All+My+Sons

//All My Sons// was brilliant, fantastic, and wonderful. I loved this play so much, and it was very well done. So many aspects were brought together to create such a work including lighting, sound effects, costumes, props, and acting, and they all meshed terrifically. When the play opened, they had light blue lights shining onto the stage which made the mood somber and cool. The lights went off, and a recording of old music played to establish the time period. That definitely added a nice touch to the play. The stage was composed of hanging windows, a door standing alone, a hanging beam to represent the roof, ten chairs behind all of this (one for each actor), stairs leading to them, several pipes bent and welded to be in the shape of a tree, a table, four chairs, and a bench. I loved that all of the windows were hanging. It looked like a real house, and you could see into it. Also, the metal interpretation of the windblown tree was brilliant. It went well with the entire set, and it looked nice as well. The backdrop was a color gradient of blue at the top to purple at the bottom, which added to the halcyon mood. The lights, music, and backdrop changed depending on the mood the director wanted the audience to feel. For instance, when Kate Keller recalled a dream she had, the lights dimmed a little, and dreamy music played. At one point, the phone rang over the sound system, and Joe Keller answered from the back of the stage where he was sitting in his chair. When they went to intermission, the dreamy music returned, and the lights dimmed while the mom stared at the symbolic tree. They even took it a step further as to make faint lights shine on the floor in patterns, as if they were light breaking through the trees. After intermission, they open with the same old music they opened the play with. It is almost reminiscent of a war. Chris then takes the tree away, and this is kind of symbolic of Larry being blown away by the marriage and all of the events taking place. Again the dreamy music plays when Annie thinks of Larry. More sound effects are used when the cab arrives at the house for George and beeps his horn. I really loved the use of the backdrop adding to the mood. When the argument of Larry’s death is going on and Kate slaps Joe, the backdrop turns a dark, royal purple to symbolize the dark mood that has just swept in. When the truth comes out about Joe, the backdrop turns into a gradient again from dark, royal blue to dark, royal purple. The lights dim again as the scene becomes extremely dramatic and Chris throws a chair. The lights even became asymmetrical over the stage by only turning on lights four and six. The others were off to give the spotlight on the Chris and Joe fighting. Seven blue lights shined from each side of the stage as well to show the melancholy mood. When Chris leaves, the lights go dark and an old recording of a man talking plays over the sound system. The lights were faint, and the backdrop was a faint gradient from blue to purple as Kate anxiously waited for her son. A light shined on the floor as if shining through the window above the house. This window was from the room where Annie was supposed to be. Then, when Annie shows Kate the suicide letter from Larry, the lights dimmed again to show the somber mood. They got brighter though after the letter was read and Chris returned. The lights dimmed yet again when the letter was read aloud to Joe, Kate, and Annie by Chris. Soon after, we heard a gunshot from the loudspeaker to signify that Joe had killed himself, and the lights went out with Kate and Chris crying, Kate comforting him. They did an excellent job conveying the mood with the sound, lights, and backdrop. All of the things they did added to the meaning of the play, and I really enjoyed them. They added props, costumes, and acting quality to the play to enhance the meaning of it as well. In the beginning, Frank Lubey was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. At first, I was curious as to why, but him and his wife were kind of strange so I can see why he was wearing it when everybody else was wearing suits. Joe Keller was a terrific actor. He yelled when he needed to yell. He cried when he needed to cry. He laughed very convincingly as well. He even walked in a kind of daze off the stage when he was about to kill himself. He wore suspenders over his white collared shirt to signify that he was a working man, but it also could have shown a sleazy side to him. Lydia was always cheerful. I do not think she ever frowned throughout the entire play. Kate, Annie, and Chris were also very convincing whenever they had to cry onstage. Whenever the actors were not physically acting on stage, they sat in their chairs in the back with very stoic faces. I know many people did not like this touch at all, but I kind of liked it. I think it took some skill for them to not show any emotion when they were sitting back there, and I liked the concept of it. I had never seen that in a play before, and I thought it was highly original. They used props such as cups, newspapers, a phone, keys, a pot, a bag full of things, a tray of cups, an apple and a knife, the hat Lydia made Kate, and the letter. So they used a considerable amount of props, but they used them all effectively and in the right moments. After the intermission, Chris is seen wearing a muscle shirt with his slacks. This could signify his working quality. Annie comes out in a beautiful olive green dress, white gloves, and a pearl necklace. She had just gotten engaged, her brother was coming into town, and she and Chris were breaking the news to Kate that night so she wanted to look her best. Kate was also wearing an elegant dress full of glitter. George entered in a grey suit, tie, hat, and glasses. He was a lawyer, and he wanted everybody to know that he was. He certainly looked the part. Joe looked quite a bit like George, wearing a black suit and tie. Later, after Chris disappeared, Kate was shown wearing a robe to signify that it was late at night, and she was tired. Joe was also in a robe, because he had been in bed. All of the actors were very convincing in their roles, and all of the elements came together to show one of the best plays I think I have seen. I thoroughly enjoyed this play and would recommend that anyone who has not seen it should.