Showing posts with label Mad Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mad Men. Show all posts
Saturday, April 05, 2014
Carpe Diem! Actor's Express does 1955.
How many of us fantasize about "simpler times", or long for a chance to live in the (perceived-to-be-kinder) past? For a few decades now, Americans have been told by mental health professionals, pop psychologists like Dr. Phil, and especially by that former queen of TV--Oprah Winfrey-- that we can "re-invent ourselves". That there is much dignity in discovering WHO we can be, by slipping into an as-yet untried persona, by getting "outside[our]comfort zone". But what if we could re-invent ourselves by living in a place where time means another time, where living day-to-day means shedding our former selves, and all the hurt we've accrued as a result of our painful, in-the-moment, living?
The premise for escaping to a place where one can re-invent oneself, is at the white-hot center of a remarkable new play, Maple and Vine, currently running at Actor's Express.
A young urban couple who are dealing with a recent trauma, make the leap to living in the 1950's--not generic 1950's --but 1955, to be exact. It's 1955, everyday, always.
An enterprising group affords them an opportunity where they can be fully present, by living in the past.
Playwright Jordan Harrison has fashioned a stylish, stylized 1955, complete with gleaming, grinning, happy-homemakers and their steadfast, blue-collar husbands, coming home to their crab-puff-making ("...I know crab is exotic, but....everything is better with cream cheese...")wives. Director Kate Warner has truly seized the day (and time!) by casting a terrific ensemble that, at a recent Sunday matinee', had us laughing until it hurt.
The fun thing about actually living in the past, is that both husband Ryu, (a poignant Michael Sung-Ho) and wife Katha, (an effervescent Kate Donadio) get to create a new history for themselves.
It's not all fun-and-games, though, as 1955 reveals itself (how soon we forget!) to be less inclusive-- a place where secrets are held, and there is a code of denial, when secrets aren't secret, any longer. The repression is real, and palpable.
Stunning interactions between Ryu, Katha, and Dean, (John Benzinger, with acting chops as a sharp as a fully-loaded .45), Roger/Omar (a tender Jeremy Harrison), Ellen/Jenna (a vulnerable, revelatory Tiffany Morgan) make this a "must-do" theatre event.
Special notice must be made of the lighting (Mike Post), sound (Joseph P. Monaghan III--the music is captivating, effectively setting the tone for the play), and scene design (Isabel A. and Moriah Curley-Clay)that literally feels like a window into this 1955-world.
Costume designer Sydney Roberts appears to have had great fun with this; the costumes (think early-"Mad Men") will make you want to play dress-up .
I plan to see the show again, and think organizing a dress-like-1955-night would be genius.(Hint, hint, marketing department at Actor's Express).
Maple and Vine runs for two more weeks at Actor's Express.
Box Office:
(404)607-7469, or order tickets online,
www.actors-express.com.
Please note this production contains brief nudity.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Everyone else thinks last night's scenes with Sally, are just about 'sexual awakening'....
IF YOU'VE NOT SEEN LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE of "MAD MEN", SPOILER ALERT!
Last year, when "Mad Men" 's Don & Betty Draper's little girl, Sally, became so attached to Betty's father, the dottering, senile old grandpa(it was hinted that he might be stricken with what we would now label advanced Alzheimer's) who loved to have the little girl join him at night, as she read "The History of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire", I suspected this series might step into the area I've long said needs to be explored. Since 1998, I've been saying:
"I think a television series should broach a subject long overdue, in weekly television: a beloved member of an intact, good, seeemingly "perfect" family, commits sexual abuse on a child--and if the show does it corrrectly it should be UNSEEN/UNKNOWN to the audience, so that when it is revealed(by a child "acting-out" or acting up, or simply telling someone), the audience will feel the same sense of shock, disbelief, denial....and eventually, betrayal, that the family itself feels."
The friends I shared this with, said "Why don't YOU write it, Lisa? Write it."
I even came up with possible titles,"A Good Family", "Relatively Speaking", etc...
I told one dear friend, Ellen L., to feel free to share it, because I felt sure I'd never write it, perhaps because I'd never written for tv, and also, because I felt tremendous pain at writing about something about which I unfortunately have first-hand knowledge.
Why do I think this subject matter should be brought out, through episodes on a weekly t.v. series? Because it can HELP. By definition, a regular T.V. series allows us to become "attached" to favorite characters, people who are loving, but of course, like all of us, very flawed. In seeing deception and dysfunction of the most egregious, aberrant kind(trusted relatives and friends,sexually abusing children) on t.v., we will be able to see our own lives, less-filtered, too, and perhaps identify a problem within our own families, before it spins out of control.
In "Mad Men", little Sally has suffered grief(very understandable, and normal) after Grandpa dies. And has acted up, becoming visibly aggressive and rambunctious with her baby brother. After her parents'divorce, and Betty's remarriage, we see her "sass" her impatient, un-yielding mother, trash her own dolls, and last night, we saw the results of other reckless behavior by an uncomfortable, tense, 10-year-old child: a short, hatchet-y haircut she performed on herself, in the confines of a bathroom, unbeknownst to the babysitter, (while her father, Don was absent, busy with a hot date)claiming, when what she has done, has been discovered, "You have short hair, and Daddy likes you..."(Sally incorrectly assumes her Daddy is dating the babysitter).
And acting-out:
We see her at an "overnight" at a friend's. Sitting on a sofa, her friend sitting next to her, only a few feet away, we see Sally, still uncomfortable, tense, and intense, staring at a screen where two men are bound, unable to escape(I believe a shot from "The Prisoner" a 1960's tv series), and we see her legs part slightly, and then the camera quickly cuts to her face, and we see her eyes narrow, as her hand reaches down to...and suddenly, an adult enters the room. The mother of her friend(the female friend is still staring straight ahead at the t.v.)screams, "What are you doing?" and separates the two friends,insisting Sally leave. One quick phone call to Betty, "I'd rather not discuss this on the phone.." and then "I caught her...playing with herself..." delivered to Betty, in-person, is the jolt that sends Betty and her new hubby clamoring for a psychiatrist.
