KPAuntDanCritique

Kate Plumblee // Aunt Dan and Lemon  // Review PROS:  1. The way the play is introduced is subtly very clever. When Lemon enters the room before the play officially begins, the chattering audience grows quiet; however, Lemon, played by Paige Pulaski, urges the people to “do keep talking amongst [them]selves,” which allows us, the audience, to adjust to the new world of the play.  2. Paige Pulaski, who plays Lemon, also plays her part very well using her facial expressions. Even when a scene is going on that doesn’t involve her character, she still expresses the emotions going on in the scene with smiles, frowns, and sometimes laughter, naturally illustrating that she is still present in the story.  3. Jennifer Schottstadt, too, who plays Aunt Dan, fits her part very well. When I first read the play and imagined her character, she is exactly what I pictured, Her voice, stature, stance, and overall physical appearance embodies the traits of the both glamorous and straightforward Aunt Dan.  4. Aunt Dan’s costume also creates a sort of glamour or distinction around her character. I especially thought the newspaper cap, which she pulls over her eyes for the first half of the play, made her seem mysterious, almost as if she had other, more shocking stories to tell than the ones she was already revealing to Lemon.  5. Designed by Jacob Woessner, the lighting, while minimal, sets the mood when needed. For example, in the scene where Mindy strangles Mr. Lopez, red light floods the stage, which creates both an intense and frightening moment. CONS:  1. Although Director Richmond Farley had little budget for this play, I’m not sure I was willing to buy the minimalist set that he was able to create. The audience seems sometimes confused when switching between memories and present, and the play would greatly benefit from more complicated scenery, including a garden backdrop and other furniture besides one table and a few chairs  2. Chelsey Horn, who plays the Mother and a few other characters, seems awkward amongst the other actors. Not only does her accent give her somewhat of a lisp, but her voice is also high-pitched, which sometimes made me cringe while she spoke. Additionally, she is not particularly expressive; while other characters move around and use gestures, she usually sits and merely turns her head.  3. The manner in which the same actor plays different characters is sometimes confusing. For example, while Matthew Bowdren, who plays the Father, Jasper, and Freddie, exemplifies a father figure with aptness, he brings the same characteristics into his portrayal of his other roles. As a result, a mere costume change does not distinguish between characters, and the audience becomes mixed-up between scenes.  4. The monologues, sometimes, become hard to follow, especially the one in which Aunt Dan rambles about Henry Kissinger. This failing, in my opinion, is on the part of both the script and the actors, who could further engage the audience in their complicated and lengthy speech.  5. Spencer Tootle, who plays the character Mindy, initially seems awkward onstage. While she eventually grows into her character successfully, especially in the scene where she strangles Mr. Lopez, her tone, at first, is bland, not sexual.

