Clybourne+Park+JG


 * On the whole a good review. I liked the way you used examples from the play to support your ideas. I think you might have devoted more time to the costumes, props and set. These two were designed to assist with the communication of the production interpretation. But good start!**

Clybourne Park Critique Jazzy Griffin

When I walked into the theater and gazed at the set of Clybourne Park I was filled with trepidation. I had never seen a play in such a small setting, with no stage or curtains. As the room darkened and the show began, I just hoped it would be something that I could relate to, or something that would interest me. In the first five minutes I knew that paying attention would not be an issue. In fact I was on the edge of my seat soaking up every word, and emotion of the complex characters. I felt as if I was watching life unfold right before my eyes as we learned more about each character and how they related to one another. Despite my initial fears, I found the small theater to be the perfect atmosphere for Clybourne Park. It provided a cozy closeness that made me feel like a fly on the wall, quietly witnessing the joys and tragedies of each character in the play. **(Good)**

Clybourne Park is a controversial play that gives a glimpse of how race issues have evolved over time from the 1950’s to the current day. The scenes of the play take place in the same house, 50 years apart, showing how our society has changed in terms of equality and interaction between races.

The set in the beginning of the play was charming and cozy. Everything was painted in warm, brown hues and the furniture was carefully chosen to match the 1950’s theme. Although the entire play took place in the living room, I like how the characters would go to other places in the house. For example, one of my favorite parts was watching the black couple going up the stairs to get the trunk. Anytime I would start to forget about them, one of them would poke their head around the stairs and then vanish again. It was also a good way to emphasize the relationships between characters when they are alone. When Bev leaves to get iced tea, we can see the real relationship between Russ and Jim. The transition for Act II blew my mind! Right before my eyes the delightful little living room became a dilapidated tragedy. Every detail from the torn up blinds hung up on the windows, to the removal of the light switch handles contributed to the overall transformation. While the set definitely contributed to the excitement of the play it wasn’t the only thing that captured my interest.

The accents were probably the most interesting part of Clybourne Park, especially the drawl of Bev/the real estate agent. I didn’t understand why she was the only one in the play that spoke with such an exaggerated accent; furthermore, it made me cringe when I heard it. Every vowel was drawn out in the most annoying manner to me, and I didn’t understand what that had to do with the play. All the other characters has accents as well, but they were lighter and more believable. This made the Bev character look superficial and the accent seem even more ridiculous. The characters also adopted the behavior of people in the 1950’s with their cheesy jokes and laughter. My favorite actors were the guys that played Russ/Dan and Jim/Tom. Their interactions with each other had me dying of laughter in the first Act. The characters were like night and day, so when they clashed it made the entire audience laugh. I thought they were the best at changing their physicality for different characters as well. When playing Russ the actor had a hunched, tired, almost painful looking walk. This represented how devastated he was by the loss of his son, and his inability to recover. His tone was gruff, angry and bitter, especially when he began talking about how the neighborhood had treated Kenneth. His coarse language in Act I would have been appalling in the 1950’s, and indicates just how upset he is about his son’s death. Conversely, in Act II, Dan the construction man had an amiable gait and a nasally Jersey accent. Dan provided the comic relief in Act II during the somewhat hostile meeting about the construction standards. The actor that played Jim was the epitome of the 1950’s in Act I. He walked around saying “Gee” and “Well Golly”, and I felt as if I was watching and old sitcom. His goofy grin was contagious and I couldn’t help but smile along with him. On the other hand, when playing Tom the actor had this sense of professionalism. He was always on the phone and gave the vibe that he was a very busy and important man. My eyes were usually on these two actors, when I wasn’t looking at the black couple of the play (Francine/Lena and Albert/Kevin) whispering to each other. Throughout the play the husband and wife would be murmuring things to each other while the other actors were talking. Sometimes they would be bickering, and sometimes it just looked like playful flirting. I found this distracting because I really wanted to know what they were whispering about. It seemed like they were conspiring against the white people, and this only made the race issues starker.

Acting wasn’t the only thing that made the lines between races clear. The script of Clybourne Park delivered some wonderful one-liners that brought the issues to our attention. Many of these one-liners were delivered by the man that played Albert/Kevin. In Act I, Albert made a quip along the lines of “As long as they gots pig feet, I loves me some pigs feet”, when asked if he would shop at a white market. The line was delivered as a deadpan joke, but made clear the stereotypes of the 1950’s. As Kevin he makes another one liner that highlights a stereotype about the predominately black neighborhood: “Yeah, cuz me and Lena was both crack heads”. The actor that played Albert/Kevin was good at giving these lines in a way that wasn’t overly bitter and angry. The absolute best line in the show was in Act II when Kevin asked Steve if skied. Everyone in the house was dying of laughter. We had come full circle from when Karl had asked Albert if he skied to prove some point about the races remaining separated. This line is symbolic of the whole race argument in general. Everyone is going in circles trying to prove why one race is different from another, but proving that we’re all just the same. The script of Clybourne Park remains lighthearted while dealing with some serious social issues, which is something I really enjoyed. I had the opportunity to laugh at and think about our society, and what equality really means. The jump in time period also shows how the discussion of race has changed. In the 1950’s the white people argued, while the black couple would only offer an opinion when asked. However, in the 2008 scene everyone has an equal part in the argument. It’s also ironic that in Act I they argue about a black family moving in, while in Act II they argue about a white family moving in. The 2008 scene also has to factor in another minority, the LGBT community. When Tom announces he’s gay, after a crude and offensive prison joke it adds yet another dynamic to the argument. They also dabble in female discrimination giving the 2008 scene a more in depth look into social issues than the 1950’s scene.

While the script was phenomenal, lighting and sound also had a big part in the plays delivery. I really enjoy how they used the sound in Clybourne. For example, an actor would turn down the radio and the background music would actually get quieter as well. The lighting of the living room remained warm and inviting in the first scene, and was akin to sunlight in the second scene. In the first scene the lower lighting made the living room a friendly atmosphere, while in the second scene the brighter lighting contributed to the image of abandonment. At the end of the play the lighting become a warm, rosy spotlight on Kenneth. Everything around him remained dark, which really put an emphasis on his actions.

Clybourne Park was an amazing play on the social issues that still plague us today. This charming, captivating piece can make you laugh and think about society at the same time. I would definitely recommend the play to my friends, and go again myself.