All the King's Men

All The King’s Men

            The play, All The King’s Men is written by Adrian Hall and based on the book of the same name by Robert Penn Warner. This play script was obtained by LSU’s Swine Palace Theatre and is one that is making the rounds of college and professional theatres. It is currently slated to open on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at the Swine palace on LSU’s Campus. When attempting to reference the play, All The King’s Men, the only data that could be obtained was information on the book. The play was definitely developed sometime after Warner’s book was published. It basically maintains the same format of the book, and I wonder if Warner might have collaborated with Hall on this script.   

            Warner, then Hall developed a story that is loosely based on the life of former Governor Huey P. Long of Louisiana and was often referred to as “The Boss” like the main character, Willie Stark, in this play. Stark is portrayed as a populist Governor, who starts out as an idealistic lawyer and ends up cynical, corrupt, and powerful. Stark, like Long, is assassinated by a physician in the halls of the state capitol. What happens to Stark and his development into the charismatic politician that he became, is the basis of the play, and the book. The play picks up with Stark already having developed into the charismatic politician that he had become. Stark has been having an affair with Anne Stanton, the daughter of the former Governor Stanton. The present Lieutenant Governor Tiny Duffy informs Anne’s brother, Adam Stanton, a physician and a political opponent of Stark that Stark has been sleeping with his sister. Adam is enraged and ambushes Stark in the halls of the state capitol, where he shoots and kills the governor and is then shot and killed by Stark’s bodyguards. The play is seen through the eyes of Jack Burden, an aide to Governor Stark and a former newspaper journalist. Burden is attempting to reveal the true character of Willie Stark and the pull that he has on John Q. Public.

            There are at least two dramaturgical choices that the playwright, Adrian Hall makes in order to highlight the material in a more dramatic and theatrical sense so that the audience can understand and be drawn into the plot. One is when Jack Burden visits Judge Irwin to inform him that if he continues to support Stark’s opponent, then the public will learn the truth regarding recent activities of the Judge’s son. Another is when Jack Burden finds out from his mother that Judge Irwin was his father; this occurs after the Judge’s suicide which happened after Jack’s visit to him.

            Judge Irwin is portrayed as a long-time friend of Jack’s mother. When Jack’s father abandoned the family when Jack was six, Judge Irwin stepped in and became a surrogate father and mentor to Jack. One can fast-forward years later to Jack’s visit with the Judge on behalf of Stark. Jack is torn between his duty to his boss, Willie Stark, and his admiration and devotion to his mentor, Judge Irwin. Jack banters back and forth with the judge, but in the end, lays down the rules and informs the Judge of his options. The Judge decides to end his life rather than give in to Stark.

            Jack, upon hearing of Irwin’s death at his own hands, realizes that he must have driven Irwin to this heinous act.  Jack is guilt-ridden, and confronts his mother where he then learns the true nature of the relationship between himself and the Judge, that of father and son. Jack is torn and even feels more guilt. Jack comes to resent his boss, the Governor, and eventually resigns. Jack, like Stark before him, has lost his idealistic nature.

            Hall has drawn the audience into the plots and subplots of the play. Another subplot was that of the relationship between Jack Burden and Anne Stanton; they were childhood sweethearts. The play is filled with intrigue, mystery, and drama, as well as murder. Hall accomplished his goal of maintaining the audience’s interest throughout the play.

Detroit--A City

Why Detroit?

            Detroit, Michigan is a mid-sized city situated in the heartland or mid-America.  It is a synonym for your average American city with all the trials and joys of city life. Lisa D’Amour has created a neighborhood in this typical city to highlight the trials and tribulations of a middle-class couple and their new neighbors, a down-on-luck couple. They are living in a declining neighborhood. Mary is a woman with an alcohol problem and Ben is a banker who has been terminated; they start to develop a relationship and a friendship with Kenny, a contractor, and Sharon, his wife. Kenny and Sharon have just been released from a rehab center that deals in substance abuse. This is the basis for the play, Detroit. D’Amour has chosen the title “Detroit” because she view the city of Detroit as an anonymous city filled with people similar to her characters.

            Detroit is an interesting play that appears to deal with the deterioration of the average American couple and their marriage due to circumstance in their lives. Mary has turned to alcohol in order to avoid the pitfalls of her life and marriage. Ben has lost his job and is attempting to start his own financial business, but Mary believes that he should be further along in the process. The issue of substance abuse in modern American life is an issue that is faced by many in cities throughout this country. The declining economy is also highlighted by D’Amour when she has Sharon and Kenny discussing the loss of Kenny’s job and the fact that Ben has been laid off due to budget cuts at his job. This occurs every day in every city. Detroit is an allusion to cities everywhere in the United States. Couples can and do overcome their marital problems by pulling together in rough times and supporting each other through these times.

            At the end of the play, Mary and Ben appear to be coming together. Their house has been burned to the ground; their car is old and in need of repairs. They do not have much in the manner of material possessions but they do have each other. Ben and Mary view their loss as an opportunity to start a new life, much like couples in every city in America. They will find their “Detroit” wherever they settle.

Water by the Spoonful

In Water By The Spoonful, author Quiara Alegrìa Hudes separates the world of the play into several different areas. Each area then becomes its own little world. On occasion the separate worlds start to intersect with each other.  One particular instance is at the end of Act 1 when the Internet world and Elliot Ortiz’s world intersect.  As Haikumom is giving advice, through the use of Haikus, to his fellow addicts; Hudes decides to include Elliot Ortiz’s world into the scene. The reasoning behind allowing Elliot’s world to bleed into the Internet world is for two reasons. The first is that Elliot and Haikumom are both portrayed as strong individuals, despite their past difficulties, Haikumom’s crack addiction and Elliot’s war injury. In this scene a hardening blow, Elliot’s leg giving in under pressure and Haikumom finding out that her sister has died, strikes both Elliot and Haikumom. The second reason for the intersection is that even though the characters cannot see each other Hudes sets up a curtain line for the end of the act. The curtain line is the revelation that Haikumom is Elliot’s aunt. Through this revelation, Hudes shows that even though both Elliot and Haikumom have separate difficulties; they share the same pain of losing someone they both loved and cared about deeply. By sharing the pain of losing someone, a bond is formed between Elliot and Haikumom. Even though Elliot holds Haikumom responsible for the death of her own daughter, there is still a connection present between the two of them. However, the hatred Elliot has for Haikumom is not reveled to the audience until later on in the play.