Word: plot
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...hand at this game; he had even helped his old boss, Senator Fulbright, make some money by cutting him in on a land deal in 1974. Fulbright was thrilled, and word soon spread among the Senator's circle of McDougal's financial acumen. Later McDougal spotted a small plot near Little Rock, and, almost offhand, mentioned it one day to Clinton. "You ought to buy this, Bill," McDougal said. Clinton knew of McDougal's success with Fulbright and was interested. He was still paying off student loans he'd taken to finish Yale Law School...
...going to send the Clintons any money beyond subsidizing them on Whitewater. He thought Clinton had blown it, and deserved to lose. More to the point, the McDougals were strapped for cash themselves. So McDougal decided he had to sell Lot 7 on the Whitewater property, the largest plot along the river and the one reserved for the Clintons' eventual use. It was unlikely that the Clintons ever seriously intended to use the parcel, which they'd never seen. Eager to raise cash by the date of the next payment to Citizens Bank, he agreed to sell the land...
...rest of the first act proceeds in a similar plot-free fashion. A song is sung by a member of the group followed by a short skit centered around a specific parable ("Love thy neighbor," "Judge not" etc.). The band begins playing and the parable is put to music. The actors rotate in leading the songs and skits with the Jesus stand-in always dictating the ultimate lesson...
...second act, the playwright seems to realize that the needs some kind of plot to end the play. So when the audience returns from intermission, "Godspell" ceases to be just smiley, insipid lessons and becomes a more foreboding graphic representation of the life of Jesus, replete with the Last Supper, Betrayal of Judas, and Crucifixion. The change in tone appears inappropriate, overly-contrived and unbelievable. The lack of character development and believable dramatic acting from the previously-perky cast prevents the audience from sympathizing with the characters. While the cast members were shedding laughably phony tears, the audience...
...squinting at the sunny spirits on stage. One can only remain attentive to hunky-dory plasticity for so long. If you like cheesy rock music, syrupy songs, a lot of smiley dancing and college kids dressed like pre-schoolers, "Godspell" is the show for you. But if you value plot and character development, dramatic acting and songs that won't give you a toothache, you may want to pass on this production...