Once upon a time I went to a play and it was called Cherry Orchard. And I think there were some problems with the direct address and the script was not the best adaptation in the world. Not all versions of Cherry Orchard are like this one; some are awesome. There was direct address---too much! They used some lines that were directed to characters in another Cherry Orchard that I saw, but in this one they were directed to the audience. Then it is not exactly a play; it is just a person talking to you in a costume. When characters are talking to each other, then it is more of a story. Direct address is good when the audience is a character. Like in Liza Minelli's Daughter, we became a character in the story. We danced, and she told us stories, and she climbed up into the audience and talked to us. When I went to go see The Cherry Orchard, it was not the best play in the world, but I still liked some of it.
I liked the dancing scene. It was a cool scene because there was dancing that was folk dancing. They did Russian dancing because it took place in Russia. I think that they put the scene in because the director thought it would be a good scene because he put funny things in it--like when Yepikhodov (Fernando S. Albiar) fell down trying to do the Russian dance.
I liked the scene where Charlotta (Liz Fletcher) was cleaning a gun. It was really funny. She said she didn't know who she was, and when she leaves she says, "I still do not know who I am." She should know who she is, and she didn't even know what her name is. All the audience knows exactly what her name is. Why don't we just get her a dictionary? She had a dog which was not an actual dog, and you could plainly see that. It was funny that you could plainly see that it was not an actual dog. The trick with the baby was really funny because she like tricked people that it was an actual baby. If she knows magic tricks, then it makes her character more interesting. I liked her because she was funny.
And I also really liked the scene where they move back into their old house after being in Paris. It was a nice beginning. When they got there you heard this "Hooray!" and this smooching. It was kind of weird, but it showed that they had not seen each other for a long time and they really liked each other.
I liked Varya (Helen Young). I thought she was stern, and I like stern people. She was fierce, and I like fierce people.
I think people that like direct address, different kinds of translations, and silly stuff would like this play. I think it was an okay play, and I think this play should be for ages 4 and up. I think if they used less direct address, it would be a little bit better. And if they didn't take out so many lines, then it would show you what the actual play was really like. I think Chekhov would like it to be more romantic, and have characters actually go into the cherry orchard and not just have it in the background, and have people talk with characters instead of the audience.
Photo: Dean LaPrairie
Hazel was a very smart and helpful rabbit, and he was played by Paul S. Holmquist. He was always trying to keep his little brother safe. I don't mean like younger brother, I mean like runt brother. I really liked his part because he was kind. You think he was dead, but then he is actually okay. He starts out just being Hazel, and at the end he turns into Hazelrah which means King Hazel or leader Hazel. Paul Holmquist also played El-ahrairah. El-ahrairah is a legendary rabbit. There are lots of stories about him. Paul played both the parts because they both were almost the same: they were both rabbits; they both wanted to save their friends.
Chelsea Paice played Clover. Clover was very nice, and she was always trying to keep people safe--like when she was trying to get her friends to go live with Hazel with her. And she was the one that didn't get put in the cage. She also played Vinca who got killed at the very beginning. I don't think that was the owl getting Vinca. The black rabbit was the rabbit of death. The black rabbit takes her to the owl, and the owl gets her, and the black rabbit takes her away and turns her into a ghost. Vinca wanted to go anywhere her brother Blackberry was going. And then she dies. Then she didn't go anywhere her brother was going because she was dead. I was very sad for her.
Christopher M. Walsh played Bigwig. He was in love with Hyzenthlay, and he was told to watch over her while the others were gone because she was a troublemaker for them but not for Bigwig. Bigwig was fuh-larious. When he was trying to to sound disappointed he actually sounded very funny. When Hyzenthlay said "Don't forget to say that you were disappointed" he actually was disappointed, so it was very easy to say that he was disappointed because he was. He was disappointed that he couldn't make babies with her because it wasn't her mating time yet. He also was part of the Owsla in the first warren. He runs away with Hazel.
Mandy Walsh played Hyzenthlay. And she was in love with Bigwig. She wanted to run away so she could have babies. She had so many babies to take care of when she ran away. All the young ones were hidden and luckily none of the young ones died during the fights.
