The Conical Glass: Scene of the crime

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Scene of the crime

On Friday night, we went to a murder mystery event at the public library -- the kind of thing where you go around interviewing actors playing "suspects" and then have to guess whodunit. Participants were divided into 10 teams, and we had to go all around the library to meet the suspects and learn about all the fabulous things the library has to offer. (I had never been inside the Teen Room before, and I probably never will again, but it was super-cool and cozy! Too bad I'm so old!) The funniest thing was that the "detectives" took it so seriously -- they didn't want to hear the spiel about the library, they wanted to get right down to questioning them. You'd have thought we were investigating the Unabomber killings and had to find the culprit before he struck again. I am very pleased that my team came in first place, though. Joe's team initially had the correct solution but changed it at the last minute. Always go with your gut!

Last night, we saw David Hare's "Skylight" at Shotgun Players, starring my fave Shotgun actor John Mercer, as well as Emily Jordan and, in a smaller role, Carl Holvick-Thomas. I knew Mercer would be great, of course, but Jordan was equally fantastic -- her role was a bit more challenging, as she is literally onstage the entire time, and she has to cook a spaghetti dinner. She chops an onion and clove of garlic and fries them up in a pan with a can of tomatoes; eat before you go, or the smells will make you ravenous. (Plus, it's a long play -- 2 1/2 hours.) The meal does not get consumed during the play, and afterward, I mentioned to Joe that I wondered what would happen to the food. By the time the show ends, it's been sitting there for at least 90 minutes; plus, I'm pretty sure she seriously overcooked the spaghetti. After the audience left, one of the crew came out and started eating the pasta. That answers that!

I didn't know anything about the play going in, so in the first scene, between Jordan's Kyra, an idealistic teacher living (and teaching) in some of London's least desirable neighborhoods, and Holvick-Thomas's 18-year-old Edward, I was confused: what is the relationship between these two people? All becomes clear when Tom (Mercer) enters, and the rest of the play is basically an extended discussion (often contentious) between the poor younger woman and the wealthy older man. It's extremely intense and emotionally gripping. The set is designed in such a way that about a dozen audience members are actually sitting in couches onstage, as if they were in Kyra's living room. I'm kind of glad I was a few rows back in the regular seating area; otherwise, I might have felt compelled to pop up and join in the argument myself -- or at least ask for some spaghetti.

posted by 125records @ 12:22 PM

1 Comments:

At 10:03 PM, Flasshe said…

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "dinner theater".