JHUT serves up another winner with Spoon River
Much like an anthology would be organized, the play jumped around from character to character, intent on telling their stories or something particularly poignant about their lives. Each of the characters was painted in a relatively colorful light and their stories ranged from comical to pensive to the aforementioned patriotic tone.
The music that was either the central focus of the scene onstage or merely played in the background was one of the highlights of the play. The guitar by Roush was phenomenal, as is to be expected from a Peabody student, but even something as simple as Mack Astin whistling the tune of a song was poignant. Every cast member sang as members of the chorus, but some performed impressive solos.
Kristina Madarang (sophomore) sang several remarkable solos; however, the most amusing one by far was a song she sang with Harry Laverty (sophomore). In the song, the two portrayed a married couple who were quibbling over the wife's suspicious actions, to which she always had an excuse and in doing so, concealed her affair. However, secrets can only be kept so long and eventually her husband found out, which lead to her internment in Spoon River cementery.
Christie Pridgen (junior) and Jenn Walton (freshman) shared a mainly a cappella duet that was perhaps the most powerful musical piece of the production. Walton's alto voice combined perfectly with Pridgen's voice to create a sensational song.
Other than her exceptional voice, Walton also proved her talent for portraying a wide variety of characters without seeming repetitive. Both she and Robert Powers (sophomore) crafter characters that were far from mimetic representations of characters they had played in Under Milk Wood. Each time one of the two took center stage, it could be expected that the audience would encounter a personality that they had not seen before.
However, it was not the singular talent of a few actors in the ensemble that made Spoon River a success. It was, instead, the combined effort of the many actors that made this performance one worth watching.
While Spoon River seemed to be too similar to be debuted merely a month after the production of Under Milk Wood, JHUT continued their streak of remarkable plays. The simplicity of it was refreshing and the songs combined with the storytelling-esque delivery of dialogue created a powerful show. It was at once poignant and comedic, and it was the actor's talent that achieved this balance.
The music that was either the central focus of the scene onstage or merely played in the background was one of the highlights of the play. The guitar by Roush was phenomenal, as is to be expected from a Peabody student, but even something as simple as Mack Astin whistling the tune of a song was poignant. Every cast member sang as members of the chorus, but some performed impressive solos.
Kristina Madarang (sophomore) sang several remarkable solos; however, the most amusing one by far was a song she sang with Harry Laverty (sophomore). In the song, the two portrayed a married couple who were quibbling over the wife's suspicious actions, to which she always had an excuse and in doing so, concealed her affair. However, secrets can only be kept so long and eventually her husband found out, which lead to her internment in Spoon River cementery.
Christie Pridgen (junior) and Jenn Walton (freshman) shared a mainly a cappella duet that was perhaps the most powerful musical piece of the production. Walton's alto voice combined perfectly with Pridgen's voice to create a sensational song.
Other than her exceptional voice, Walton also proved her talent for portraying a wide variety of characters without seeming repetitive. Both she and Robert Powers (sophomore) crafter characters that were far from mimetic representations of characters they had played in Under Milk Wood. Each time one of the two took center stage, it could be expected that the audience would encounter a personality that they had not seen before.
However, it was not the singular talent of a few actors in the ensemble that made Spoon River a success. It was, instead, the combined effort of the many actors that made this performance one worth watching.
While Spoon River seemed to be too similar to be debuted merely a month after the production of Under Milk Wood, JHUT continued their streak of remarkable plays. The simplicity of it was refreshing and the songs combined with the storytelling-esque delivery of dialogue created a powerful show. It was at once poignant and comedic, and it was the actor's talent that achieved this balance.
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alex
kiev apartments
posted 7/30/09 @ 2:58 AM EST
yes... remember your past and you will find your future
nice article
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