Scott T. Barsotti, he played Fiver. He can smell danger, and he's a runt. Hazel is his brother. He is scary at some parts. There was a scary part when he screams because Hazel they think is dead. He could smell danger at the warren, that something dangerous was going to happen. And he was right. Some believed him and some of them didn't.
Silver was played by Bryson Engelen. Silver was the cousin of Threarah. Threarah is the leader of the first warren. He was part of the Owsla for a month. Silver wore really funny goggles that I think were swimming goggles. I think the funniest person in how he moved around was Silver. He moved more like a rabbit than the others but none of them really dressed like a rabbit. Silver brings up the idea of rabbits fighting cats. I think he is obsessed with rabbits defeating cats. He thinks rabbits would give him a reward and make him a leader if he fighted a cat. I actually think some Rabbits could fight cats--like Hazel and Silver. They do once.
Dave Skvarla played Cowslip and General Woundwort. General Woundwort had a very creepy costume. He had like this scratch over one eye that showed that he always fights things. He wanted everybody to stay where he lived, and he wanted Bigwig to be killed. He's one hundred percent horrible. Cowslip was less scary, and he was nicer. It was awesome when Dave Skvarla played both the parts because then he got to play a good character and a bad character. Sometimes my dad gets to do that, so I thought it was cool. It tells you that they are actors that have spunk. Paul S. Holmquist had spunk too.
Jesse Manson playacted Dandelion and Kehaar. Dandelion was like the great storyteller. He told the stories about El-ahrairah. I loved Kehaar. Kehaar is a bird that all the rabbits like. He helps them by finding the house for them and by telling them the ways across the river. He was really funny, and his voice was hilarious. I loved when he said " I will go and mate on big water." I love how he called it "big water" when it was just an ocean, I think. And there was another funny part where he said,"and little baby bigwigs run away." I think he knew who was going to get married.
Chris Daley played Blackberry. Blackberry is one of Fiver's and Hazel's friends. He's very smart. He has a lot of smart ideas, like carrying Fiver over the water on a board. He is the only one with a sister. The others have brothers or no siblings at all. He is very sad when his sister dies. His sister was very smart too--she was smart to go with Blackberry because he's smart.
Strawberry was acted by Eduardo Garcia. Strawberry's wife gets killed. It is very sad when his wife gets killed, but you don't see it happen. Strawberry comes with Hazel and Fiver to the next warren because his wife is dead.
Captain Holly was acted by Matt Engle. He wanted to take Bigwig to jail, but then he turns to their side because almost all the rabbits at the first warren had died. Trying to save the other rabbits, he fights General Woundwort. It makes you think you like him and then you are sad when he dies.
Matt Kahler played Threarah. Threarah is the leader in the first warren. In the first warren he was calling Hazel Walnut. Fiver thinks a bad thing is coming. And Threarah is like "Yes, very upsetting" in not a very upsetting way at all--he didn't actually sound upset. He was supposed to sound not upset. It was hilarious. You kind of like him sometimes but sometimes you kind of hate him. And when he dies you feel sad because he is dead.
The costumes by Aly Renee Amidei were very cool. I expected them to be more rabbit-ish. It wouldn't be as much grown-up-ish if they had rabbit ears and bunny tails. It would be more for kids. The costumes told you what personality the rabbits had. Blackberry had a little bow tie and glasses, which made him look like he was smart. And Hazel's pants had holes in them, which showed you that he wanted to protect all his friends. I thought it was good that they told you about the personality instead of that they were rabbits. Joanna Iwanikcka did the masks. I loved the masks! The skeleton masks were awesome. The helmet masks were really appropriate because they had ears and they were rabbittish. El-ahrairah and his helper Rabscuttle wore masks--then it made them look more legendary. That's how you could tell they were legendary--they were wearing masks.
Wenhai Ma did the projections. They were really cool because the black rabbit of death looked like one enormous bloody mouth. They used projections for places that they go, like the barn, and they used them also for blood--like blood came up on the screen when someone got hurt. We thought it was very creepy when blood came up on the screen. I thought there would be blood effects instead of blood coming up on the screen. It was scarier. It was good that it was scarier because it was a very sad and scary book.
