Out of the Blue

Yesterday, I went to watch the Science Faculty production of Neil Simon's California Suite. I will admit that it was essentially because it was the Science people putting up a play that induced me to go watch their performance rather than read my John Donne poems. As it were, it probably didn't need much encouragement to part me from my work.

First of all, the sound and the set were gorgeous. This is what you get I suppose, when Barang Barang probably sponsored their wonderful furniture for the hotel suite setting, right down to lights which you could switch on and off on stage. ooh. I feel my hands itch to plan a play all of a sudden.

While the first scene nearly made me leave, if only because the actors lacked chemistry and one of them had a funny accent, the second scene was beyond hilarious - what do you do when you find that after a night of inebriation, a mysterious hooker lying next to you and your wife is coming up the stairs? Hmm...........

It was a good evening, definitely, but there are some things that just didn't gel with me. For one thing, someone ought to have stop the lighting person from switching on the lights onstage abruptly and rapidly in the opening moments in the first scene which did absolutely nothing than to annoy me. I mean, they did not have to click on the spotlight above the telephone when it rang... or leave half the set in semi darkness and then only switch them on mysteriously when something in that section moved or made a sound. They could instead, have left the cast to switch them on, which would look more natural than hotel lights lighting up in an all too obviously non diegetic way. This was also disruptive because in the third scene, the cast were switching on and off the lights themselves, i.e. diegetically.

Mercifully, the production improved tremendously with no more playing of lights and a script that became funnier with the minute. I know it sounds horrid - my lack of faith in the science majors being able to put up a successful performance, but it turned out more than fine. I am impressed with the wardrobe's ability to suss out a proper tux for the third scene (where the hell did they get one?!) and that there were only two people in-charge of the costumes. While I was slightly miffed that Hannah's suit was clearly badly ironed and did not look crisp enough to fit her neurotic personality, I can't really be pointing fingers if only two people are involved in dressing a big cast.

All the same, a good job to the cast and crew. I loved the show.