Drama Critique

1.      What play did you attend? (Include name, location, name of performers, and director) (No high school productions are permitted)

I saw Zorro the musical. It was held at Hale Center Theatre. The performers were David T. Glaittli, Parker Paulsen, Gunnar Russell, Bailee Johnson, Derek Smith, Paul Cartwright, Jacquelyne Jones, Jeffery Whitlock, Victoria Greco, Raul Adrian Benitez, John Graham, Christopher Squires, John Hayes Nielsen, Adam Dietlein, Bradley Quinn Lever, Benjamin Roeling, Taylor Wuerth, CJ Strong, Rebecca Joy Raboy, Ashley Kathryn Stonebraker, Melanie Cartwright, Sara Schmidt, Summerisa Bell, Bonnie Whitlock, Keolani M. Smith, and Lena Camila Candia. The director is David Tinney.

2.      Give a summary or description of the play you saw. (At least 150 words)

Zorro starts out with a man in California who is an official and deals with punishing people when they have committed a crime. He is a just man, always doing what is right. He has two sons, Ramon and Diego. Diego is just like him but Ramon isn’t. Through the childhood, Ramon feels like he doesn’t get the attention he deserves from his father while Diego is the golden child. When the time comes for Alejandro, the boys’ father, to pass on his title, he chooses Diego but Diego thinks this isn’t fair and gives the title to Ramon. Then Diego runs away to Spain. While he is in Spain, his brother turns into a harsh man who punishes the people unfairly. Diego’s childhood friend, Luisa, seeks him out to tell him that Ramon has become evil and also that his father has died. Diego goes back to California with Luisa and he battles his brother as Zorro and discovers his father is still alive and saves him and in the end he defeats Ramon and wins over the love of his life, Luisa.

3.      In 250 words, discuss the quality of the performance (include a discussion of the costumes, lighting, acting quality, direction, sound quality, and any mistakes or other problems that detracted from the performance)

Overall the performance of the play was outstanding. The costumes were appropriate for the time period of the story and they were very authentic. They had bright vibrant colors when needed and were drab and dull when needed. The accessories used with the costumes also made an impression. The gypsy women wore long, dark wigs that helped express who they are. Through the costumes you could tell who was rich, poor, important, or useless.

            The performers used in the play were prefect for the characters they were meant to play. For example, the characters from Spain were Spanish looking and the ones from California looked that way as well. In short, they used the proper nationalities when needed. They also picked people with great body types for whom they were playing. Example, “Zorro” is a nicely built man who could very well be a gypsy and the gypsy women were nicely built as well.

            Not only did the performers look well but they also performed well. They had so much charisma and personality that they really dragged you into the story, into another time really, and made you resurface when you realized that the play was over. They made it thoroughly entertaining to watch. Even the roles who weren’t as important as the main characters really add something to the play. They are the ones who add in little things that give the play spice, you just have to know when and where to be looking when it happens. As far as mistakes are concerned, if there were any, they hid them flawlessly.

4.      In 250 words discuss the social and philosophical issues the play addresses and indicate what answers/conclusions were reached. (i.e. what was the argument of the work?)

I think this a perfect example of good vs. evil, where the “good guy” will always win over the “bad guy”. Socially, Diego is a better man that Ramon is, therefore leading into the whole daddy loved you more thing. This built up resentment in Ramon for both his brother and his own father, making him an even more despicable person. While Diego being a good guy made things worse by giving Ramon the authority and then running away.

            How Ramon treats his subjects in punishment after he becomes the “ruler” is also a social issue. He takes on the role of the tyrant ruler who raises his hand at the slightest infraction of the rules. He doesn’t treat people fairly as a result of his childhood but also has a result of who he was born as.

            As Diego and Luisa return to California with their gypsy friends, Ramon looks down on the gypsies because they symbolize the rebellion that Zorro brings with him. This is just another social example of problems that arise in this play.

            Philosophically, treat your children equally even when you know one is worse than the other, it will cause problems later if you don’t. Don’t look down on people that you don’t know just because they are different than you or believe differently than you do. And I think the most important thing is that if you are a good person with strong morals and good beliefs, you are most likely to overcome your opponents when they are not so morally sound. People will back you when you are doing good things and they will oppose you when you are doing bad things. Show kindness and you shall receive it.

5.      If this was a musical or opera, discuss the role that music played in the work (150 words)

Zorro is a musical, as said above, so there was a lot music and singing. The music was handy for super intense scenes like the fight scenes or dramatic moments when there needs to be an ominous bum, bum, bum, in the background. Music can bring out the mood of the scene to indicate what you are supposed to be feeling about what is happening in the scene. But also when there were group singing times, it added a little break from normal boring talk of the usual lines said by the cast to add something flavorful to the play. It just makes it more fun to watch, especially when they add the dance numbers to the songs. I like how it brings everyone in the play, even the small parts, into one thing together. For that moment, everyone is on the set and you can see how they all interact with one another. It makes it more personal I think.

6.      What did you find out about the background of the work or playwright? (100 words)

Zorro is a book by Stephen Clark and Helen Edmundson inspired by the 2005 biography of the fictional character of Zorro written by a Chilean author named Isabel Allende. This version was inspired by the 1919 novella The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley. In reality, it is a prequel to the novella that hints to older Zorro related works, especially from the 1998 film called The Mask of Zorro. Through the decades, the story of Zorro has been changed and rewritten and altered by so many people that there isn’t a specific story line, rather a few that resemble one another but yet has the same concept to it.

7.      Would you recommend this performance to others? Why or why not? (100 words)

I personally don’t enjoy the story of Zorro, it has the feel of an old western mixed with Spain and it’s not my genre of entertainment but this play was different I think because it was live and not just a movie. So I would recommend this to people to go see because it was fun to watch and more entertaining than a boring old movie. Seeing people act it out right in front of me made it more real for me I guess. I still don’t know if I like the story line of Zorro but the attractive men that were in it made it so worth seeing. So if you don’t like Zorro, still go see it for the actors in the play, it’s worth it.

8.      What was your personal reaction to this performance? Would you enjoy attending this type of event again? Why or why not? (100 words)

I don’t like musicals and plays much and like I said, I don’t like the story of Zorro much so I wasn’t too happy to go see this particular play. However when I got there and took in the performers, costumes, music, settings, and the sheer quality, my mind was changed. I think if I were to find a play that really interested me and spoke to me like this one did, I would enjoy seeing more plays  and performances but most the time I don’t like them so it’s kind of a double edged sword. I can either chance it and be miserable or chance it and be pleased. So yes I would go again, but at what price?