People that like rabbits and legends would like this play. Whenever it was funny, everybody in the audience would always laugh. And when it you thought Hazel was dead, everybody cried--but silently. People should see it if they like a combination of funny and sad and scary. It is a grown-up play and a kid play because there are some funny parts that kids like (like "big water" and "baby bigwigs")and things that grown-ups like, like wondering what is going to happen next.
Photos: Suzanne Plunkett
In the first scene Mary wore a robe, and I didn't think it was an actual costume because she was telling stuff that actually happened to her and because it wasn't after a dance number. She might have been dreaming that she did this play or she was just talking to you as Mary Fons about stuff that happened to her in real life. I got that idea because she was wearing the robe. She is telling you how she made this play because she wanted people to know that she was actually Liza Minnelli's daughter and nobody believed her.
The costumes were really cool. Why didn't she wear the white one they were talking about? I don't think she was ever going to wear the white one in any play at all. At the end, her clothes were regular. When I am just wearing regular clothes, I feel lonely because it makes me feel like I am not Ada Grey. I am just a girl wandering around. I am not somebody; I'm nobody. She looked like a person that didn't do any plays at all. You feel sad for her because she is sad about the play and thinks nobody would like it. The clothes were really Liza-ish.
There are these two guys that are her assistants. They like worked for her all day--they were like double assistants. Their names were Donnell Williams and Joseph Schupbach. I've seen them in Barrel of Monkeys. I think she put these characters in her play because I think Liza Minnelli had assistants that were like them. There was this funny part that Donnell and Joseph did that was called "crazy dad." Her actual dad was the person that was the crazy dad. There was a marker on stage instead of the actual dad. But her dad was not a marker in real life. It was funny because he kept saying "I'm crazy dad!" Whenever crazy dad leaves he goes and says "Crazy!"
It was really funny when Joseph was like, "How about we can sing, 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,' and then they turn it on and Joseph is lip-syching and it is really hilarious because he sounds exactly like her--because he is lip-synching.
There was a little letter in the roses that said: "Donnell, I think you will be a great Judy." And Mary comes out and looks at it. And Donnell looks like Judy Garland because he was all in a dress and he talked like a girl kind of. Judy Garland is very mean to Mary. Judy Garland was actually a very good actress but a very snotty girl in this play.
Mary tells a story about her medical problems. It was really sad. I felt sorry for her. She could not have a baby. Liza Minnelli could not have a baby either, so that is one of the reasons that Mary thought she was her daughter. It was so weird because she said Liza Minnelli can't have a baby either--then how could she be her mother? She is kind of turning on her own self.
My favorite dance scene was the one where they wore bowler hats. They danced really cool. They did like hip hip hip and at the end she fell back in the chair. Literally almost fell off the chair--but she just like fell back off the chair. Her feet were still on it, but her head was tipped back like all the way. There was this girl in American in Paris, and there was the part where these two men were looking in the mirror, and it was like, oh I know that girl, and it showed a picture of a girl dancing like Liza Minnelli's daughter in this play.
Donnell, Joseph, and Mary are watching a movie. There is this girl that Mary says to the audience, "At first I thought that girl was a blow-up doll." And I agreed because 1) she actually looked like a moving blow-up doll that was a robot and 2) she looked like the mermaid in the-pink-panther-in-love-with-the-mermaid sculpture by Jeff Koons. If you want to see that you can go to the MCA.
There was a funny scene and before she got drunk she said "We are going to party after the show." And then when she wanted to forget all her problems, then she said, when she wanted to get drunk: "It's party time!" And then everybody went up and danced. And I danced too. I was kind of nervous because neither of my parents came out. Mom didn't come out because she was holding the drink. It was a prop that Mom was holding that was a drink. Someone gave it to her because they needed the prop for when Mary got drunk later. Dad didn't come out because he was hot and he was wearing so much stuff. So Donnell helped me feel good about going up on stage by coming up with me.
