The Light Years previews~

I liked it. That being said, it's not for everyone. I could tell many around me did not seem to enjoy it (two even walked out about 15 minutes in). It's an interesting story (the story of two family during two separate world's fair and their connections) and the acting is very good. The debate society is known for their experimental style and this show is no exception. I felt like the show could definitely use some cutting and tightening. Right now it runs two hours with no intermission. It could easily be 90 minutes.

I saw it on Sunday's matinee. It is a little uneven, but ultimately I was very moved by it. The first part meanders a bit---it was a little hard to see where the play was going, but the play came alive with the visit of the creator of the 1893 extravaganza to his assistant and his assistant's wife. From there the play was much stronger---and ultimately moving---I think it is very clear about the passion to create something---to take it from one's mind's eye to a fantastic reality. But it is also a very subtle look at relationhips--the wife in both time frames and her relationship to her husband is really well delineated. I left feeling both excited and moved.

At 1 hour, 45 minutes, it's quite a painful bore, with an amateurishly haphazard sense of pacing that makes one feel that many light years have passed in the course of the evening. Aya Cash does a very good job bringing a bit of spontaneity and life to a pair of rather silly roles, but everyone else seems to be more or less just wandering around the theatre. Many people get credit as either writers or creators, which may be a good argument against creating theatre by committee. That said, there were a few pleasant chuckles, but it still has the aroma of an undergraduate project created by students who just took a class in nonlinear narrative (and didn't quite get it)