theatre

Uchechi Ohanu Dr. Farley Richmond THEA 2000 20 February 2017 The Review of //Good Samaritans// by Ben Brantley This review immediately hooked me in when Ben Brantley compared the musical, //Good Samaritans// written and directed by legendary Richard Maxwell, to the hit recent movie, //La La Land// starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. However, he did clearly mention how different the play’s two characters, Kevin and Rosemary were from //La La Land’s// characters. Brantley stated how Kevin and Rosemary were older and how their love story was definitely not as perfect as the similar movie. Although this foreshadowed a more complicated, and possibly less picturesque, “happily-ever-after” type of plot, instead of deterring me, it actually made the depressing plot seem more interestingly unique and less predictable. Brantley commended the realistic nature of the musical, including the character’s surprisingly below average voices and the natural hardships in life faced by these characters, such as when our dreams are just always out of reach. In fact, Brantley described the musical as a “sugar-free” plot, a “harshly lighted”, one-set stage that seemed to be nothing like how we would expect a play in theatre to be. Instead of dramatic, embellished lines and actors, the production was full of monotone voices and unaffected demeanors—apparently even sexual noises came off as stoic and recited as casually as a “shopping list”. I guess this was all in playwright Maxwell’s intentions. Kevin and Rosemary are struggling to maintain their regular, routine lives while striving for a life they really love, each having a huge “void” in their lives. Their pain, accompanied by live musicians, is conveyed through realistic, and depressing songs without flair or dramatics. Their lonely, stagnant, and depressing lives are just told straightforward, and it just happens to be in song. Although this sounds like it would put off many people, it makes me actually want to watch the musical, since Brantley states that it’s almost like seeing your own perspective of life. Many people aren’t happy with their current lives, and have dreams of becoming stars or at least big. This musical sounds as if I could really relate to it; it seems like it has real-world problems and not embellished unreal story lines that are just entertaining. I’m curious to see a refreshing and new take on a musical, one that is not happy and lively, but instead just real. Brantley didn't mention many things about the actual stage, scene, Costume design, sound or music. That's a big problem with his review since it doesn't mention the actual dramaturg type critiques of the actual musical. He only mentions that there's harsh lighting focused on one scene.