father of the bride critique

Jody Shockley
Theatre Appreciation
6 November 2011

	I have just gotten back from the Sunday, 6 November 2011, showing of Rend Lake College's “Father of the Bride.” Now, as a marriage plot, something I'm not terribly fond of, I didn't think I'd enjoy this show very much. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. Not only was the play itself absolutely hilarious, but the actors really made it work to its full potential. I've heard a few other people say that they found the play to be rather long, but to me, if it was it certainly didn't feel like it. I enjoyed every minute of this performance and greatly commend the immense effort that must have gone into it. This was a fantastic show and if I heard this troupe was going to perform in another show, I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.
	Since this is a critique, though, let's look in-depth into the things that made this show work, and its very few faults. First, let's take a gander at the technical aspects. Overall, the lighting was well-done, making what was going on down on the stage look nice and crisp. The only problem I could find with it was very minor, and only just barely noticeable, in that sometimes it didn't feel as if the spotlight was very precise, sometimes losing its place before snapping to where it was supposed to go. Again, it was hardly very distracting, though. More distracting, however, was the sound, which I found was this play's biggest weakness. Most of the problems were with the mics, which, to be fair, can't exactly be blamed on the cast or the director, but are still worth mentioning. Several times during the play they stopped working, most noticeably during Buckley's appearance in Scene 1 Act 1, and this made those lines very hard to hear. It wasn't so bad for me, as I was sitting near the stage, but it must have been a hassle for people in the back. Fortunately that was the only time it was a real problem, so it could have been much worse. Other times, though, the mics worked a little too well, especially the many, MANY times Delilah the maid ran bawling off the stage, or to a lesser extent when Kay ran crying to her room. The mics turned those scenes from hilarious to ear-bleeding from the feedback. Again, though, this really isn't anyone's fault, as it was already mentioned that there were mic problems before the play even began, and other than those few mishaps, the sound was crisp and clear. The sound effects were also spot-on, especially the very appropriately grating ring of the telephone, which helped to drill in the stress of the situation.  Though it was the weakest area of the performance, there still isn't much to complain about. If this is the worst it had to offer, then it was a very successful show.
	Moving on, there was also the more physical aspects of the show, such as the set, costume design and props. The set was that of the interior of a two-story house, and couldn't have been easy to make in six weeks by hand. Hearing that it was all painted by hand also, right down to every individual flower on the wallpaper, greatly impressed me, as everything looked very nice. The props were quite good, looking very appropriate for the time period. The only problem was that the antique phone's end would keep falling off when slammed. Though barely noticeable, it still was a little distracting when it had to be screwed back on. However, learning that the massive, elaborate chandelier was made entirely by hand is very impressive, and it made a lovely centerpiece.  As this was mostly a dialog, actor-focused play, however, there's not a whole lot more to say about the props in this show, as they were far from the focus. However, they served their purpose well. Much the same can be said about the costumes, which looked very nice, especially the dresses, which were very lovely. There were a few concerns about their construction, though, especially Mr. Bank's fancy suit. It was a running gag that   Mrs. Banks was afraid it would rip when he tried to sit down, but sadly that joke became a reality as the suit really did start to fall apart near the end of the show. But again, this really can't be blamed on the crew, as these were rented costumes.  More impressive to me was the makeup work, which I didn't really notice until I got closer to the actors post-show. It was very subtle work, but did wonders to make characters such as Mrs Banks and Miss Bellamy look older, even from a distance. For what they had to do, the set changes were efficient and quick, and never felt like they took too long. A lot of money and work went into making this show look good, and it really, really shows.
	Now, on to things relating to the actors themselves. First of, I should say that the performances in this show were wonderful and very funny to watch. Most impressive was John Nalley, who played the lead role of Mr. Banks. I'm wondering how much his throat had to have hurt after four straight nights of this, because he did an amazing job of making Mr. Bank's rants and ravings over-the-top and hysterical. He was completely in the zone, everything about his body language and his hilarious facial expressions, even when he wasn't the one speaking perfectly fit the setting and the character. In fact, he was so good he really did seem to overshadow the other actors. Not that I'm saying that they were remotely bad. They weren't. It's just that Mr. Banks was so bombastic that everyone else seemed downright sedate by comparison... well, there were a few exceptions to this, such as Delilah, played by Lyndsay Hammons. Her role called for a change of emotions on the drop of a hat, and she played it beautifully, going from calm and serene to running off the screen crying in ten seconds flat. As a running gag, it was very funny, and she performed it wonderfully. As for the other actors, they did very well, though again some of the calmer ones felt a little flat compared to the louder characters. The only role I can say for sure I didn't care for was Buzz Taylor, played by Anthony Pierce. Although it was a very brief and unimportant role, I found it to be rather grating for some reason and was glad when he went off the stage and didn't appear again. I'm sure it wasn't really his fault, and again it's quite a personal opinion, but it was a little distracting. That aside, I can tell the actors were putting their all into this show, and their efforts greatly payed off. They really helped to make this play very entertaining.
	By far the most impressive thing about the show, however, was the blocking and the actual acting itself, and just overall how smooth the play ran. As the play was pretty much entirely dialog, I can't even begin to imagine how much work must have gone into this. The sheer amount of memorization that had to have been done is staggering, and yet the actors, like the real troopers that they are, stuck it out and did it, making for quite the performance. Conversations flowed very naturally, with lines not being said too fast or too slow. Kudos to Colleen Ryterski, who played Miss Bellamy, for pulling off her rant during her little mental breakdown, which contained a ton of precise numbers and figures  perfectly. If there were any mistakes in the likes, then even more kudos to the actors for not breaking form and adapting their flub into their normal lines. Even things like costume failures were acknowledged hilariously. The best example of this was during Mr. Bank's big breakdown during Scene 2 Act 3. Before then, the belt on his suit had broken off, and he was constantly trying to shove it down out of view. However, when it flopped out during the breakdown, he managed to seamlessly throw in “...MY SUIT IS FALLING APART!” among the list of things that were going wrong with the wedding planning. The entire audience burst out laughing, and so did I, because it was absolutely brilliant. Major, major props to the actors for being able to handle such a difficult play, and also to the director who lead the way.
	Overall, it was a fantastic show and I really hope that it made a lot of money, as it certainly deserves it. The hard work by tech crew, the director, and the actors alike really shows, and thanks to all of them, the show shined and was a memorable experience for me. Even the negative things were far from being that bad, and were completely overshadowed by the good, and were for the most part insignificant. It was a ton of fun and I'd recommend it to anyone.