The scene where she drank a lot--that was kind of a little creepy. I was actually a little scared because I thought she was actually going to get drunk in real life. She gets drunk and she climbs on so much stuff and is in the audience. Joseph and Donnell are telling her "We do believe you, and we can go to New York." You thought she was going to hurt somebody or shoot a gun because she was in the audience and she looked like she was going to shoot herself or something. She was so sad and angry and some people shoot themselves when they are sad and angry and drunk. She was so angry that the helpers didn't believe her that she was Liza Minnelli's daughter. If kids go to see that they will be very overwhelmed.
I GOT A DOLL! Liza Minnelli's daughter gave me the doll that looked like Liza Minnelli. She's like "Maybe I am actually not a superstar, so maybe I will give my favorite thing to you because I don't need it anymore because I am not doing the show." She was talking to me, and I am a kid, so that made it kind of moving. It was like she was talking to her very own daughter. I almost cried.
People that like Liza Minnelli, dancing, black shoes, singing, funny helpers, and playing very babyish pianos would like this play. It was fun because you get to dance and you can very much just sit back and enjoy because it is very funny. It was also moving, creepy, and overwhelming. People should go see it because it is awesome and delightful to see.
Photos: Johnny Knight
Once upon a time I went to a dance show, and it was called Busta Keaton. It was about Buster Keaton, and it was really fun. Buster Keaton is a famous black-and-white silent movie actor. He was very funny. Busta Keaton was like Buster Keaton only a rap dancer. Both were like clumsy funny and stunt-sy. Stunt-sy means very good at stunts. There were lots of cool dances. There were people in black and white. And there were some people that were in colorful costumes. The colorful costumes were for the teenagers. They were like new movies, ones that are newer to us than black and white. There was sad-moody, rock, and hip-hop songs. The ads were really funny because they were from a long time ago. And some of them were really hilarious because there were these kids saying, "You should try this product or something terrible will happen." Or something like that. That was good because it made it more old fashioned.
There was this glow-in-the-dark scene. It was really fun. They were wearing white outfits, and you could only see the outfits. My socks started glowing in the dark because they were white! And there were these floating shapes and people who kicked people in the head. You saw all these people doing different moves, and the music sounded like a robot.
There was this really funny scene where this girl fell in love with Busta Keaton. She was like "Oh, you have a pie?" And she really wanted some. She chased Busta Keaton all around the room. Then he set it down and said, "go ahead and have some." Then her face fell in it. Then she looked up and she looked very angry. Then they danced everywhere. They still like each other even though the pie got in her face.
There was this scene and these three men and like this big carton. Everyone wanted to get on the carton, and to get it they must do the greatest tricks. They were like jumping off it in different ways and trying to impress each other. And then they all got to sit on it. That meant that they didn't really like each other at first, but now they do.
It was cool because all the dances were all different. It was all different kinds of stories that were part of the same play. I never ever got bored. The dances were really fun, exciting, and awesome. People that like dancing, Buster Keaton, and black and white would like this dance show. People should go see it. They should go see it today or tomorrow because they are having their last show tomorrow.
It was directed by Kimberly Senior. It wasn't as funny as Cherry Orchard--she also directed that play. This one was more dramatic. She chose a play with guns, miners who don't have jobs, grown-up talk, words that some children would rather not hear (but not me, I am okay with this kind of talk), and no speech to a bookcase. It was less for kids. It was a good play still.
It is about a fake conquest of the South Pole--as you can see in the title, except for the fake part. It is not actually at the South Pole. They are in an attic. When I am angry, sometimes I just go into my room and play. I know some of you might think that is silly--but that is what makes little kids feel better. The miners think if they play conquest of the South Pole then that will make them feel better. It does not make them feel better at all--it makes them sadder because they still don't have any jobs and they don't have any money. Somebody doesn't want to play it and then they fight over the game and then they all quit except for two people who still play. Then a woman (played by Jenny Avery) has a baby and the play ends.
Anderson Lawfer played the meanest husband in the world. He did go to the actual South Pole, but he didn't play the game. He was so mean. I don't even know his name because I was so focused on how mean he was. His name was Rudi. Whew. He was rude. He gets into a fight because he treats his wife badly. He was bragging about going to the South Pole, and that makes them angry because they are just pretending. The fight was really very very creepy. I didn't even watch all of it because it was sooo creepy. It looks like Rudi bled very very very very bad. Very bad. It kind of made me a little grossed out because I know Andy in real life.
