On Friday night, the RPI Players premiered their 10th annual Evening of Performance, and this one was no exception to the quality that the Players usually offer. The show consisted of three short plays: Old Saybrook by Woody Allen, Don’t Take Sides Against The Family by Katie Muto ’06, and Love Stories During the Armageddon of a Citrus Fruit by Daniel Hamilton. All three plays go in wildly different directions, but they all expertly explore different aspects of humanity in their own inimitable fashion.
Old Saybrook starts off with about what one would expect from a Woody Allen play—light and irreverent comedy. Two couples are relaxing in their home, Old Saybrook, and the two wives are sisters. A visit from another couple, who previously resided there, leads to the discovery of the diary of an affair between one of the husbands and the other wife. Allen manages to preserve the comedy through this otherwise explosive development, as the reactions of the characters are masterfully crafted. Everything changes, however, when a bound man comes hopping into the room, and with the revelation of his identity, the entire play takes a turn for the very weird. Nevertheless, the themes of the play quickly solidify into a deep discussion of forgiveness in modern life, as every character learns a great deal about him or herself.
Although the play was performed well, there were a few trouble spots. In particular, some of the actors were shaky on their lines near the beginning, and some of the Players were difficult to hear when they spoke from the back of the stage. Overall though, the merits of the play shone through and the entire audience was wrapped up in the story by the end.
Don’t Take Sides Against the Family begins with an Italian girl bringing her Jewish fiancé home to her family, who doesn’t know that they’re getting married, nor that he is Jewish. Muto wrote the play based on her own experience with an odd Italian family, and so most of the dialogue is refreshingly true to life. Rob Headley ’06 played a wonderful Sal, the protective but loving father, but because old people are funny, Jacob Brode ’06 stole the show as the grandfather Carm, who believes himself to be in the mafia whenever he watches The Godfather or Goodfellas. The hilarious slapstick scene, involving precisely timed imaginary light switches, added to the play’s charm. Although Don’t Take Sides doesn’t take any wildly unpredictable directions like Old Saybrook, Muto nevertheless manages to keep the story riveting.
The intermission followed, with a welcome chance to stretch one’s legs. Unfortunately, due to logistical reasons, there was no fudge, but the puddings provided instead nevertheless appeased the peckish audience.
The final play bears the cumbersome title of Love Stories During the Armageddon of a Citrus Fruit, by Hamilton. The curtain opens up on a papier-mâché orange, set to “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, thus setting the stage for the first part of the play—a delightful romp through absurdity. The action moves to the inside of this spherical produce, and we join Man One (Peter Hogan-De Paul ’09) and Man Two (Laura Kaplan ’06) passing the time by taking walks and playing word association. The dialogue here is well written and keeps the audience chuckling.
Eventually, however, the play takes a darker turn, as Hamilton taps into H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos to begin to inject fear into his characters. A mysterious man named J. Robert—skillfully played by Players’ veteran Michael Hall ’06—shows up, and before the audience knows what is happening, the once oddball play has become a dramatic quest of the utmost importance. In the end, Love Stories turns out to be allegory of the most poignant kind, with a message that affects everyone living in the world today.
Evening of Performance 2006 is a whirlwind tour of human emotion and drama, tapping into almost every aspect of life as it careens in barely-controlled chaos from the heartbreaking to the absurd and back again. Two shows remain, at 8 pm on February 17 and 18. If you have not seen it already, don’t miss it.
