WHORL INSIDE A LOOP Starts Tonight at Second Stage- Page 2

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 3:39pm

More spoilers- And was the betrayal that she was in there doing community service and wasn't volunteering or that she had created the website for the play she was writing and was already taking the steps to produce it outside of the prison?

[little_sally]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 3:44pm

""So is the Sherie character supposed to have been played by a man the whole time? Still working this play out in my head."

 

Yes, I think so. It does feel off because it means that one guy who was part of the group never got to tell his own story. Of course, that would have spoiled the moment. I was also really unsure about the guy on the sidelines. Sometimes he seemed to be operating the lights/soundboard and sometimes he was just hanging out. 

 

I had the same questions about the guy on the sidelines. In fact, I was wondering if he was gonna come into play at the end and I was kind of disappointed that he didn't.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 4:00pm

"More spoilers- And was the betrayal that she was in there doing community service and wasn't volunteering or that she had created the website for the play she was writing and was already taking the steps to produce it outside of the prison?"

 

Well, the easy answer is that the betrayal is that she was stealing their stories without permission or compensation. And she also jeopardized their standing (particularly Walter's) with the parole board. And as they emphasized time and time again (through events that we now have to see as fictionalized) she disregarded the rule that WHITRIPSITRIP.

 

But now that I think about it, it's an interesting question. She never says whether she's doing community service or volunteering. Jeremy assumes it and she doesn't contradict him. It's also interesting when you go back and think of the line the dance teacher had about the men knowing which of the volunteers are there for the long term. They let themselves be vulnerable by showing their anger on making the "discovery" but also put in an earlier line that's foreshadowing but also kind of saving face. 

 

Another thing I thought the first time was that all the stories came across as too polished (you're supposed to believe that when they tell them in context, Bey, Jeremy, Sunnyside, Source, etc. are telling those stories for the first time after Dep. King told them to write something) but that makes more sense if you don't think about it happening in real time but as a play they wrote to reflect their experience and tell their stories. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 5:45pm

The Sherie character seems to get quite irritated when asked to come back and visit. Perhaps because this isn't something she actually wanted to do?

 

They mention the woman who drives drunk with the small child in the car. Is this at all related to the Sherie character and why she might be doing community service?

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 6:11pm

@TotallyEffed OK, for the first point... I think they portray her as not wanting to come back after her time (assuming she was serving community service) is up. But there could be alternate theories. Maybe she might have visited if she wasn't putting on this second commercial play (in spite of the 3 hour drive and her need to be with her son and her conflict with her husband) but the guilt and the threat of being caught made her say no. Jeremy is hurt at first that the relationship he thought they had built doesn't seem to be reciprocated on her part. But on the whole the men portray themselves as understanding, saying that they wouldn't want to return either after serving their sentences. 

 

For the second point, yes, Sherie's character is having a dinner with her friends and her lawyer brings up a moral dilemma about relative guilt and innocence. But remember that this lawyer is played by Walter and that as far as we know, the inmates don't know what Sherie's character did and we're assuming that all of this is made up. So the comparison that the lawyer/Sunnyside makes is between him as an intoxicated (high) teenager who killed someone and Sherie's character as an intoxicated (drunk) mother who drove with her son in the backseat but hit a tree or stop sign or something before she could hurt anyone. So Walter has written a scene where he imagines Sherie's crime to be parallel to his own because of the larger questions of the play.  

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 6:19pm

****Contains Spoilers*******

 

"The Sherie character seems to get quite irritated when asked to come back and visit. Perhaps because this isn't something she actually wanted to do?

Or maybe it was the guilt of her betrayal of using their stories. 

 

They mention the woman who drives drunk with the small child in the car. Is this at all related to the Sherie character and why she might be doing community service?"

 

While the reason she was there was never discussed I took it that she was there because she had to be there.  I thought it was said when she first met with the warden that the prisoners/students would not know the real reason why she was there.  I also took the mentioning of "the woman who drives drunk with a small child in the car" as her crime,  forgot the exact words, something like Child Endangerment/Neglect.   I could be wrong but those were what I took from it.

 

Updated On: 8/17/15 at 06:19 PM

[Theater3232]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 8:36pm

The last 10 minutes were really not effectively communicated at all, and I was unable to follow it (really didn't even care by that point, since the rest of the show was such a huge bore and after almost 2 hours I couldn't wait to finally escape).  I know Sherie changed into a prisoner's uniform at the end but that's really all I was able to follow.  I think she was a prisoner who had to do community service??  (If EVERYONE in the audience is not able to follow what's going on, then that's lazy writing.)

Updated On: 8/17/15 at 08:36 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 9:07pm

"(If EVERYONE in the audience is not able to follow what's going on, then that's lazy writing.)"

And if it's just you then that's lazy viewing?

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 9:21pm

Good points VintageSnarker, I left there a bit confused, reading some of these posts are helping putting together pieces.  There was a talkback on Saturday, unfortunately I could not stay. 

