The amplifier., March 01, 2011, Page 15, Image 15

2011_____ ^
Entertainment
15
“Almost Maine " shows maturity of WLHS theater program
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In the second scene of the
WLHS theatre's production
of "Almost Maine" Reed
Sturtevant, junior, describes
the small town of Almost:
"We never got around to
getting organized, we're just
Almost." This is what I felt at
the beginning of intermission;
this was almost a cohesive,
believable play. With
impressive performances
by Louie Hogan and Anna
Stapleton, seniors, the first
act was entertaining, but it
felt like a track was on repeat.
The second act changed my
perspective.
Written by John Cariani,
of "Law & Order" fame,
"Almost Maine" is a play
in nine scenes. With each
scene, the show gains
momentum and begins to
bind together as a portrait
of the intimate, romantic
and hilarious moments of
a small town in America.
The first scene begins with
a prologue with a theme of
hopes of love gained and then
lost. Injected with comedy,
"Our Town" tells meaningful story
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A black clad figure walks
across a fully lit stage with
the house lights still on, then
another with a broom and then
another with a clipboard. I
was beginning to wonder why
they hadn't set up the stage
beforehand and when the play
would begin. Then I realized; it
already had.
I attended the junior
showing of "Our Town,"
written by Thornton Wilder,
But the patrons gradually
became restless, some still
not understanding that the
play had begun. Eventually
the director, Annie Kaiser,
preforming arts building
coordinator, had to come out
onto the stage and explain that
the play had indeed begun.
Louie Hogan, senior, has
a integral part in "Our Town",
as the Stage Manager who acts
as the narrator, the director,
and plays a role in the play
Photo courtesy of Caitlin Tompkins
Anna Stapleton and Sophie Starks-Madsen, seniors, discuss their lives
while stringing beans on the front porch during the production of "Our
Town." The duo played two strong mothers from the town of Grover’s
Comer, N.H.
and although I was glad to be
excused from class, I realized
it might be difficult to hear
the play with that particular
audience. I was pleasantly
surprised from the get-go.
The rest of the audience
seemed to be as intrigued
by the minimalist beginning
of the play as I had been.
itself. This brings me to the
most unique and fascinating
aspect of "Our Town." It is not
just a story about life in a small
American town, it is actually a
play within a play
The play begins in 1901
and revolves around two
families and their lives in the
small New Hampshire town
of Grover's Comers. The
optimism of the first act is
supported by big performances
from Anna Stapleton and
Sophie Starks-Madsen, seniors
who are the two mothers in the
play. Life is simple and happy
in Grover's Comers, Hogan,
the narrator describes it, "This
is the way we were in our
growing up and our marrying,
and our living, and our dying."
The narration is one step
ahead of the play. The second
act opens three years later and
has a more pessimistic feel—a
fear of entering the world and
leaving childhood behind. At
this point there is a wedding. It
was during this innocent event
that I realized how restrained
the first two acts have been,
we don't even see the bride
and groom kiss. This restraint
contributes to the feeling that
we are in rural New England
in the early 20th century. It
helps us understand the deeper
feelings of the characters.
The final act of the play
takes place nine years after
the second act and it is a
departure from the previous
two acts in different ways.
Many of the characters have
died and we follow one soul
recently laid to rest. We see
the death from the deceased
points of view. It clearly
illustrates Wilder's feelings
about death and what the dead
mean to the living. Melissa
Cozzi, sophomore, is the star
of the third act. She captures
the melancholy and sense
of loss that permeates the act.
Overall "Our Town" is a
dark and even depressing
show, and its many themes
revolving around life and death
are as affecting as an immersive
novel.
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the formula continues and
basically remains the same
throughout the first act of the
play. This is not to say I did
not enjoy the first part of the
play, it's just that because I
was being slapped in the face
with the same basic theme
over and over again, I began
to depreciate the wonderful
performance.
I sat down at the end
of intermission, wearily,
expecting the same treatment
I had received in the first act
of the play. The second act,
however, was a revelation.
It changed up the formula,
injecting different ideas about
romanticism and providing a
darker side to all the hilarity
and heart-touching moments
of the first act.
The opening scene of the
second act is the first scene to
involve two male characters
played by Michael Johnson
and Spencer Cook, seniors.
It continued throughout the
rest of the play with more
melancholy resolutions than
the rest of the show.
The change in the end of
the play caused me to reflect
upon the first act and see it
in a better light, to see the
entire play as a story arch
with unresolved beginning
changing to a satisfying
ending. The themes of love
and comedy in the first act
begin to seem more wishful
and desperate through the
filter of the second act. Yet,
the end of play reveals hope,
hope that we can get past the
hang-ups and social pressures
that chain us and it shows
that love can exist in even the
coldest weather.
"Romeo and Juliet" turned into
gnomes; strays from original
A lex S isca
One of the most famous
love stories of all time has a
new twist: animated gnomes.
Romeo and Juliet become
gnomes along with the rest of
Shakespeare's characters in the
new Disney film, "Gnomeo and
Juliet." And this time, the star-
crossed lovers might actually
have a chance to live.
Gnomeo (voiced by James
McAvoy) and Juliet (voiced by
Emily Blunt) are gnomes that
come to life when their owners
aren't looking. Just like in the
original "Romeo and Juliet,"
Gnomeo and Juliet fall in love
even though their families
are rivals. The two families
are the blue-hatted gnomes
(Montagues) and the red-
hatted gnomes (Capulets).
In 84 minutes, the movie
only skimmed the surface
of the original play. Quite a
lot was changed: Gnomeo
and Juliet didn't meet at a
party like in the original play.
Instead, they meet when Juliet
is trying to pick a flower that
she thought would make
the Montagues jealous of
the Capulets. The movie is
set in modem times and no
Shakespearean language is
used.
I felt not having the
Shakespearean language really
mined the effect of the story
for me. It adds mystery and
understanding. Some of the
characters from the original
play have been taken out and
some had their names changed.
For instance, Mercutio and
Benvolio are combined into
Courtesy of Touchstone Pictures
Gnomeo and Juliet meet for the first
time in the movie of the same name.
The film version adds a twist to the
original story, because the main
characters are gnomes. While the
movie barely skimmed the surface
of Shakespeare’s play, it is still a
great Disney movie for kids.
makes all its movies.
"Gnomeo and Juliet" was
enjoyable, but I felt it could
have kept closer to the original
play more.
I would rate the movie a
★ ★ 'i
; because I was
really hoping for it to cover a
lot more of the original story.
It is more of a mellow version
for kids. This movie is rated G
for all ages. If you enjoy a kid
movie every once in a while
then this might be a good
movie for you to see.
McMENHMINS
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one character as Romeo's best
friend in the form of Benny, a
small, short overly-hyper and
annoying gnome. Another
character changed was Nurse,
who becomes a garden frog.
I felt that the changes did
not respect the original play
because "Romeo and Juliet" is
a tragedy and it shouldn't have
been changed into a happy
Disney movie. I'm not saying
that the movie was bad, but
I just wish it wasn't as happy
and joyful as Disney usually
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