tk+machinal

Taylor Keller THEA 2000 Richmond 3/26/2017 Machinal Critique

 I saw the production of Sophie Treadwell’s //Machinal// Friday night in the Cellar Theater the best way to describe how it made me feel was taken aback. After seeing Vanya in the same theater a little over month ago, it was astonishing the lightheartedness of last production compared the horribly shocking ending to this 1920’s play. I am going to break up the play critique into beginning, middle, and end and go into how the history of this story made me feel because I feel like that it is such an important part of this play.

 The beginning of this play started off with a bang for me. At first, I was very confused as to what was going on because of all the talking and movement at the same time. I know it was done for a certain artistic effect because I had to do in a production of mine before too. I do have to say they did a fantastic jo at not skipping a beat once and seemed like they picked up their cues every time which is so hard because many lines were very small and said the same time as another ensemble member. It took me a little while to realize that they were working together in an office, but I think the lighting of the screens to show abstract scenery of where they are helped a lot. I am a big fan of minimalistic stages with mainly boxes because it really allows you to focus on the story as well as have you use your imagination a bit more. I give kudos to the director for choosing that artistic choice because this play was so heavy and you needed to focus all your attention to the words being spoken so you did not miss out. Another artistic choice I enjoyed was the use of the flashlights. I feel like you do not see that very often because it usually does have to be done for a more abstract written play where you can play with the realism and have the actors doing things out of character. Within the group of workers in the beginning scene with the office workers, I think the girl with the long brown hair who was very sassy stood out in a positive way because I felt her fully engulfed in her minor character. I could even go on to say I enjoyed every role she played throughout the novel because she a very rich speaking voice and stage presence that drew you to her. A part in the beginning of the play that bothered me was the “hot dog” gag that I felt was overdone. I know it was term of the time this song was written, but I felt like it was done a couple times too much. It seemed like the rest of the audience enjoyed it so maybe it was just me. Another small complaint I had with the beginning of the play was that I really did not understand what was going on for a little bit longer than I wanted to. I know plays, movies, books, etc. you need to wait a little bit to feel involved and understand where it was going, but I felt like the preface was just so long. This was not the actors or directors fault; it was mainly the script. Once the main actress was introduced and I picked up on how she and vice president had some sort of relations, I began to pick up on some sort of plot and stick with it. I felt the young actress was very convincing of playing the age of her young 20’s and she was very consistent on her presence of feeling distressed. I did not enjoy the character of her soon-to-be husband because I felt I liked him too much to see him kind of like a villain in this story. I know this is based on a true story and he isn’t supposed to be the stereotypical “villain like” character, but I felt I wanted to hate him more to want her to murder him. He was very pleasant and I did not get the feeling that she expressed that he “made her crawl under her skin.” Overall, the beginning of //Machinal// captured my attention with the very basic stage and costumes, the vivid backgrounds projected in the background to capture some sort of place, and the very well executed ensemble work that had so much movement and lines that looked like it was done so naturally without hesitation almost like a well-oiled machine (playing off the name possibly…)

The middle of the play was very big on character development especially for the young girl. I could feel her inner struggle so deep I could feel myself as an audience member get antsy watching her struggle with the dilemma of marrying a man she doesn’t love. I did not understand the plot line with her and her mother though. What I got from it was that she had to financially support her mother, but I did not understand why her mom treated her the way she did or where the father was in the situation. I may have missed that part. I felt the scene with here running back in the room was very long and redundant and was done for a certain effect, but it still made the story drag on, when I wanted the plot to thicken and for her to either choose to marry him or not. This scene I felt could have been cut shorter if the director was able to or be written a little shorter because I feel like it slowed downed the tempo of the play at such an important part. As mentioned before, I felt the minimalistic stage was perfect for this play because the location changed often and you were able to shift your mind to another time or place just from them rearranging the few blocks. This section of the play had a lot of beautiful singing and dancing sections that you did not even realize were happening in the best way. There would be a low ballet singing in the background of certain scenes that allowed you to sink into the mood of the current scene. Also, let me just saw, all of these actors and actresses are fantastic dancers. I was amazed by the grace of all of them and the fluidity of the long scenes where they would be dancing for sometimes more than 10 minutes at a time. I was blown away with how it felt like it was just beauty around what was actually happening in the scene and the dialogue as compared to a distraction. I could definitely tell this cast worked very hard on the musical aspect they added to this play and I give them the biggest kudos. A character that captured my attention in the chunk of the play was the man she was cheating on her husband with. He came across so charming and I could understand why she as a character felt safe and serene in his presence. Overall, the middle part of the play did show the inner build-up of her internal struggle with being married to a man she cannot stand, but knows she would be broke without him.

Now to the end of the play; this is the part that really wraps up why this play is well-renowned and has been so groundbreaking for so many years. The director and script allowed me as an audience member to understand jumps in time. The scene that captivated me was the courtroom scene. The breakdown and final confession of her killing her husband was very shocking and with never seeing the play, I can fully say I did not expect that. She really demonstrated anger and being hurt when the letter was read of her “lover” exposing her. The constant banging of the blocks to show the effects of the tension building up was very effective. Also, the lights were well don’t to express the electric chair and used well throughout the whole play to effectively broadcast the mood. Overall, I left the play with really appreciating the arts and the creativity put in to this production. This is my favorite play I have seen so far for the artistic choices put into such an old classic.

Before writing this critique, I looked at the study guides provided and it gave me and even more respect for this fantastic play. Having it based on a true story really had me thinking about the life imitating art and art imitating life debate. I couldn’t believe that less than year ago, the electric chair was used and people were allowed to watch her death, let alone get a picture of it. I think this story has stuck around and had such a lasting effect because it was innovative with how it was written and it took a different spin on a time period that was not known for despair. I appreciate the script writer’s ability to story tell such a story in an artistic way with shedding life on Ruth Snyder’s life in a respectful way. I enjoyed this play very much and I hope to see more plays in the future that are based on true stories in history.