On Sunday, April 6, our Ideas in Performance class went to see Stunning at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. I had a few mixed feelings and emotions about this show, but overall the effect on me was strong, so I believe it was a good show. I did not know what to expect when I sat down and saw the set that was all polished white and expensive household pieces. The first scene started very suddenly and the characters were all very strong and noticeable choices. I was abruptly brought into the world of the play. The music was loud and often meant to be catchy and lure in “hip” audience members, pardon my poor word choice, but they did play Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hott…”
Anyway, I was really involved in the main characters in this show right away. They were all very intriguing to me, in a way that you could easily detect psychological problems and chaos in their early upbringing that led to the issues the characters were experiencing in the present day of the play. The main character of Lily was my favorite. The woman playing her was an amazing actress and I was enthralled in her performance. Every movement and word, including intonation and volume, was completely true to the character the actor developed. I was so interested in why and how this 17 year old girl ended up being married to a middle aged man in an abusive environment. The character of the maid was also very interesting because she originally seemed very rationale and independent, but in the end was the one whose sanity snapped and led to her eventual suicide. The ending was the part of the play that I felt mixed about because the plot lines went a lot further than I thought they would and I was confused as to how it ended up how it did. I could follow everything and can’t exactly put my finger on how I think it could have been played out differently, but it simply felt off for me. But overall, for my first experience at this theatre, I was very impressed with the environment and production value.
One final thing that I found interesting in this theatre was the near to 5-minute announcement by one of the workers at the theatre where he pumped up support for the theatre and their upcoming season and directed us about the usual cell phone related speeches. I just felt that the man went on a little too long and what he was saying lost my interest somewhat. I thought it was great that he adressed the audience in person rather than via an recorded voice because it made the interaction more meaningful and real and as if he really wanted us to engage and become involved with the theatre, it just went on a little longer than I would have liked.
