Pittsburgh in the Round: There is a certain uncanny valley effect to the popular theatrical adaptation. The more well-oiled productions of a play there are, the less vital the story will feel. This is not to say that a heavily retold story loses its significance; the more you see, or hear, or read, or watch something, you become better at understanding its roots. But the Perfectly Told Play – the play where every element of production and performance is measured to the smallest decimal and executed with scientific specificity – this is a space where a story can lose its meaning. What new can be discovered in a place perfectly excavated?
1 comment:
I had never heard of the Little Theatre before this article, and now I’m super interested in it as the author does a fantastic job at highlighting the charm and skill of theatre in this scale. I have always loved smaller scale theatre, since I started there, but I do have to say that my Broadway Across Boston history may tell another story. My mom took me to see the Beauty and the Beast Tour when it came to Boston for my 17th birthday, and I distinctly remember being the only child above the age of 10 there; but I love the story of Beauty and the Beast and grew up watching it on repeat. The Broadway Across Boston performance was, in short, amazing. I was flabbergasted by the technical advancement the show had achieved and did not want to leave the theatre when it was over. And while this kind of show always warms my heart, I have to say I have seen fewer shows with charm like this author describes than I would like to admit.
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