Arcadia opened this past weekend in the Black Box Theater. The play switches between 1809 and present day. They seemed to do this effortlessly with costumes and different lighting for each time period. The set was dimmed when being in 1809 and clothes to fit the rime frame while present day was met with brighter lighting and today’s clothes.
The play starts off with a lot of name dropping, so while you wait for the play to start, make sure you look at the program to make sure you know who is who.
The set was very well done and sleek looking. There were few props during used in the play and was set in the same room for both time periods.
The actors did a really good job in memorizing their lines especially since some things seemed hard to remember. Everyone met their speaking cues but some of the actors needed to talk louder as sometimes it was hard to hear.
Although the actors did a great job, Arcadia seems like a odd choice for college students to go see. Perhaps it was picked as a challenge for those involved and not really meant to meet the appeal of college students.
There is a brief synopsis in the beginning of the program but even that isn’t helpful to get a jist of what the play is about. After doing research and talking to friends, I finally understood what the main plot of the play was.
Last year’s’ spring musical, Heathers, can be watched mindlessley but Arcadia can not. Not to say I wasn’t paying attention because I was, this play seemed to need full attention throughout the whole thing.
Somethings in the plot didn’t seem to add up until I did further research and talked to people I know about it. The play seemed to end abruptly.
Play by: Tom Stoppard
Directed by: Titian Lish
With: Kaitlin Bailey (Hannah Jarvis), Raymond Border (Capt. Brice), Kyle Burgess (Ezra Chater), Carter Creamer (Augustus Coverly), GenevaMay Colcol, Jose Nicholas-Fernandez (Richard Noakes), Kody Forbes (Bernard Nightingale), Alfonso Jesus Gonzalez (Valentine Coverly), Elijah Maycon (Gus Coverly), Jack Petrin (Septimus Hodge), Celia Reddoch (Chloe Coverly), John Ruzicka (Jellaby), Veronica Valenti (Lady Croom)
