2008 Woodie Awards
The absurd hits SBU Theater
Ian Paterson
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Gallery
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"The Bald Soprano," written by Eugene Ionesco and directed by Dr. Elissa Sartwell, assistant professor of theater, is a theater experience that is unique, to say the least.
A slightly larger cast than "Last Train," "The Bald Soprano" is brought to life by six of SBU theater's rookie performers. The only member of the cast that has been in a full-length stage performance is sophomore Emily Jennings ("The Triangle Factory Fire Project"), who portrays the aristocratic and well-mannered Mrs. Martin.
Although the cast may be inexperienced in the matter of a main stage performance, the two most dynamic performances come from freshman Jessica Griffin as Mary and junior Lindsay Neumann as the emotional and alluring Mrs. Smith.
The rest of the cast includes sophomores Chris Dodson and Christopher Maples and freshman Andy Hanson.
The play is, in Ionesco's words, "a kind of collapse of reality. Words become empty, noisy shells without meaning; the characters as well, of course, had become psychologically empty."
The best example of "Soprano" would be to take Monty Python and mix it with a live-action portrayal of a Salvador Dali painting. It contains no plot or character development, and its dialogue is mostly expressed in common proverbial or cliché statements, not to mention the British accents used by all actors.
However, the fact that this play strays away from common theatrical qualities such as plot and depth of character is not necessarily a bad thing. If taken at face value, "Soprano" is actually quite funny in a ridiculous sort of way.
Although I don't expect this play to be well received at SBU, I think that anyone who enjoys blatantly ridiculous British comedy accompanied by great direction on the part of Sartwell and incredible set design by Technical Director Chaz Bell should at the very least give "Bald Soprano" a chance.
The play runs March 1-3 at 7 p.m. in Davis-Newport Theater in Jester Learning and Performance Center. Tickets are available at the Box Office. For more ticket information, please contact the Box Office at 328-1691 or e-mail at boxoffice@sbuniv.edu.
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