I'm happy to report that the shows this year, on the whole, were much more interesting and exciting to me than in the past. I thought there was more of an eclectic point of view, with different stories that I hadn't seen before. The acting, directing and design were again top notch.
I think my favorite play was Lisa Kron's The Veri**on Play. It was certainly the most fun. Lisa has put together a script dealing with the craziness of modern life, especially the growing impersonal aspect to customer service. Everything she went through was completely recognizable, from the wackadoodle procedures of foreign ATMs and wireless phone company's customer service representatives. The play is realistic, yet also a complete farce, with chase scenes, one actor playing identical twins (even in the same scene!), maniacal CEOs and an oddball support group. I laughed a lot and also found some stuff to think about. The original music by Jeanine Tesori is terrific, too. I'm sure the show will have a future life (I saw a couple of NYC producers at the performance). The script could maybe be trimmed a bit in the middle, but, all in all, thumbs way up from me.
I also enjoyed How We Got On, by Idris Goodwin. It tells a story completely unknown to me about the beginnings of rap in Detroit, through two kids in a suburb, trying to get on the tv show Yo MTV Raps. The performers were fantastic, especially the gal playing the DJ. There was just a lot of verve, excitement and fun in this piece. It was the last play we saw, and although I was tired, it woke me up and kept me fully engaged throughout. I really liked it. I think this play and Lisa Kron's play were my favorites.
Death Tax, by Lucas Hnath, was our first play. I enjoyed it a great deal as well, though I think the last scene could use some work. The characters were really well-developed and the dialogue was realistic and interesting. The use of repetition was particularly well-done. I remember seeing a Law and Order episode about sort of the same topic and found it really interesting. This point-of-view about the subject matter was really interesting, too. The play was a great start to our weekend.
Next we saw Eat Your Heart Out by Courtney Baron. I really liked it, too, though, again, I feel some trimming could really help. Here we have a modern story about how everyone's life touches everyone else. We've certainly seen this kind of story, but I thought this one was done well, using contemporary references like online dating, international adoption and teenage angst to good effect. The actors were really great in this piece, too. They all hit the right notes, from the humor to the pathos. There was a nice balance and I was very engaged (I thought I knew the way the play was headed and I was so upset, but then it went someplace else, which was a relief).
The other two full-lengths, The Hour of Feeling by Mona Mansour, and Michael von Siebenburg Melts Through the Floorboard by Greg Kotis, were less successful for me. The former needed more dramatic conflict for me to be fully engaged. I did enjoy the premise and the actors very much, plus the lighting and sound design were first-rate, but the way the story played out just didn't grab me. I'm sure it's my problem and not the play's, because the rest of the audience seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. Using poetry as a metaphor for politics is very provocative and I do wish the play had revealed itself to me. Oh, and the lead actor is my new boyfriend. Yay. I'm sure he's thrilled. :)
The Greg Kotis piece was just not my cup of tea at all, which is not his fault at all. It was a satire/farce about cannibalism. So, if you know me at all, you know I was out as soon as the cannibalism was revealed. When a play contains either vampires, pedophiles, serial killers, big bugs or cannibals--NO STOMACH FOR IT. I spent a lot of the play with my eyes closed. But, again, the rest of the audience was really digging it. So...take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
The 10-minute plays were fun, though they didn't seem to be extraspecial to me. The intern piece, Oh Gastronomy, was hit or miss, with more hits than misses. It had over 25 little vignettes, all dealing with food. I will say that if you have a play where baking brownies is done on-stage and the audience can smell it, you should really pass out brownies to eveyone. Thank you.
To sum up, I'm very glad I went to Humana this year. I'm happy to say that the plays' subject matter was more compelling to me than in year's past. The new artistic director will begin putting his stamp on the festival beginning next year, so I look forward to what he brings to the table.
Tomorrow: the food of Louisville... ;)
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