Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "When he decided to bring Daniel Defoe's mammoth novel 'Moll Flanders' to the stage, Sean O'Donnell left himself no shortage of challenges.
The first of those was: How to take a 500-page book that covered the entirety of Flanders' life, included dozens of characters and was set in multiple countries on two continents and make it work at his New Olde Bank Theatre in Verona."
3 comments:
This show sounds incredibly interesting. What really grabbed me was the fact that they are using nine actors to play thirty parts. I know shows have actors play more than one part all of the time, thirty just seems like a great challenge. I also am intrigued by the book because I had never read it, though I am a big fan of Robinson Crusoe
"Moll Flanders" was one of my favorite books I read in my undergrad classes. I know it has been made into a movie, but I never dreamed that someone would take it upon themselves to make a stage version. I imagine the fact that they could avoid paying royalties by doing an adaptation of a piece in the public domain was quite enticing. I am of course a bit skeptical about how the stage adaptation will play, but the cast sounds very excited about doing this show, so good for them. Nine actors for thirty parts isn't unheard of, but it will be quite the challenge to pull off successfully and convincingly.
The story of Moll Flanders is an incredibly powerful one but also one filled with conflict. I am curious as to how they are going to cut this down. They had to leave a lot out of the film and it will be interesting to see what this particular cutting will preserve. The thing that makes the "heroine" so interesting is her tenacity. She is determined to make her way in a world where it is very hard for a woman to do so. I hope they keep that theme alive.
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