Rosi was played by Justine C. Turner. Rosi is Rudi's girlfriend. I felt sorry for her. Rosi was very cool. She smoked. Everybody saw her smoking. When she comes to the stage, then she says, "They call me Rosi," then she smokes the cigarette and she says "The Divorcee." If you don't know what divorcee means you can learn it from me--ADA GREY! (and my mom). It means a divorced female person. I just learned it a few seconds ago--but if you read this in the future, like a hundred years later, then it will not be a few seconds ago. It will be a hundred years ago. Justine did a good job being funny. When she said "divorcee" that was hilarious, and I didn't even know what divorcee meant, but I laughed anyway.
Jamie Vann played Slupianek. Slupianek is such a hilarious name. Slupianek makes me think of a funny person. And he was pretty funny. There was a song called, "Why can't a Moose ride a bike. Err Errk. Because he doesn't have the thumb to ring the bell." It was the main song in the whole entire thing. It was really hilarious and they sang it a lot. Slupianek was the person who sent Braukmann to cooking class. It was funny how he presented it. Slupianek was the leader to the South Pole. But he wasn't always the leader because some people had their very own ideas, which he disapproved of. But then he did them anyway. He is in love with Braukmann's Wife. And there is this part where he like lets her back in the chair and puts her forward again and then he says "Scene 6." I think they were starting to fall in love with each other. I have a theory about the last scene of the play. He was waiting in the hospital and decided to go to the South Pole when he was waiting for Braukmann's Wife to have the baby. I think she is going to have the baby, and then the baby is going to want to go the South Pole with his daddy. And he is going to be in a tiny little baby coat, with a tiny little ski mask, and then a little teddy bear with a coat that says "New Baby" on it and a tiny little bear ski mask.
Braukmann's Wife was played by Jenny Avery. There is some shooting in the play that she does. You think she is going to shoot Slupianek, but then she shoots his pigeons instead--which you don't really care about as much as Slupianek. I didn't actually think she did the right decision, because Slupianek was actually in love with her and then she would be like "I'm going back with Braukmann again." Then he might feel sad because he was so looking forward to marrying her because he had no wife. She shouldn't have broke up with Braukmann and just get together with him again because that made Slupianek and Braukmann both very sad. You still like the character though because she has a very simple but hard life.
Tom Hickey played Braukmann. He was really hilarious because he was like "What? I'm going to cooking class?" He always cooked up a meal. Maybe Slupianek wanted him to be like his wife. French fries in Antarctica--in the South Pole? Can you imagine something more hilarious? No. Braukmann was kind of one of the helpers that helped with the things Slupianek couldn't do--like cook. Braukmann was reading a book, and he had a dream: he was giving a speech on a chair at night. And then his wife woke up and told him to go back to bed. She was kind of a little bit tired, I could see.
Michael Dailey played Seiffert. His nickname was Moose and there was a curtain. And Buscher said "What is behind this curtain that wasn't there yesterday?" And they kept saying "curtain that wasn't there yesterday" instead of just "the curtain" because that made it funnier. Moose was behind it, and Moose was about to hang himself because he doesn't have a job. Then he can't get money. They forced him to eat french fries. The dreaded french fries! Moose had no wife or I would have told you about her already. Nobody had a wife except for Braukmann and Slupianek and that was the same wife! Rosi isn't Rudi's wife anymore because he treated her so terribly.
John Ferrick played Bushcher. He wanted to play characters that failed to go to the South Pole because he wanted to be failures because he thought he was a failure because he didn't have a job. But then everybody said we don't want to be failures because we aren't failures. He does not all fit with Slupianek, meaning he is not the same personality. They want much different things. They actually didn't go to the South Pole, so then they wouldn't be lying if they pretended that they had failed to go the South Pole.
Joel Ewing played the dog. There was this funny part where he was in this pose all ready to do the next scene. Everybody else was frozen solid about to smoke a cigar. And then the dog kept tapping them and they wouldn't move, so the dog just went off stage. He was funny and very good at pretending to pull sleds.
