. The audience catches a small glimpse of his revival when he comes back in his kimono floating through the screens to save the lives of both of his sisters.

Overall, the acting of the piece was phenomenal. I did see the play on its opening night, however, so there were a few improvements to be made. The “children’s” performances were the most remarkable. During the second half of the play, they were each alone on stage “speaking” to a puppet who simply squawked replies. Thus, they essentially had long, emotionally charged monologues. My favorite performance was that of Rebecca, played by Taylor Bahin. Her “monologue” was intense and riveting and had the entire audience feeling her shame and guilt towards her past and her siblings. She also properly portrayed the depressing lines in a rather comical way, effectively using the play’s essence of dark comedy. Another notable scene was Stephen’s dance number. In this scene the narrator comes center stage to dress Stephen in another kimono and the two dance around with lanterns and streamers for quite a while in a symbolic attempt to showcase his death.

In conclusion, the highly creative play, which focuses on the blending of 1980’s American family tropes and Japanese Bunraku, was well done in all regarded aspects. The play features an entirely miserable family who laugh at their own misfortunes throughout the entirety of their lives. The dark comedy sets a somber and pensive mood for the audience as they look back into their own family dramas.