New Horizons Part B: Is Second Really The Best?
Mari Stonebraker:  Asst. News Editor: April 2008

            Maybe you remember that childhood rhyme that claims that “second is the best”? Well, when I was assigned to review the second night of New Horizons: Original Works Festival that rhyme kept coming into my mind. Wanting of course to really test the theory, I saw the shows on their second performance night. So did the childhood rhyme hold true? Well, I have to confess that I saw theatre that was inspiring and moving, as well as shocking and unnerving. Not bad for a Wednesday night.

            The night began with Marla J. Dumont’s An Drochshaol. A play as much about family, brotherhood, and forgiveness as it is about the journey of Ireland becoming part of the United Kigdom, An Drochshaol tells the story of a father clinging to his old home country and his sons, one of which must leave Ireland and the other who has no choice but to stay. Directed by Natalya Baldyga, and starring Joshua Weinstein, Jeffrey Kurtz, and Thomas Randolph all sporting perfect Irish accents that only enhanced the honesty they put into their roles, the play was written with the rhythmic feel that distinguishes a true Ireland native from any other nationality. The rhythm of the play alone had an affect on the ears of the audience by creating a kind of musicality to the story being told. Visually, everything that happened seemed organic, and yet so appropriate that is must have been well planned.

For example, when the brothers Eamonn (Joshua Weinstein) and Rory (Jeffrey Kurtz) were bonding over memories, their body language mirrored each other, only to be broken when Rory apologized for an event that was causing an incredible amount of, until then, unspoken tension on the stage. Not only was the language poignant, but the moments of silence that occurred onstage were not gratuitous in any way, but purposeful. There was an understanding of what could not be said and it could be seen in the eyes of the three gentlemen onstage. One notable moment occurred near the end when the threat of the British soldiers left Cathil, the father (Thomas Randolph), onstage by himself. As we heard the gunshot and screams we saw Cathil, who is crippled, fighting with every bit of life left in him to get to his wheelchair and help his sons. This moment serves as a metaphor for Ireland during the famine, the time period in which the play is set. The lighting by Sarah Mikrut gave off a crisp pale blue that showed every flaw, and at the end of the play, orange hues washed over the stage, giving the appearance of a setting sun.

            The night did not let up from there. Next was Please Destroy Me This Way by Matthew O’ Brien, directed by Candace O’Neil Cihocki, and which worked to bring an entirely different wave of emotion over the audience. The play presents the difficult subject matter of prostitution and sexual slavery. We were first greeted by an erotic and beautiful dance that symbolized sexual acts. As the play progressed, the dance became sickening in its

repetition, playing perfectly with the sickening feeling the audience received as we learned more about this very corrupt world. The players in this world – Rocket (Jessica Wyckoff), Disco (J. Tyler Jones), and Cherry (Brittany Rae Dohar) – created an environment that was bizarre, dangerous, sexual, and disturbing in its honesty about the human possibility for corruption. Each of these three characters was focused on their goals while maintaining an air of self-absorbance that is not an easy feat for any actor to pull off, yet they all did so without trouble. Jeffrey M. Stephenson as school-teacher Brian was our window into this world – our one connection to reality. Because of this connection, seeing the demise of Brian was particularly shocking and highly unnerving to experience. As the true victim in this story, the character of Mai (Stephanie Ritter), a child being trained for prostitution, was haunting in her other-worldliness. It should be noted that no sex, molestation or real violence happened in this show. However, Cihocki, through dance, music, and poetry of the body was able to create something more difficult to watch than actual acts could ever have been. The result of the focus of the actors and the creativity of the playwright and director was the creation of an entirely bizarre world to behold.

            I would say that if you believe theatre has the power to inspire, teach, and move an audience on one hand, and to disturb, frighten and shock an audience on the other, then yes: it is true that second really is the best.