Many of the most prominent playwrights of the modern Theatre have tried their hand at the ten-minute play, including David Mamet, Christopher Durang, Craig Lucas, Tony Kushner, David Ives, August Wilson, and many others. They are a legitimate form of theatre that has proven highly popular with audiences around the world. What began there as a quirky exercise in “Polaroid playwriting” has since evolved into nothing short of a theatrical phenomenonan exciting and powerful new format that has altered the theatrical landscape with its possibilities. The play forces you to think but at least Letts permits us to laugh as well.Although Pierre Loving published a book of "ten minute plays" in 1923 (this anthology included pieces by such notable playwrights as Arthur Schnitzler, Ferenc Molnar and August Strindberg), the “official debut” of the 10-minute play as a genre is usually traced back to the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 1977 Humana Festival of New American Plays. The council is made up of characters that we might even recognize. “The Minutes” contain everything -hypocrisy, greed, conformity - that constitute small town life and democracy. Few playwrights can mine laughter from the mispronunciation of a name. It may be quiet and peaceful or it might explode! No humdrum theater. You never know what to expect with Letts. This play is anything but boring! There’s a stellar cast and a tightly written script, well-directed by Shapiro. Peel react to the revelations?Īlthough the town is Big Cherry, it’s almost impossible not to think of how divisive US politics have grown as one watches “The Minutes,” especially when we wonder how seemingly intelligent people take sides because of politics rather than doing the ‘right’ thing. Those that wish to know must see the play themselves because I don’t want to ruin the story, but we do find out what happened to Mr. It’s a delightfully comic interlude and lightens the mood, leaving the audience totally unprepared for later disclosures. Rather than tell him, the council members assume parts and act the story out as if they had been rehearsing for weeks in the parking lot. Since Peel is a relative newcomer, he is unaware of the ‘illustrious’ history of the town, the history everyone else grew up with. The main topic of discussion is the Heritage Fair, marking the beginnings of the town of Big Cherry. In other words-what is PC? As usual, cost takes precedence over what is right. There is some discussion over the appropriate language to use and then a brief debate about the difference between semantics and nomenclature. He is particularly conscious since he has a disabled family member. Hanratty (Danny McCarthy) has his own agenda and has done extensive investigation into redesigning the local park with full access. He seems a bit doddering and sometimes loses track of what’s going on but the group tolerates him (and the audience loves him.) Oldfield, the member with the most seniority (Pendelton) discusses parking spaces. From the onset, it goes a little off course when Mr. The more Peel asks, the more resistant the Mayor and the others are.Īfter the first few moments of pleasantries and condolences, the meeting begins routinely with the pledge and announcements. If this were sci-fi, we might even think he’d been abducted by aliens. There are no minutes and even more mysterious is what happened to Mr. Yet he can’t seem to learn what happened. Peel (Reid,) the newest board member missed the last meeting because of his mother’s death and is anxious to catch up. Sounds boring! Wouldn’t you rather watch paint dry?Īnd yes, they do discuss the upcoming festival and civic improvements, but along the way, some interesting events occur. Their agenda includes new business, park improvements and the yearly Heritage Festival. “The Minutes,” at Studio 54 features Letts himself as Mayor Superba and an impressive cast including Jessie Mueller, Blair Brown, Noah Reid (from “Schitt’s Creek” making his Broadway debut) and Austin Pendleton among others, as the council members about to meet in a closed session. Shapiro, his director for “August: Osage County,” Letts takes a banal subject, a city council meeting, and turns into something quite entertaining and unexpected. Playwright Tracy Letts possesses the extraordinary ability to lull an audience into expecting something dry and ordinary but then making it explosive.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |