Theater Reviews + Features | Pittsburgh City Paper: A world-class academic program like the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama is one of the few places with the wherewithal to mount a mostly authentic production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 comedy, The Rivals. While combining the original five acts into two (ergo, only one intermission), CMU fills a luxuriantly leisurely evening of more than three-and-a-half dazzlingly theatrical hours.
5 comments:
Over the past three years of doing comments for the greenpage, I have tried to move away from commenting on reviews of shows that are done here. But for 'Rivals', I can't resist. I was able to see the closing night of the show and was completely floored at how wonderful it was. I went initially to support my friends who had worked on it and that was it, not really sure that I was going to enjoy the show or not. I laughed nearly the whole time. Everyone was so on point, and the show looked amazing (I did not understand the need for tiny chimney smokers though). The amount of work that went into this show was evident and I was so happy that I could see my colleagues do such great work.
first of all i have to say, it is a long show indeed, very long. ................................
...............and what i really want to say is, many people told me that The Rivals is such a great and special show that they want to watch it again and again. but as the ASM of this show, i never watched it from the front side. in fact for all these years i never watched any show,which i worked in, as an audience. this is just so sad. and i am dying to fulfill this dream, maybe watching it from a booth is good, too...
The reviewer says it correct when they say that "Albulena Borovci's costumes are drop-dead gorgeous; the ladies' gowns suggest magnificent ships in full sail when the Empire was at its height." I have not yet seen another CMU production, but these costumes were unbelievable. Congratulations to Albulena and all who worked on these costumes! This review is a great one. It gives credit to many who deserve it and points out the amazing moments of the piece. I like how it jokingly mentions the length of the piece. This warns the viewers, but also, the comments that they make about the beauty of the piece are far more important then the length of the play. Congratulations on a successful run of this show! It was truly breathtaking and I loved so many aspects of it!
They rivals truly was a very long show but it was enjoyable and I feel the length only added to the feeling of old luxury. I was originally put off by the length but show overcame that and kept my attention and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I also agree that the line “Albulena Borovci's costumes are drop-dead gorgeous; the ladies' gowns suggest magnificent ships in full sail when the Empire was at its height" is spot on. I spent a lot of the time simply watching the costumes move around stage.
"The Rivals" most definitely deserves this glowing review. Out of pure coincidence, I happened to see it on both opening and closing night, and I had the pleasure of seeing how the show grew over the course of the week and a half that it ran. The praise given to Albulena's costume design couldn't be more deserved: the ladies' dresses are absolutely stunning, and the men look smart and perfectly period-apppropriate. The actors lived up to their praise as well - they mastered their accents and mannerisms and made it look effortless and natural, as only true actors can do. I agree with Kerry that the length of the show lent itself to the feel of the period and the location in Bath. This was a truly masterful performance.
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