Open Rehearsal: The Court Theatre Blog
February 14, 2012
The Apocalypse and…Water Balloons
“I feel… that something’s going to give.”—Harper
A few weeks ago before rehearsal started, Artistic Director Charles Newell made an impromptu visit to our weekly marketing meeting and shared some thoughts about his impending production of Angels in America, a project that has been looming large in all of our imaginations for the entirety of the 11/12 season. Angels in America is hands-down my favorite play EVER, so it would never occur to me to question why one would produce it (um…because it’s awesome?), but I found Charlie’s perspective on the continuing relevance of this piece absolutely fascinating.
He described the world of the play thusly: “the world is flying too fast and everything feels like it might fly apart.” I don’t know about you, but that about sums up how I feel right about now. 2012 has begun. It’s the year of a presidential election that could forever alter the course of our country. It’s the year of a potential Mayan apocalypse. In Charlie’s words, it’s a year when our country must decide “how we are going to care for ourselves and how we’re going to care for each other.” What better time to see this play than when questions of healthcare, access, and perhaps most essentially, equality, are glaring at every American.
Charlie pointed out that this sense could be visually captured by the moment after a water balloon is punctured, but the moment before the water falls. Infinite, unknown possibilities encapsulated in a single, delicate moment of chaos. Pretty cool.
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