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| Has anybody here seen HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE? | |
| Posted by: Budinsky 07:28 pm EDT 05/29/18 | |
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| If so, comments appreciated. Thanks. |
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| re: Has anybody here seen HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE? | |
| Posted by: WWriter 03:21 pm EDT 05/30/18 | |
| In reply to: Has anybody here seen HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE? - Budinsky 07:28 pm EDT 05/29/18 | |
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| I loved it. My review is below. Interesting thing: when I saw Wanda June, the audience laughed through the whole thing. It was a great comedy with serious, creepy, upsetting undertones. When two friends of mine saw it, no one laughed. For them, it was just serious, creepy, and upsetting. I had a similar experience the other night when I saw The Hollower. I felt that it was supposed to be funny. There were points where I almost laughed, but the atmosphere in the theatre was somehow not conducive to laughter. Afterward, I asked someone with the theatre if audiences usually laughed. He said, yes, they did, and that it was clear from the beginning that we were a tough audience. I didn't feel like a tough audience; I felt more that no one broke the ice laughing, and then it was too late. |
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| Link | Happy Birthday, Wanda June Review |
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| WANDA JUNE. It didn't work for me at all | |
| Last Edit: theaterluvr 10:36 am EDT 05/30/18 | |
| Posted by: theaterluvr 10:33 am EDT 05/30/18 | |
| In reply to: Has anybody here seen HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE? - Budinsky 07:28 pm EDT 05/29/18 | |
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| I was optimistic. Expecting insightful absurdity. But found a disjointed mess. |
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| re: Has anybody here seen HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE? | |
| Posted by: bret17 07:41 am EDT 05/30/18 | |
| In reply to: Has anybody here seen HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE? - Budinsky 07:28 pm EDT 05/29/18 | |
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| It is an excellent production that demonstrates why the curio is rarely, if ever performed. An overloaded satire with exuberant dialogue matched with a 1960’s biting sensibility, a familiar plot and Shavian speechifying that adds up to a patchy and long-winded experience. The characters come across as philosophical mouthpieces rather than real people. There's a strained tirade laden with profanity and racial slurs. Kurt Vonnegut’s penchant for funny names is delightfully evident. Director Jeff Wise’s command of stagecraft that includes wild tableaus injects the production with much needed momentum and he obtains strong yet sensitive performances from the committed cast who are in the high decibel range. Scenic designer Brittany Vasta’s gorgeous unit set of a living room is a dazzling feature of the production. Forest green with leaf-patterned walls adorned with taxidermy animal heads, a chandelier with antlers, elegant bric-a-brac and period furniture are an entrancing landscape to marvel at as the verbosity goes on. Christopher Metzger’s bold costume design perfectly evokes the look of circa 1970 with its loopy fashion sense abundant with animal prints, leather and brown, all adding to the visual splendor. The sterling presentation reveals it to be a piece of its time with little theatrical weight that does faithfully convey the sly spirit of Vonnegut. |
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