{"id":1401,"date":"2012-04-28T13:07:24","date_gmt":"2012-04-28T20:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=1401"},"modified":"2012-04-28T13:10:54","modified_gmt":"2012-04-28T20:10:54","slug":"kolt-runs-production-of-smudge-by-rachel-axler-notes-and-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=1401","title":{"rendered":"KOLT Run’s Production of Smudge by Rachel Axler: notes and comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

I would say that the quintessential American movie is “The Music Man<\/a>.” The Music Man embodies\u00a0everything Americans want to be true about America. \u00a0In other words, it’s\u00a0mythologically\u00a0correct. \u00a0From the standpoint of the ideals American’s want to share about family life, it might be the greatest American movie ever made. \u00a0All the hopes and dreams and optimism that everybody in America ever had, well they are in “The Music Man.”<\/p>\n

The polar opposite of that idea of family life is “Rosemary’s Baby<\/a>.” \u00a0A very different kind of drama – full of subterfuge, dark plots, undercurrents of evil. \u00a0A very noir opposite to the sunny “Music Man.” \u00a0Rosemary’s Baby isn’t\u00a0mythologically\u00a0correct (at least I hope not) but it may be existentially correct (same hope: not.)<\/p>\n

And that brings us around to\u00a0KOLT Run’s production of Rachel Axler’s “Smudge.<\/a>” \u00a0Smudge is part Music Man, part Rosemary’s Baby. \u00a0The man and wife (Barry Hubbard as “Nicholas” and Kelley Ogden as “Colby”) have the classic middle-American presentation. They are hopeful, funny, bright, emotionally\u00a0available. \u00a0They are\u00a0decidedly\u00a0sensitive\u00a0and un-cynical. \u00a0And they are going to have a baby! \u00a0What could be better?<\/p>\n

Well the baby turns out to be atypical. \u00a0The child is never actually seen, but it’s a girl, Cassandra. \u00a0As the story\u00a0develops\u00a0we quickly learn that Cassandra is\u00a0misshapen: no limbs, one large eye, and a lower body that tapers off into a tail.<\/p>\n

The new baby becomes a source of stress to the parents. \u00a0Nicholas and Colby are at odds over how to behave towards their alien baby. \u00a0Colby is\u00a0horrified\u00a0by the child, Nicholas tries to treat Cassandra normally.<\/p>\n

Colby is trapped with the baby all day long, who is hooked up to various machines via tubes; there is a constant beeping from the monitor. \u00a0She is going slightly mad. Nicholas’ psyche shows the strains and\u00a0begins\u00a0to crack. \u00a0He is at work longer, although he’s less and less productive. \u00a0He seems not to appreciate how his personality is\u00a0changing.<\/p>\n

Nicholas’ brother (“Peter”, played by Eric Baldwin, who interestingly enough bears a\u00a0resemblance\u00a0to\u00a0John Cassavetes) provides a bit of self-centered\u00a0cynical\u00a0comic relief. \u00a0He is the foil that provides a bit of reality to Colby and Nicholas, whose lives are becoming surreal.<\/p>\n

Things really get surreal when it turns out the baby has some\u00a0nascent\u00a0magical powers. \u00a0Or at least to Colby. \u00a0The magic is never manifested in Nicholas’ presence.<\/p>\n

The dialog is\u00a0intense, a bit wacky, and seamlessly delivered on time. \u00a0Everybody hits their mark and stays in character. \u00a0The fact that the production is so well done is actually a problem. \u00a0Because now we have to take it seriously and ask, “what the heck is this play really about?”<\/p>\n

I am tempted to take it as metaphor — as in “we’re all born as aliens into this world, helpless and subject to …” whatever. \u00a0Or maybe it’s just a play about a kid with special needs,\u00a0rejected by the mother as being disgusting.\u00a0The baby is named “Cassandra” which has some mythological\u00a0significance, and the baby’s odd behavior being\u00a0visible\u00a0only to Colby might have some implication.<\/p>\n

But regardless of what level of metaphorical leverage one wants to use to find meaning, it is the case that the characters in the play are confronted with something that transforms them. \u00a0The play is rich with emotional content, psychological\u00a0dialog, and moral questions. \u00a0Once the lights go down, it’s hard not to notice the drama.<\/p>\n

Rachel Axler did a very clever job of creating a character in Cassandra that represents every\u00a0possibility\u00a0of rejection based on physical impairments, without actually being any particular one. \u00a0Which of course means that the parents are stand-ins for the rest of us. \u00a0Even if that’s not strictly true in our day-to-day lives, it’s true in theater.<\/p>\n

Cheers.<\/p>\n