CE+critique+1

// Fuddy Meers  // is my first show to ever consider on paper and I admit I was nervous about writing this critique. I thought, “who am I to tell anyone what is right or wrong about their acting, directing, etc. when I have no knowledge or experience on the subject?” After watching the play, organizing my thoughts, and considering my personal opinions, however, I came to find that I, as an audience member, could present a perfectly credible consideration of the work that is both fresh and objective. The setting of // Fuddy Meers // is clearly well thought out to allow for quick scene changes and limited resources. For example, when the scene changes from Gertie’s living room to the attic downstairs, the oval stage is flipped around to reveal a roomful of boxes on the other side. White cloths are thrown over the table, chairs, and bench to become old, covered furniture. This speedy transition helps to maintain the audience’s attention. What I do not like about the setting is the very close quarters. Sitting on the front row, I become easily distracted from the “world” of // Fuddy Meers //whenever a fight breaks out and a character teeters dangerously on the edge of falling into // my // world. The costumes in the show seem to all be very fitting of the characters. Richard’s morning bathrobe illustrates his attempt to look like the All-American husband and dad who likes to relax and drink coffee every morning. His second costume consists of a sweater vest over a collared shirt (buttoned to the very top) and penny loafers and his hair is gelled. This shows another attempt by Richard to appear to have his life together, although his neurotic personality and references to a sketchy past tell us differently. Kenny and the Limping Man’s blue jeans let us know that the period is modern. Kenny also wears a hoodie, which is a very appropriate accessory to his “don’t care” attitude. Millet is the picture of eccentricity. One of the pants on his suit (which was stolen from JC Penny) is rolled up to reveal a bright blue sock and his patterned red tie is backwards. Millets outfit is a great contribution to his nervous and erratic personality. Heidi wears big purple earrings and bright blue eye shadow. This look is not typical for a cop, suggesting that this twisted officer may not be exactly as she seems. A really effective scene in terms of light and sound effects is the very first one. The lights are down to a blackout and the sound of an alarm clock seems to reverberate against the walls. This very first moment draws in the audience’s senses before the action has even begun. A spotlight then reveals only a small portion of the stage; it shines on a single bed as the alarm clock continues to yell. These effects at the beginning have me feeling excited to meet the characters and discover the plot. I find myself on the edge of my seat, wondering how the mysteries will unfold, from this moment on. There is another moment in the play where I think the light and sound effects contribute a great deal to the reality of the scene. When Richard and Kenny are in the car and Kenny yells a warning to his father about an oncoming truck, it looks like huge bright headlights flash in the characters’ faces while their bodies lurch and a honking sound bellows. The smart coordination of lights and sounds pull off a scene that could easily look fake and stupid. Furthermore, I think that including sounds heard by no characters other than Claire, like a dog barking and music playing, is significant in establishing the audience as taking Claire’s point of view. We can hear things that the other characters (besides Claire) cannot and this causes us to connect personally with Claire and root more for her until the end. Lastly, lights and sounds combine to create a heart-stopping moment at the end of Act I. All the characters in the play are yelling louder and louder at each other until there is a cacophony of sound. In this moment, three things happen simultaneously. A gunshot explodes, the room goes black, and we, the audience, feel our hearts drop to our feet. There are several excellent acting moments in the show and I feel that almost all the actors developed believable characters. For example, the actor who plays Richard smiles and says “hello” after walking into the living room, bloody shovel in hand, behind a girl who collapses and dies. All of the smiles and giggles and fidgeting by the actor expertly demonstrate the nervous and almost creepy manner in which the character tries to hold himself together. The actor who plays Millet has a particularly challenging role vocally. He does a great job mastering the crazy voice of his puppet in contrast to his own deep, monotonous voice when the timing is regular. However, during fast paced scenes when Millet’s character becomes nervous and his puppet voice yells quickly and loudly, it can be hard to distinguish Millet’s voice from the puppet’s voice. This is a little distracting for the audience but I can appreciate how difficult it must be to switch voices and I recognize that the actor must have worked very hard to do as well as he did. The actor who plays Kenny captures the “I don’t care” attitude perfectly with his body language. His posture is slouched, he puts his hands in his pockets, and he smokes the joint in such a way that I could be easily convinced that he lights up every day. The sobbing seems a little forced near the end, however, which takes away from the joyful atmosphere where mother and son reunite. I think the actor who plays the Limping Man does an excellent job portraying an aggressive man trying hard to seem stable. The actor speaks quickly and loudly but clenches his fists when addressing Gertrude. This shows that he’s trying to hold back his temper. However, when the actor playing the Limping Man addresses “Claire”, he often holds his hands up as if in surrender. This small show of body language illustrates the character’s need to have Claire think him an innocent man. Something I notice about the directing of this play is that the actors seem to stay in character during scene changes. I can see that while walking off stage during a blackout, the actress playing Gertie remains hunched over. Even more, when the scene ends after Heidi falls dead to the ground, all of the characters walk off stage but Heidi remains on the platform while the stagehands turn the scene around. Staying in character like that gives us, the audience, the impression of the human beings as their characters, not as actors. The show is made more believable to me than it would be had Heidi miraculously risen from the dead and walked off the stage. In terms of casting, I think the director did a good job overall. Specifically, the actor who plays Kenny is perfect for the role because his boyish grin shows the kind and innocent side of his character. I think it would have been a mistake to cast a buff, rebellious looking teenager which I would guess is usually the case in this play. On the other hand, I do not think that the actress who plays Claire is perfect for that part. She does a great job playing the wide-eyed, confused girl at the beginning. However, her angry moments are a little uncomfortable from then on. I think that the actress herself may be a very sweet girl who cannot quite capture the darker, perhaps jaded side of Claire because maybe she cannot relate to it. My favorite scene in the play is the last scene in Act I, mostly due to great directing. All of the characters are scattered about the stage, yelling at each other. Each group of two or three characters seems to be its own little scene centered on a different argument. The director creates a perfect balance by capturing the sense of chaos but also allowing the audience to understand the central argument in each little scene. No two characters speak over each other but the tempo and rhythm remains fast and excitement builds. Finally, I think the title of this play perfectly sums up the irony of the plot. The only person in the play who both knows and is willing to tell Claire the truth about her past cannot even pronounce the words “funny mirrors”. The acting, directing, costumes, lights and sounds each contributed its own part in creating the twisted masterpiece that is // Fuddy Meers //.