"If Mr. Right isn't coming, is it better to settle?"
The title comes from the Salt Lake Tribune's provocatively titled preview, for our upcoming production of "The Heiress."
This play is more than just a period piece about two lovers. It is a story that is sure to resonate with the audience as they compare dating and courtship in the 1800s, with dating and courtship in the 21st century.
Read Ellen Fagg's preview here:
http://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_8503829">http://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_8503829
And read the city's newest theater reviewer in her first preview article for PTC, Erica Hansen from the Deseret News:
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695259779,00.html.
(Welcome, Erica!)
Last night was the Final Dress Rehearsal and the audience was buzzing at intermission. Some of the comments I heard where I was sitting (these aren't spoilers, so feel free to read on): "This can't end well; no matter what happens, this isn't going to end well!" "They remind me of my ex-wife's family." "Does he love her? I can't tell." "The doctor is so mean!" and my favorite, "Do you think those are all real candles?"
Please, if you've seen "The Heiress," share your thoughts here!
posted by Kirsten P. @
1:15 PM
1 Comments:
[This entry written by Prudence]
"If you've seen the Heiress, share your thoughts here" -- I think I'll take you up on that.
*Warning, this post could be a slight spoiler for the uninitiated*
I saw the dress rehearsal of the Heiress last evening and was surprised by the play. I liked it quite a bit (despite my odd analogy below), but it was not what I’d expected.
Having worked on the season tickets sales team last summer, I’d been given just a few clues or snippets about this play, and I naively assumed it was more light-hearted than it actually is. I tended to pitch it as a somewhat happy, Hollywood sort of romance—with the emphasis on romance—naively assuming it was a “boy gets girl” and “all ends well” kind of story. Turns out, the play has much darker overtones than I’d thought.
The stage set was beautiful as usual, and the use of stagehands dressed as butlers or maids prior to a scene’s beginning is something I always like. The “lighting” of the gas lamps was simply a little interesting to watch, and the “rain on the windows” effect was fabulous. I’m sure the fact that a cigar was lit for ten seconds (even though it had no aroma despite what the actor said) will draw the erstwhile criticism PMT has heard from time to time (about “smoking on stage” – tsk tsk). I just love all the sets and props at Pioneer, and this play is no exception. A group of children on the second row groaned and giggled when the actors kissed right in front of them, and that was accidentally funny, but overall, it’s a rather thought-provoking story that’s truncated into 2+ hours where the playwright didn’t have more time to lay a deeper foundation.
It runs a little longer than usual, and even though it’s not a fast-moving story, I wasn’t bored. I loved the way it was written. My boyfriend remarked that while there wasn’t all that much that “happened” in the story, the great lines and the questions posed kept our interest. Maybe I’m just too much of a Utah girl, but later, it occurred to me the Heiress is like a dish of green jello with three nuggets of pineapple in it. The playwright is chiefly delivering just those three pieces of fruit, but they’re served up in a protein-rich surrounding of great dialogue. One chunk is about the surface question of “love or money?” and the other two bites are about “love or contempt” and “taking charge of one’s life.”
I thought the acting was just fabulous—every single one of the cast members, although I liked the “top four” the best: the father, the daughter, the suitor, the aunt (love her all the time in everything she’s in). They did such a great job.
The play’s message is more serious than I thought it would be (and even though I’d heard there was a 1949 movie of this story, I never watched it so I wasn’t clued in). It’s even a little bitter, perhaps—and green jello is usually sweet—but I liked it just the same.
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