Dessa Rose??? — Page 2

Well its good to see that THE ENCHANTED HUNTER (known as ScottSimms on the other board) is spreading his hateful, ignorant venom here as well!!!!!

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Hey, there, Plum,

Long time no chat. Always glad to read your posts.

I have a question for you - and others, too - about the whole idea of using narration on stage. Is it a device that you dislike, per se, or do you feel it simply doesn't work in DESSA ROSE? The reason I ask is that I have seen a number of plays that use it, and sometimes I like it, other times I don't. It all depends on how it is integrated within the material and how it is staged.

Here are some examples I'd love you to comment on:

Our Town, Spoon River Anthology, Big River, The Glass Menagerie, Talking With, Working, Take Me Out.

Thoughts?

LC

"But A&F's material never connects. "
"Oh, EffieWhite, if countering ridiculous, over-the-top assessments like Suskin's with a dose of reality is being hateful, I can live with that."

Anyone who thinks that A&F's material never connects (ONCE ON THIS ISLAND never connects?!?!?!?) can obviously live with anything!

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Thanks for the replies, Plum and Jazzy. Narration bothers me when playwrights seem to choose it out of laziness - when they perhaps can't come up with action oriented dialog. It also bothers me when it doesn't seem to fit the material, as in TAKE ME OUT. I just couldn't see baseball players in a locker room relying on the kinds of speeches Greenberg gave them. After all, baseball tends to be populated with athletes who are more comfortable in the physical realm than the verbal. I was okay with the Dennis O'Hare character, but the three main ballplayers (Kippy, the star who comes out, and his best friend who gets killed) were just too sterile for my taste. The relief pitcher seemed the most smartly drawn - and oddly sympathetic - out of all the characters. But then, I didn't see the Mantello production. I saw it in Boston, and I had problems with the entire staging. The narration just stuck out as a sore thumb for me with that script.

Now, in DESSA ROSE (as I have stated before), the narration did work for me. I very easily accepted it as a natural means of telling the story. Perhaps the excellence of the performances made that possible for me. I can see if it had not not been handled well, it could have been deadly. But it seemed to flow very easily and actually gave greater depth to the two women.

I haven't seen SOUVENIR, so I can't comment. But I'll look for your review, Plum.

Thanks again.

LC