by Josh Fussell | Mar 3, 2010 | News Slider
I enjoy theater, but The Death of a Salesman was a new experience for me. Since the subject matter of this show is so dark, and it deals with such difficult situations, I was expecting to come out of there with a feeling of hopelessness and despair. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the experience of watching the show. As with any show, there are many questions within this one that the director and actors have had to answer to make the characters more realistic. In this production Linda was a very sympathetic character, who, even though she was enabling her husband’s delusions, made you feel sorry for her. The most intriguing choice made by the director of the show was to use alumni and faculty actors for many of the lead parts. Since the characters of this show are all older than the average college student, this decision is very easily justified. The experience of watching these seasoned actors portray their parts was a delight. One critique I would give would be for the cast not to smoke cigarettes on stage during the show. The cast was careful to use herbal cigarettes and made sure that the audience was aware that they were going to use them. Even so, I heard a few of the audience members complaining about the smell, and coughing during a scene in which one burned downstage in an ashtray. This alone was not much of an issue, but could discourage some patrons from attending. The only true problem I found was one of logistics. This production is being performed...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Mar 2, 2010 | News Slider
The Wolfman follows the formula of a typical werewolf movie, but its writers failed to contribute anything original to the storyline. With nothing to set it apart from other werewolf movies, besides the big-named cast, audiences watch the fulfillment of their lowest expectations. At the request of Gwen (Emily Blunt), his brother’s fiancée, Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) comes back to his former home at his father’s (Anthony Hopkins’) estate in Blackmoor, England to investigate the disappearance of his brother. Talbot arrives only to discover that his brother’s body was found in a ditch, the victim of a gruesome killing. Upon further investigation, Talbot discovers that other citizens have fallen victim of a vicious beast roaming their countryside. In trying to kill the menace, Talbot finds more than he can handle. The werewolf either slaughters quickly or infects victims through its bite. Once the disease is transmitted, the victim becomes a problem every full moon. The crisis escalates rapidly and a Scotland Yard inspector (Hugo Weaving) comes to try to restore order to the small English village. Soon all eyes are on Talbot because everyone knows he was bitten in trying to chase down the werewolf that mauled his brother. Director Joe Johnston’s Wolfman, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving, hit theaters Feb. 12th. The film is a departure from Johnston family-friendly features such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumangi and October Sky. Johnston, like many before him, tries to turn the history behind the myths of lunatics and lycanthropy into reality on the big screen. The word “lunatic” comes from the Latin...
