SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
Where is the line drawn between being constructive and being realistic? I sit in the cafetorium and witness convulsive waves of applause as the scene comes to a close. My son loves acting and he has a good dose of natural talent that his mother passed on for love of theater.
High school theater performances are always a crap shoot, be they plays or musicals, some are good but often they tank. My son asks me, “How did we do?” And, it is a joy to honestly convey how well he acted his character and sang his part. But, how do I honestly answer his question though, how well did WE do?
The first night, my wife had us in line sixty minutes early and we snagged second-row seats, I claimed the aisle seat. We waited to be seated and sat waiting for the cafetorium to fill and fill and by the looks of it, beyond capacity. The lights flash, then flash again and again and I wonder if something was wrong with the lights. The lights dim and the music begins.
The music to the little mermaid is being played by a single harpsichord as we wait for the curtain to open….Ariel enters stage right, in front of the curtain, and sings the opening song. The actress has a good voice but the song was not adjusted to fit her range and the high notes suffered. Our son had informed us that several actors had colds, two of them being Prince Erik and Ariel. Their lack of energy is evident but the show must go on.
Imagine for a moment, the harpsicords banging away on a limited key selection and the difficulty that imposes in attempting to enhancing the experience for the audience. For me the problem was repetition. Imagine for a moment, being the actors and having to coordinate verse with nothing exceptionally notable. When the curtain opened for the first time, I felt immediate hope and that only lasted for the first two scenes.
Staging times were ridiculously lengthy, three to four minutes elapsed and all the while the harpsichord pounded those sharp chords into the audiences head. What a relief to hear the tempo increase and see the curtains part and the music stop. The sets were simple, yet, interesting and I wondered why the incredible long staging times.
If I were to assess the condition of our teenage children by the cast on stage, I would have to claim a state of emergency because far too many children are obese. I am not using the weight chart statistics found in medical an exam room, no, I am using my eyes. Out of eighteen actors, six were not showing signs of being fat. Two obese actors were naturally coordinated and their physical state did not hinder their effortless movement with the music. One non-lead actor looked to be physically fit, sang well and brought an exceptional degree of skill to the stage.
This is a scathing review and possibly I have sat through too many performances of this caliber but, I have a question, is the acceptance of extreme mediocrity healthy for these kids? The thunderous applause after each scene was understandable because the audience was packed with parents. I participated in supporting the kids in their brave efforts to put themselves out there, but the applause wasn’t only misleading to the kids. The director made bad choices throughout the musical and here are three at the top of my list: 1.) Long curtain calls kill audience momentum. 2.) Not teaching the actors to engage the audience everytime they speak is a critical error. 3.) Choosing a full-length version of a challenging musical is mystifying when a junior version is available.
I don’t know why these decisions were made, but one can only hope for improvement. I hope our culture gets a handle on what to expect from our youth because if the world is but a stage, I for one am not happy with the performance.