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 8/17/15 at 9:56pm

I really liked the play but I am glad I'm not the only one who left confused. I hope they can make it clearer and tighter before opening.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 8/18/15 at 8:47am

To solve one mystery that people have been bringing up:

 

I asked about the extra inmate on stage after the show. One of the employees said it was the assistant stage manager. They decided to put him in costume and make him part of the piece since there really is no backstage to speak of on that set. Interesting idea.

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 8/18/15 at 9:11am

Thanks Vespertine1228 I was wondering the same.  

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/18/15 at 9:28pm

I saw tonight's performance and enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought the twist added a wonderful extra layer and the more I think about it the more it really does make the piece come together. Of course the metal detector couldn't be real after you realize what's going on by the end. 

I thought all of the actors did a fine job; they seemed to be having a lot of fun with the multiple roles and nothing was ever difficult to follow. 

The play had a kind of Passing Strange feel to it, without the music. A fictional semi-autobiographic story with a cast of black actors playing different roles, including a host of white people. It lacked the emotional gut punch that Stew delivered, but I laughed a lot and was misty-eyed after Jeffrey's big monologue. 

What I want to know is how much of this was true to Sherie's real life. I would love to hear what inspired the play. 

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 12:12am

Playbill article/interview about the inspiration behind the play

"The program helped all but one get paroled — some, after 20 years — and they attended the first day's rehearsal. Expect them to be first nighters when their show premieres Aug. 27 at Second Stage."

Updated On: 8/19/15 at 12:12 AM

[Okiekat]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 9:48am

I saw this Saturday night and absolutely LOVED it.  So many emotional moments.  I laughed, I I cried.  The acting is just terrific.  Four days later, I'm still thinking about it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 9:56am

Thanks for that article. The more I've been thinking about the show the more I'm impressed by it. 

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 8/28/15 at 1:01am

What's the PLAYBILL cover art for this one? I love Sherie, hoping to catch this at some point!

[trentsketch]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 11:08am

I saw the matinee yesterday and really enjoyed the show. Great acting and a strong script. I also really liked the lighting design and subtle inclusion of key sound effects. 

An added bonus was getting to meet some of the proud families of the actors. They were seated all throughout the audience and were telling anyone who would listen "My son is in the show" and pointing him out on the Playbill cover. It was so sweet. Quite a few new each other from their children being in Motown together. 

I have a couple questions about the Second Stage theater, actually, if anyone could help me. Are the hanging metal overhead lights throughout the auditorium always there? Is that the usual stage? If they are, they worked very well with the style of the show.

Now, regarding the twist without spoilers: I liked it. I don't even consider it a twist. I thought it was clearly established right at the beginning and carried through in a believable way throughout. 

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 10:03am

Seeing this this weekend thru TDF.  Anyone know where TDF seats have been?

[Okiekat]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 10:34am

My tdf ticket was row N.  It's a small theater, every seat is good.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 12:40pm

Thanks.

We've seen many shows there which is why we'll take a chance with TDF, since all seats are good, except for those "boxes" on the top left side, that aren't always full view.

 

We did TDF for Riverside/Crazy and were seated smack dab in the middle.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 3:06pm

The boxes should be fine for this production. You might miss a little of bit of the actors changing or grabbing props right underneath you but none of the story is told from there. 

[NY10024]

Posted: 9/1/15 at 3:31pm

My TDF seat was in the front row. Normally I prefer to be at least a few rows back, but for this production I actually really enjoyed sitting so close to the action. And I agree, I don't think you'd miss much by sitting in the "box" seats--the set is minimal, so there aren't many chances for obstruction. Although for what it's worth, I've seen at least 4-5 shows at Second Stage with TDF, and I've never been seated in the boxes.

[EthelMae]

Posted: 9/3/15 at 12:21am

Ok. I'll bite. I saw the play today. What was this "twist" I have been reading here on various posts? Maybe someone could let me know as a Spoiler? Are posts referring to Ms. Scott's character not being a volunteer at the prison after all and really being in the prison for Community Service? Or when she changed into an orange uniform at the end-that she really wasn't there at all but that a male inmate was playiing "her" all along? Not sure.
And it seemed to me to be unnessary. I enjoyed the performances of the inmates and even cried during one of the actors monologues. Didn't care for the inmates playing other roles in Ms. Scott's life. After a while it became clear who they were but by then the scene was usually over.
I can see Ms. Scott's charms but I thought the whole performance was about her hair. I couldn't see her face a lot of the time and I couldn't understand her often. The theatre is so vast that it echoes and makes it hard to hear the actors.
I thought the play was really going to be more about the inmates personal stories and it seemed to veer all over from that topic.
I liked it but was disappointed. 2 friends had recommended it. That s why boards like this will live forever!

Updated On: 9/3/15 at 12:21 AM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 9/3/15 at 3:02am

"What was this "twist" I have been reading here on various posts?"

I'm really not trying to be rude but did you actually read all the posts?