The University of Florida’s Theatre and Dance Department is performing “Clybourne Park,” a play with an impressive track record considering its young age. It has won various prestigious awards – Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for best play, to name a few. The Hippodrome is hosting daily performances, with the exception of Mondays, through September 28.
Perhaps school spirit and plays bearing such hefty awards aren’t convincing enough. Perhaps “Clybourne Park” sounds like a nursing home to you. Perhaps you are the cultured one of your friends and you are reading this thinking, “I would go, but will my nose-picking friends enjoy it?”
Via: starburstmagazine.com
This play is entertaining whether you consider yourself a seasoned veteran of the theater or feel the only time you would step into one is if you were forced.
The blend of hilarious, raw, clever and haunting moments speak to a wide audience. It is also short in length. Now that I have knocked the usual excuses, let’s discuss what to wear, where to go and what to expect.
Where
Instead of an elevated stage and sprawling ground level audience seating, the stage at The Hipp is ground level while the audience is tiered, surrounding three sides of the stage. The theatre is small enough that you could potentially make awkward eye contact with audience members across from you. It is impossible for actors to play to their “good angles” because you see it all. This proximity leads to a very intimate experience. You feel like a part of the scene because you can see the subtleties of the actors’ facial expressions, even though you left your old-timey theater binoculars at home.
With a vigilant audience closing in on three sides, there are no subtle entrances into this theatre. So what do you wear for your five seconds of fame? I recommend something you would wear to a semi-formal restaurant on a second date. (No pretenses here. You are among friends). This is not the time to wear your sweaty gym clothes, nor is is it the time to imitate Hilary Duff’s “Cinderella Story” ball scene entrance.
Via: raymondscott.blogspot.com
What
To give you some context and nuggets of wisdom before attending, here’s the skeleton of the show: Act I takes place in the late 1950s and Act II take place in the 1990s. Between the two acts, this play basically covers the best of every genre. Act I is like an episode of “Mad Men” if Don Draper took the day off, and Act II is like a particularly raunchy episode of “Friends.”
This means that the eight-person cast plays two different sets of characters. During the first half, a housewife and her husband are preparing to move out of Clybourne Park. The housekeeper, a priest, a racist man claiming to be “progressive” and a few other notable characters trickle into the set, catalyzing a clash of personalities and morals. Occurring at the onset of the Civil Rights Movement, race quickly becomes the primary focus of the couple’s seemingly unrelated move.
Skip to the 1990s, two couples meet to discuss renovating the same house from Act I. A series of poorly timed and poorly judged jokes between the couples addresses race and how we tend to “skirt around” issues.
Via: reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com
“Clybourne Park” tackles serious issues in a humorous way because no one is exempt from scrutiny. It is offensively humorous, and humorously offensive, the same way Oscar Wilde’s work is.
Extra Culture Points: This play references “A Raisin in the Sun.” It is not essential to read this to appreciate the play, but casually mentioning the allusions between the two or how much you “loved reading and re-reading ‘Raisin’ in high school” may please some crowds.
To launch yourself into the cultural stratosphere, bring your highlighted copy of “Raisin” in your purse or jacket pocket. Impressive. Your date may either decide you’re the One or that you need to be punched in the face. No in-between.
Who
Clybourne Park’s cast is vibrant. I have never seen characters make more glorious entrances in my life. When the actors switched into their Act II characters, there wasn’t a moment of, “Oh, they should have stuck with their Act I character.” For having minimal props and space, they breathed life and believability into Bruce Norris’ excellent script.
You can turn this into a classy night on the town or catch it on a weeknight to break up the monotony of your routine. To purchase tickets to this great production in our backyard, call 352-375-4477 or go to thehipp.org.
Featured photo courtesy of: beatricebasso.com
