spMustGoOn

=Must Go On Review=

//Must Go On// is a theatrical piece that is essentially an ode to the fall of local broadcast television. John Kundert-Gibbs serves as both the playwright and the director of this piece, and therefore wrote both the script and the workings of the actual performance itself. The basic concept of the set was to have the actors perform directly in front of the audience, and on the screen behind, you see the actors performing in tandem in a separate room within the theater via live video feed. While I believe this was a clever set-up for a comedy, the actual execution of the piece left the characters to be too unrealistic to sympathize with and the comedy too superficial to truly appreciate.

In the standby before the play began, I appreciated the commercials playing on the screens in front of us. It was both pleasurable and served to really make me feel as if I were in a real television studio. When the play actually started, I found that the characters were very recognizable and distinct, which was one of the aims of the director. Brick, the cocky and overtly-sexual tv persona, Sam, the homosexual and prickish make-up artist, and Bill LeFleur, the Steve Irwin parody stood out to me the most. The actors did nail their unique, over-the-top roles to the tee. I particularly enjoyed Cole Earnest's acting as Bill, he was the most in-character actor of the play to me. He kept his accent the entire time without fail until it was time to reveal to all that he was really not from Australia, but New Jersey. His misfortune with his women guests, especially Eustace was quite humorous to me. I praise Nathan Cowling as the snarky make-up artist as well, I believe that he fit his role and stayed in character perfectly. I did not find Gwen to be a very convincing character at all, she just seemed sort of ridiculous and far too informal to make me believe she was a talk show host. The tension between Ruby and Brooke seemed to be very contrived and I did not have much care to see it. I didn't even catch what Ruby's role in the studio was, it seemed she was just there to be one of Brooke's romantic interests.

I can see where it would be hard to time the on-stage and on-screen action, however I believe that the scenic designer and director could have done a much better job in coordinating the action between both sets. At many times, the play became incredibly sloppy. Far too often I could not distinguish what was going on within both scenes as everyone would be yelling and screaming at once. I realize that this is a play about a television show becoming a total joke and farce, but I believe that there could have been more effective ways to coordinate the timing so that the audience actually knows what is going on. This took away from much of the comedy for me, its very hard to laugh when the jokes don't seem witty and when you don't even recognize what is occurring at the moment. The acting and script became very sloppy and unenjoyable when between the two stages, a ridiculous alcohol binge began between nearly all of the characters. It was simply unnecessary to me and added to my confusion. However I did appreciate the fact that at certain times it looked like the characters on-screen were responding to the situation on-stage. When Ruby told Brooke that she loved her, I could hear Brick speaking on-screen to Gwen saying something along the lines of "I do not", right as Brooke was about to begin speaking. I believe that if this sort of timing were used all throughout the play, the comedic execution would have been absolutely excellent. The execution of the finale when the nameless call girl was also very unsatisfying and seemed to just come out of nowhere. It took away from the play as a whole, as a member of the audience, I feel a proper and meaningful ending is necessary to gain proper closure.

In regards to the costume and set design, I believe that Christine Burchett-Butler, Rich Dunham, and Austin K. Butler did an excellent job in bringing the director's vision to life. Burchett-Butler, responsible for the costumes was able very excellently to create designs that made each and every character unique in his or her own right. The behind-the-scene workers looked exactly like their part. Brick looked just like how I would imagine a flashy TV personality to be. Bill was your typical Steve Irwin style Crocodile Dundee parody. The only thing I thing could have been done better was to make Gwen truly look her part, she just looked too odd for me to believe that she was about to go On-Air. Also excellent was the stage and on-screen set. I really did feel as if I was watching a real make-up studio. It was an aesthetically pleasing scene and added to the play immensely.

As the first performance of this script, I understand the difficulties of coordinating it to perfection. As a whole, I did not enjoy it, but the concept itself has amazing potential. Had the execution been better, the humor a little more developed, and the script a little more worked out, I believe it could have been excellent. Many of the actors were fully consumed in their roles as either stock or main characters, and I appreciate that. The stage, on-camera set, and the costumes were all wonderful. I hope that this play is later refined to reach its true potential in future runs.