Wonderful World - play review
I attended Maryville College’s production of “Wonderful World” by Richard Dresser.
This is one of the many wonderful plays first produced by the actor’s theater in Louisville. Here’s a Synopsis:
An apparently happy family hurtles to the brink of despair in this hilariously twisted comedy about two brothers, one of whom has a serious in-law problem. Feeling slighted by Max and his girlfriend, Barry’s wife embarks on a scorched-earth policy of truth-telling, uncovering deep animosities and startling passions hidden in the mysterious fabric of an American family. Shedding a wildly comic light on the perils of honesty and the delicate balance between hostility and love, Dresser explores what a curse it can be to suddenly find yourself telling-or hearing-the truth
You can read the first scene here.
The production I attended was produced, directed and performed by my peers at the college. My good friend Aja Rodriguez directed it as a part of her undergraduate senior thesis project. I thought, honestly, that this production was better than the faculty-directed play this past fall. Sure, these are student actors, and they have some room to grow, but I was proud of them. They made the idiocyncratic characters come to life to the best of their abilities. (I try not to be spoiled by all the fancy expensive theater I’ve seen)
It really is enjoyable to be surrounded by everyone else who is in the process of completeing their thesis work, and showing off the fruits of their hard labor. In the thick of it, it feels like you’re the only one in a thesis predicament, but here there are other people walking around with newly completed first novels, or having directed their first real plays. It’s a good feeling.
Tags: Journal