If parents do not like kids seeing people drinking and smoking and fighting this would not be a play for them. And if the children do not like seeing people fighting over a girl or breaking up or bras, then they should not see this play. I liked it a lot anyway because it is okay with me to see that kind of stuff. People that like things that are cold, dramatic stuff, babies, and funny stuff like "bottomless--as usual!" would like this play. I recommend that people should go see this play because it is a good play and lots of people would like it. Some parts are fun; some parts are depressing. Having depressing parts makes the play make more sense. If it is happy for the whole time, it is not that much fun to see. There have to be some depressing things to make it a good play. For example, in Orlando he/she is in love with Sasha but then Sasha runs away from him/she. And that is a good play. And Conquest of the South Pole is a good play too.
Photos: Chris Ocken
Once upon a time, I went to a show and it was called (whisper) Sinbad, The Untold Tale. And it was a cool play. It was about a genie and a porter and a beautiful lady that fell in love with the porter--kind of. That porter was actually the main character. That was cool because a porter is not usually a main character. I thought he would just bring the box to Sinbad the Sailor, and then you would never see the porter again. It was very adventurous. Bum bum bum! If you don't know what adventurous means, you can learn it from me--ADA GREY! It means like falling down a waterfall with nobody catching you. Adventurous means like maybe you would survive. It means dangerous but fun.
There were two Sinbads. One of them was Sinbad the Sailor, and the other was Sinbad the Porter. One of them was really rich, and one of them was really poor. One of them was really older than the other. Adam El-Sharkawi played Sinbad the Sailor. He did a good job pretending that he was older than he actually was. The character really wanted to get people's attention to the story. He made it really exciting by telling us about his own adventures--like there was this one where he fought a kind of creature that was terrible. Edgar Miguel Sanchez played Sinbad the Porter. And I saw him in Wilson Wants It All, and he did a great job in that. He did a great job in this too! You were supposed to feel sorry for him because he's very poor and is bossed around a lot and gets threatened a lot. He was really hilarious. There was this funny part where Ittifaq said "What else can't you do?" Response from Sinbad the Porter: "I cannot think of a reason to like you!" That is a really hilarious answer because that is exactly what she did not want to hear. Edgar was awesome.
Mike Ooi was the Silent Genie. I thought that was a great character because he was another bad guy that helped the sorceress; he was really funny. And here is a part where he was funny: Sinbad the Porter was arguing with Ittifaq, and then the Silent Genie is smiling, and Sinbad the Porter says "Stop Smiling," and then the Silent Genie just starts smiling again. I thought that was hilarious. He was sometimes kind of scary but funny at the same time.
Abu Nuwas was a good genie. He was played by Esteban Andres Cruz. In the genies' fight he did not just go up to the Silent Genie and defeat him. He had to go through a lot of damage. He like jumped and shooted things out of his hands. He moved dramatically like he was about to do something cool and dramatic. Here is how you do a genie fight. You pick an opponent. You make a movement. And then you jump when they shoot at you. And then you have to go back. If you miss the shot that means you are losing. If you get him every single time, and he only got you once, then you would be winning.
Mildred Marie Langford, she played the Sorceress Jan Shah. I thought she was a good actor because every time she tried to make up scary things to do--like scary kinds of laughs. She said you can die or be with me. And the "be with me" part is better than dying, but the girl Ittifaq chose dying because I don't think she wanted to live with her because she was bad. There was this really creepy part where the sorceress dissolved into ashes. If you were a super villain and came to the play (and it would be very easy, because you could just break through a window) then you would feel very sad for the sorceress because she died. And superheroes would feel great that the bad guy died.
Ittifaq was played by Dana Dajani. Ittifaq was the daughter of Sinbad the Sailor. She was kind of mean at the beginning, but then she turned nice because then she actually liked the porter. She like really wanted to fight because she really wanted to have an adventure. Her father needed her and thought she was too young, so she could not go on any adventures. Then she dresses up like a pirate and goes on the ship. She couldn't go on any adventures until her father was sick, and I felt very sad for her. There was this part where she gets captured by this snake that comes in when she tries to get the flower, which is the only way to save her father. That scene was a good scene because it was creepy--the snake came up to her and it was just so sudden. At the end, all the people in the audience got to ask questions. And one of them was "was it hard not to laugh at the funny parts?" And Dana said, "Yes it was very hard not to laugh when the snake laughs." I did not think it was funny; I thought it was creepy. She looked terrified when the snake comes out. I think that is good for the actor and the play.
