CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Ace in the Hole – a review of “Floyd Collins”

'Burgh Vivant: At the beginning of the 20th Century, a happy-go-lucky spelunker Floyd Collins (Danny McHugh) is literally and figuratively in over his head when he discovers a giant cave in “Floyd Collins.” While attempting to find a new route to a system of interconnected caves in rural Kentucky, Collins became trapped in a narrow passageway.

Collaborators Tina Landau (book) and Adam Guettel (music and lyrics) take a true story of a Kentucky cave explorer and set it to music. In 1925, the event sparked national attention as America awaited news about Floyd’s rescue.
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1 comment:

Zak Biggins said...

I was fortunate enough to be able to see Floyd Collins at the New Hazlett Theatre. The production was incredible. Director Rachel Stevens made her vision absolutely apparent and had an excellent execution from her cast and crew. I do, however, have some issues with the piece… mainly Adam Guettel’s writing. I happen to identify as a Guttel fan, I love his work on Light in the Piazza but this show was very atypical for him. Listening back to the recordings, I find myself skipping songs before they’re over because of how repetitive it is. The specific production I saw did an amazing job of using the space. Stevens’ approach to this show was very Brechtian and I truly appreciated that- I have started to notice more shows taking this approach (Color Purple revival, Natasha Pierre….) I look forward to seeing more shows at the New Hazlett theater and have great expectations for their future productions.

2:19 PM

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