The Chocolate Factory and 7 Deadly Sins

Comments

5 responses to “The Chocolate Factory and 7 Deadly Sins”

1. djg51

   March 5, 2005

   There were highly problematic aspects of this play.

   For instance, the beginning is what Brecht would have called (300 plus years later) an example of the alienation effect in theatre – the playwright deliberately focuses the audience on the “reality of the unreality” of what they are about to see (Brecht thought it was important for playwrights to make the audience keenly aware that they were watching a play since this would continually snap them out of the passive audience role).

   Yet, in this play, they present the initial chorus as a “real” act with an actor pretending to be homeless. Hearing a homeless person, however, say, to paraphrase: “You are now going to hear exceptional poetry from the pen of our author…” makes no sense…obviously this guy is a “chorus” not a homeless guy. Furthermore, it was gratuitous to drag the audience out into the cold to make us hear this bit of text. Did the director actually understand what Marlowe wrote on even a literal level? This play was just badly conceived.

   Furthermore, all the deadly sins are WOMEN. On an allegorical level (in the MIDDLE AGES) this would work. It doesn’t work now. Not even in Queens. And they are all very flirty and seductive women…the person I was with pointed out, “This director turnbed all the deadly sins into lechery because he seems to have a view that women are naturally predisposed to be used as sexual creatures.” I saw no difference between the 7 sins either…they all were the sin of lechery saying they were other sins.

   May I also point out the lack of diversity in this production? No actresses/actors of color and the one person of color who came with me will probably be the only person of color to venture into this misconceived production.

   I’d also like to point out that some of the actors get some of the words wrong: i.e. “vaunted verse” not “daunted verse!” And why was Marlowe’s text so badly chopped up? I know they were trying to make the play more visual but even Grotowski failed at this. Without words Faustus is lost (even more so). Because he believes he can do more with words that words allow he gets into his jam. So what do these choco factory folks do but limit and chop up his words! A Faustus who is not always talking about stuff is not a Faustus.

   Oh well, it was only $15.

   Reply
2. jorgemeldo

   March 5, 2005

   Dude, I think they stole the homeless idea from craigslist. Someone was looking for a director or producer and posted something like: Here’s what I’m shooting for in my play. I want the audience to show up thinking it’s Shakespeare in the park but then I want them to be confronted with homeless and hungry people from the neighborhood.

   So they stole that for a Marlowe play. Cool. Too bad it didn’t work out. And I’m sure they didn’t give their original source any credit. And I can only imagine how they portrayed the “homeless” person.

   Thanks, by the way, for a thoughtful analysis of the play. I had my eye on it and might have gone next week but I’m spend the $15 on porno instead (joking). The review I just read was great if you take out the typos. Get thee to an editor and you have a future as a critic.

   Reply
3. djg51

   March 6, 2005

   sorry – i was probably a bit too critical. there were some good aspects of the play. like faustus i get a bit too impassioned – experimentation is a good thing – any type of experimentation should be lauded. they all worked hard on the play and put some thought into it.

   i just hated having to stand out in that cold and was miffed about the sins all being women and didn’t like the fact that the “homeless gentleman” at the beginning of the play was referred to as a “vagrant.” wtf?! there are lots of folks who are homeless through no fault of their own and if not for my own family stepping in at critical times i could have become homeless at times. arrrrrr; this is just like me, i get riled up, say something and even if there might be a kernal of truth in it i feel like garbage afterwards for saying it.

   in any case, i’m always glad to see faustus in another incarnation. as long as that incarnation is not richard burton (worst faustus ever).

   what really pisses me off is that faustus is such a sympathetic character: comes from the working class and makes it to the upper reaches of his society but is not satisfied with the education of the best schools in europe, is not satisfied with what passes for religion in his society, is not satisifed with anything…this guy is way ahead of his time and truly admirable. he is the elizabethan rebel without a cause.

   in any case, i need to learn how to keep my goddamn mouth shut because i shouldn’t have said such mean things and i feel rotten about it now.

   Reply
4. Nick

   March 7, 2005

   No, don’t keep that mouth shut, your points are certainly all vaild ones. Especially the desire to see more of the rise to the ranks from the “base class”, a CRUCIAL part, I wholeheartedly agree.

   However, I wouldn’t step in to toss a hat in the ring (because that is BUSHLEAGUE, as my father would say, I was in the goddamn thing), but one of your comments was almost libelous, and that was the accusation of having “no person of color” in the cast.

   What the hell? What the jam? Who…what..when you say “of color”, so you mean ‘black’ specifically? What the HELL? I’m probably the whitest person in the cast, only a measley quarter Sicilian…but what the hell? I wish I didn’t feel that I needed to say something about this, but amidst the 10 of us there are those from Japan, Cadiz, and Brazil? Or perhaps you were out there with a chart of varying skin tones, and none matched?

   I’ve worked for the Chocolate Factory on and off for a few years now, and I’m glad to say that in all my years here, I’ve not worked for a more diverse company. I’ve not SEEN a more diverse company. I’m sorry, I’m steaming a bit here, you can probably tell.

   I’m thankful for your comments about your frustrations with the piece, as that’s interesting and helpful. But come the hell ON.

   Reply
5. djg51

   March 11, 2005

   ok…point taken. you had some diversity. i have learned my lesson and am not going to get riled up and try to refute your argument. i am just tired of going to the theatre and only seeing white folks in the audience and no black folks on the stage. i saw the asian actress…she was very good as sloth – i guess lechery might have been the person from cadiz…i don’t know. the actors were all very good in my humble opinion (and who the hell am i anyway?) i should have just said, “where are the black folks?”

   again, i applaud the experimentation in the production. i think they tried to do too much with the play…that’s my criticism. they over-thought some aspects and maybe under-thought others.

   and why couldn’t i applaud for your actor folks at the end? when i was going to the bathroom afterwards i saw some of you in a secret room and you quickly closed the door on me before i could thank you for a great job.

   so i’ll thank you for a great job now. thank you.

   again, i have a big mouth, i learned my lesson.

   Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.