tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926362191208217417.post4899648512743027406..comments2023-05-27T08:23:00.733-05:00Comments on On Chicago Theatre: Blog Exclusive Review: The Wreck of the MedusaZev Valancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10239062791827527067noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926362191208217417.post-38675380518413740662010-04-27T16:33:18.283-05:002010-04-27T16:33:18.283-05:00Jack--Thanks for breaking your own code to respond...Jack--Thanks for breaking your own code to respond.<br /><br />I think the important question to ask is: when does a productive frustration slide into just checking out? There isn't one answer to this--and I think this is particularly a show where responses vary quite a bit. For me, that happened a few times during the show, particularly early in the first act, when it was hard to tell what was going on, and later in the second, when the show seemed to be ending multiple times.<br /><br />But as I said, I think that point of checking out is different for many people. There's a lot to be said for pushing that limit. Perverse is one of those things, but so is fascinating.Zev Valancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10239062791827527067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926362191208217417.post-88653989233014038902010-04-27T11:55:57.396-05:002010-04-27T11:55:57.396-05:00Zev, thanks for the review.
I'm not going to ...Zev, thanks for the review.<br /><br />I'm not going to attempt to defend any aspect of the show while it's still running.<br /><br />However, the thing I will say is that the broad scale that you identify as both a positive and negative element of THE WRECK OF THE MEDUSA is definitely what we were going for, and I am proud of both the variety of events onstage and the frustratingly diffuse focus. The sense of dissatisfaction you may have felt at the incompleteness of any given story or the attempt to tell too many stories is an essential part of the experience of THE WRECK OF THE MEDUSA. Correard's final monologue explains, I hope, why. The goal was always to balance that frustration with events so compelling that their ultimate failure to cohere into an indelible Point became the Point itself.<br /><br />Is this a perversely difficult and ultimately self-defeating intention for an evening of theater? Perhaps. No one will ever accuse the Plagiarists of taking it easy.<br /><br />Look at that! Despite my intentions I just defended a play in the comments section of a review. Bad form, me!<br /><br />Thanks for coming to the show. I look forward to continuing this conversation in more depth after May 9.<br /><br />Jack Tamburri<br />www.theplagiarists.orgUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10478362720208985216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926362191208217417.post-14962329415149150512010-04-26T16:42:07.232-05:002010-04-26T16:42:07.232-05:00Damn, I better get my own shipwreck play ready abo...Damn, I better get my own shipwreck play ready about how an incompetent captain was led astray by a sociopath, and how, when the survivors were stranded on barely habitable sandbars, they quickly mutinied.<br /><br />And yes, that is also based on fact and a completely different incident.<br /><br />Time to ride the zeitgeist!Mr. Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01489439585866708542noreply@blogger.com