The magic carpet was cool. They like put their feet in it and they walked around so it looked like they were actually flying. The carpet flies when Ittifaq tells Sinbad the Porter the instructions. She says only love will make the carpet fly. And then he instantly fell in love with her.
They had people dressed in black to help them change clothes and take off pieces of the set that weren't supposed to be there. They lifted the genies up to dodge things in the scene where there was a genie fight. That was a kabuki style thing. I recognized it because I saw another thing that was kabuki, and I saw people in black behind them. I think it was a good idea because it taught the kids that were there what kabuki was. I think it was a great idea because then when people go to Japan they will know what they are seeing when they go to a theatre in Japan.
I think people that like stories that have snakes trying to hurt people and genies and sorceresses would like this play. The audience was not very rowdy because people were really paying attention to the play. 5 to 10 year olds would like this play. I recommend that kids go see it because the actors are funny and the fights are cool.
Photos by: Johnny Knight
Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Orlando. It was at the Court Theatre. It was a story about a boy that turns into a girl, and it was also about how you can love women even if you are a woman. It took place in a lot of time periods; to be precise, the Elizabethan, the 19th century, and the 20th century. Orlando is mostly thirty for the play even though she/he has lived through all these different centuries. At the very beginning he is sixteen. There is a male chorus; they played different characters. The director, Jessica Thebus, made them play some women parts too because this was a play about men and women put together and how they connect to each other. It is based on a book by Virginia Woolf. She wanted to tell people that you can marry people that are the same sex and that people can feel like boys if they are girls and feel like girls if they are boys. What happened to Orlando couldn't really happen in real life because she is alive for centuries. Most people are only alive one century.
The Queen Elizabeth was played by Lawrence Grimm. I thought he did a good job playing the Queen because he was a boy and the character was a girl. He was so funny. The Queen was like "kiss me," and then Orlando kissed her and she said "That's my boy!" I felt kind of sorry for her when Orlando kissed the other girl.
There was a scene where Orlando was in the bed with the Queen. And the chorus was outside of the bed and said, "And the flower bloomed and fa-ded. The sun came up and back down again." That was funny because they were like dancing at the same time. Their arms were up, and they were on their tippy toes, and when they said faded they put their arms down.
In the book they said that the girl that Orlando was supposed to marry (Thomas J. Cox) was dropping as many handkerchiefs as she had but Orlando would only pick up Sasha's handkerchief. In the play, she threw so many handkerchiefs and said "Orlando! I'm dropping my handkerchiefs! Will you pick them up! Hellooo!" That was how I imagined it in the book except I did not think it was going to be played by a boy.
Sasha was played by Erica Elam. Sasha was a Russian princess. I love how she was like "Translation: Will you please honor me by passing the salt." She was always speaking in French but she had a Russian accent. She did a very very good Russian accent. She was going to marry Orlando but then she went away on a ship with sailors played by the chorus. She should have stayed with Orlando but maybe her father was worried about her and she had to go see him. Maybe it was for a good reason.
When the big flood happens there was a couple laying in bed with millions of eating utensils. I love that part because it is so hilarious.
There was a scene of Othello by Shakespeare in the play that Orlando saw. I thought that it was a very good adaptation of Othello. And who played Othello was Kevin Douglas. Orlando was thinking that he had murdered Sasha with his own hands. But he did not. He was just imagining. He was imagining it because Othello is about a man who suffocates his wife because of the handkerchief but she did not really give it to another man that she is actually not in love with. Othello feels really bad and kills himself.
The actor that played Orlando was named Amy J. Carle. When she was a boy she just wore her hair up in a bun--very easy. I thought she did a good job at playing a female and male part--even though they were the same part. There was a flies game that they played that the Duke that was playing with Orlando (Cox) had to give money to her because whoever had the flies on the lump of sugar that they thought got the money. So it was like gambling. She was like "Ah! Ah! A fly!" and then she got his whole entire fortune. But then he was like, "I can forgive you with my charmingness." And she was like, "Oh no. Not again!" I felt that when she actually speaked to us (not just speaking to a character) it was cool because it made you feel like she didn't just care about the people in the story, she cared about the people watching.
