Word: caste
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Glass Menagerie is probably one of the most economical dramas ever written. It features a cast of four and a single, unchanging set that requires nothing more elaborate than some basic living room furniture, a picture of a good-looking young man, and a case filled with little glass animals. Added to the fact that it centers on characters who all call for great subtlety of dramatic portrayal, it is no wonder that this play--Tennessee Williams' first major success--has become so firmly ensconced in the repertoire of American theater...
...itself. With a touring production costing $4.2 million-one of the most expensive ever created-a good show is bound to be expected. Yet with an audience that has had a decade to learn every intricacy of the musical, can sheer budget size fill in for weaknesses in the cast? Or do the actors help prove that every penny of the show was well-spent...
...overall, the cast is filled with fine performers and singers, the most notable and versatile being Thenardier himself. Rather than screaming melodramatically, Dougherty's Thenardier is so sublimely cold and slimy that he becomes believable and human--an incredible feat. Capps' delicate voice and fragile demeanor make her a perfect choice for the suffering Fantine. Fisher and Affannato, as Cosette and Marius, are adorable to watch and a delight to listen to. As the valiant revolutionary leader Enjolras, Brian Herriot perfectly captures the spirit and devotion that lives long after the red flag has fallen. Even the young Cosette...
...play opens with John Wilkes Booth (Jason McNeely '00) peddling off guns to the cast of assassins in a song fittingly titled "Kill a President." Booth cheerfully convinces each assassin that the way to overcome his or her problem--whether political, job-related, or personal frustration--is to kill the president. This opening scene provided the audience's first taste of the Pforzheimer House production's absolutely gorgeous ensemble of voices; McNeely's rich tenor was especially memorable. The scene ends as each assassin points his or her gun at the audience, smiling--a gesture used often during the play...
...final assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, played subtly by Daniel Zaitchik '98, is given special prominence. As he stands in the Texas Book Depository Building on November 22, 1963, the cast of assassins appears as a kind of ghostly support group, each announcing his/her name and assassination in Alcoholics Anonymous-like fashion, explaining that Oswald must kill Kennedy, for their sakes. The conspiracy theory is given a new spin here, as Booth, the leader of the dead assassins, claims that the combined spirit of the assassins is "the real conspiracy." "In fifty years, they'll still be arguing about the grassy...