I went online to see if anyone else has thought what I'm thinking, but everyone else is talking about Sally (she's only 10, people!)and her "sexual awakening".
Here's where I think the storyline is going:
It will be revealed that Grandpa molested her(Even though molestation was never even hinted at, there were other boundary violations.Like letting Sally drive his car--at age 8 or 9!), and/or someone else is molesting her (perhaps the slightly older boy down the street, whose behavior is odd, and controlling, and stalker-like?).Of course, the therapist will very likely assume Betty's new husband is the offender, even though he suggested to Betty, a psychiatrist for Sally.
This season is really heating up, and is taking the show where I previously believed only someone like Alan ("Six Feet Under") Ball could take any series.
He would've been my choice to write and direct my "A Good Family", had it ever been written, and become a series...
Kudos to Kiernan Shipka, who portrays Sally Draper. She has a mature, nuanced manner, and is a highly skilled actress.
Peace to anyone out there, who's been abused by a family member, extended family-member, or "friend" of the family.There is hope, and help, available.
Child-sexual-abuse helpline:
1-866-FOR-LIGHT (1-866-367-5444)
Peace,kids.
Last year, when "Mad Men" 's Don & Betty Draper's little girl, Sally, became so attached to Betty's father, the dottering, senile old grandpa(it was hinted that he might be stricken with what we would now label advanced Alzheimer's) who loved to have the little girl join him at night, as she read "The History of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire", I suspected this series might step into the area I've long said needs to be explored. Since 1998, I've been saying:
"I think a television series should broach a subject long overdue, in weekly television: a beloved member of an intact, good, seeemingly "perfect" family, commits sexual abuse on a child--and if the show does it corrrectly it should be UNSEEN/UNKNOWN to the audience, so that when it is revealed(by a child "acting-out" or acting up, or simply telling someone), the audience will feel the same sense of shock, disbelief, denial....and eventually, betrayal, that the family itself feels."
The friends I shared this with, said "Why don't YOU write it, Lisa? Write it."
I even came up with possible titles,"A Good Family", "Relatively Speaking", etc...
I told one dear friend, Ellen L., to feel free to share it, because I felt sure I'd never write it, perhaps because I'd never written for tv, and also, because I felt tremendous pain at writing about something about which I unfortunately have first-hand knowledge.
Why do I think this subject matter should be brought out, through episodes on a weekly t.v. series? Because it can HELP. By definition, a regular T.V. series allows us to become "attached" to favorite characters, people who are loving, but of course, like all of us, very flawed. In seeing deception and dysfunction of the most egregious, aberrant kind(trusted relatives and friends,sexually abusing children) on t.v., we will be able to see our own lives, less-filtered, too, and perhaps identify a problem within our own families, before it spins out of control.
In "Mad Men", little Sally has suffered grief(very understandable, and normal) after Grandpa dies. And has acted up, becoming visibly aggressive and rambunctious with her baby brother. After her parents'divorce, and Betty's remarriage, we see her "sass" her impatient, un-yielding mother, trash her own dolls, and last night, we saw the results of other reckless behavior by an uncomfortable, tense, 10-year-old child: a short, hatchet-y haircut she performed on herself, in the confines of a bathroom, unbeknownst to the babysitter, (while her father, Don was absent, busy with a hot date)claiming, when what she has done, has been discovered, "You have short hair, and Daddy likes you..."(Sally incorrectly assumes her Daddy is dating the babysitter).
And acting-out:
We see her at an "overnight" at a friend's. Sitting on a sofa, her friend sitting next to her, only a few feet away, we see Sally, still uncomfortable, tense, and intense, staring at a screen where two men are bound, unable to escape(I believe a shot from "The Prisoner" a 1960's tv series), and we see her legs part slightly, and then the camera quickly cuts to her face, and we see her eyes narrow, as her hand reaches down to...and suddenly, an adult enters the room. The mother of her friend(the female friend is still staring straight ahead at the t.v.)screams, "What are you doing?" and separates the two friends,insisting Sally leave. One quick phone call to Betty, "I'd rather not discuss this on the phone.." and then "I caught her...playing with herself..." delivered to Betty, in-person, is the jolt that sends Betty and her new hubby clamoring for a psychiatrist.
I went online to see if anyone else has thought what I'm thinking, but everyone else is talking about Sally (she's only 10, people!)and her "sexual awakening".
Here's where I think the storyline is going:
It will be revealed that Grandpa molested her(Even though molestation was never even hinted at, there were other boundary violations.Like letting Sally drive his car--at age 8 or 9!), and/or someone else is molesting her (perhaps the slightly older boy down the street, whose behavior is odd, and controlling, and stalker-like?).Of course, the therapist will very likely assume Betty's new husband is the offender, even though he suggested to Betty, a psychiatrist for Sally.
This season is really heating up, and is taking the show where I previously believed only someone like Alan ("Six Feet Under") Ball could take any series.
He would've been my choice to write and direct my "A Good Family", had it ever been written, and become a series...
Kudos to Kiernan Shipka, who portrays Sally Draper. She has a mature, nuanced manner, and is a highly skilled actress.
Peace to anyone out there, who's been abused by a family member, extended family-member, or "friend" of the family.There is hope, and help, available.
Child-sexual-abuse helpline:
1-866-FOR-LIGHT (1-866-367-5444)
Peace,kids.
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