The scene where she changes into a woman was a cool part because the chorus said "And she stands in front of all of us in complete nakedness." You saw her behind a curtain, but you knew she was naked. It tells you that she is a woman. It was not surprising because I had read that part of the book.
In the play, the chorus said "And he did what any young man would do." And Orlando says "King, please send me off to Constantinople" because he wants to get away from the Archduchess (Cox). And he does get away from the Archduchess--for a century. Most people would think that was good, but not Orlando because she lives more than a century. She changes into a woman and comes straight back to London and she meets the Archduchess and then he turns into the Archduke. He revealed "A man in black," and then said: "I was in love with you when I saw your picture, but I knew I could not marry you because you were my same sex." Then he turns into like a hilarious pose. Orlando is not impressed at all. The Archduke did like a lot of teeheees. The chorus said: "with an unmentionable number of tee heeing and haw hawing." She said, "Have you ever shot a Tiger?" And he said, "No, but I shot an albatross." Like duh. It is much easier to kill an albatross than a tiger. If he had shot a tiger, I would be like, I will marry you. Because that would be very useful.
Now let's talk about the Captain (Kevin Douglas). When Orlando is a woman she meets a Captain, and he says, let me give you the smallest slice of corned beef, just the size of your fingernail." It was funny because women's fingernails are smaller than men's. So that is a very small slice! She says, "The only thing to do was to resist or yield." And she yielded. There is a part they left out where a sailor is at the top of the mast, and he sees her ankles, and he almost falls off the mast. They didn't have anything to be a mast, and it would be kind of dangerous for the actors because they might fall and break their heads. That is why they did not put in that part.
They also left out the horrible-est character in the world--Greene. I did not like him because he wrote a horrible poem about Orlando. The playwright Sarah Ruhl left him out because I think he was such a bad character and she just didn't want to make people feel too too too bad for Orlando.
Now let's talk about Shelmerdine. Adrian Danzig was Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, Esq. And everyday at breakfast, he told Orlando his name. And she is like, what's your name again? He is the husband of her. He is like "I think you are a boy," and she says "You are a girl." And then they said, "But we have to prove it," and they kissed. And it looked like they were going to wrestle. And I have no idea how that would help. The kissing helped in that time because girls could not marry girls and boys could not marry boys. Now they can. Their relationship was like a really good relationship because they liked the same things. And there was this scene where she read his mind about what he did, and where he lived, and what he liked.
The set was designed by Collette Pollard. I though the set was cool because they could move around the set. So they could use the bed as a lot of things: a ship, a bed, and a flower bloomed and faded place. It was really elegant. The costumes were made by Linda Roethke. I thought they were cool because when they said "And it was the Elizabeth times" they put on ruffle-necks. The costumes had lots of velcro and zippers--no buttons because most of the people were different parts easily. And buttons are hard to get on and off. They had different time period outfits because Orlando lived through so many different centuries.
People who would like this play are people who would like a long amount of kissing, and people that like boys and girls would like this play. You should expect nakedness. You should expect some funniness and some sadness. I laughed twenty five times out loud. When they did Othello, I felt very moved. And when Sasha left I felt very very sorry for Orlando. This play is more hilarious than sad though. I recommend that you should read some of the book before you see the play but not all of it because I think people would like the surprises. You should go see this because it is a very good adaptation of Orlando.
Once upon a time I went to a play and it was called Cherry Orchard. And I think there were some problems with the direct address and the script was not the best adaptation in the world. Not all versions of Cherry Orchard are like this one; some are awesome. There was direct address---too much! They used some lines that were directed to characters in another Cherry Orchard that I saw, but in this one they were directed to the audience. Then it is not exactly a play; it is just a person talking to you in a costume. When characters are talking to each other, then it is more of a story. Direct address is good when the audience is a character. Like in Liza Minelli's Daughter, we became a character in the story. We danced, and she told us stories, and she climbed up into the audience and talked to us. When I went to go see The Cherry Orchard, it was not the best play in the world, but I still liked some of it.
