Pittsburgh City Paper: The School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University jumps into its second century with both feet in an exciting yet moving production of August Wilson's Seven Guitars. The 1996 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award-winner for best play — it was nominated for the Pulitzer, Tony and Drama Desk as well — blends poetry, anger, hope, despair and more relevance than most Americans would like to admit.
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I would like to firstly dedicate this post to Dan Daly's incredible set design. So often in modern theater, especially at CMU, there is a huge emphasis but on being abstract or unusual. (Don't get me wrong, that's the kind of work I love!) Yet, Dan's hyperrealistic set was effective in a way that abstraction could not have allowed for. On one hand, it was realistic, very realistic, which is a spectacle in and of itself. The realism draws the characters and their story closer to the audience, reminding us that they were, or could have been, real people. But on the other hand, the extreme attention to color pallet gave the set a life and tone that held the power to tug out emotions and perceptions. The use of color was subtle enough that it did not call attention to itself or take you out of the world, but it still had a profound affect on the emotional story telling of the play. All in all, I applaud this show and am proud that my school was able to do August Wilson such beautiful justice.
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