Hello Beautiful People,
This past Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the closing matinée of bare at New World Stages.
Now, before we go any further, let’s get this straight right now. I have never seen this show before Sunday. I loved the music. I’ve read the original script. But, I had never seen a production of bare before Sunday. I know there has been buzzing and stirring comparing the first run of this show to the one that just closed at New World Stages. This will not be a comparison. I have no use for pettiness, and quite frankly, neither should any of you.
So, lets chat about bare.
Well, first things first…kudos to the scenic designer, Donyale Werle, and the lighting designer, Howell Binkley. I behaved, and did not take any pictures, but trust me when I say that the set was outstanding. The use of light, the use of pictures, the simplicity of the lines of the set in combination with the levels truly created the atmosphere of a boarding school. It. Was. Awesome.
The character of Peter, was played by Taylor Trensch. Words cannot express the sheer joy that I experienced while watching his performance. He was outstanding, just…outstanding. In my opinion, brilliant acting happens when the audience is so invested in the performance that they take the journey right alongside the character. You laugh when they laugh, you cry when they cry, you feel what they feel. Trensch accomplished this, and then some. His portrayal was real & honest & genuine & all around fantastic.
A moment that was especially touching for me a moment between Sister Joan (Missi Pyle) and Father Mike (Jerold E. Solomon), the moment when Sister Joan calls Father Mike out on the fact that he was lying about parent complaints. That there were no parent complaints, he was the person who had a problem with her teaching. The moments when he reprimands her for actually trying to guide her students with the problems that they are facing, instead of sweeping them under the rug. These moments were not isolated to Catholic School, if anything it was a glaring example of what happens in one too many classrooms across America today. Teachers are not being allowed to…teach. They are asked to ignore the blatant and obvious problems that are right in front of them, to focus on numbers and tests than dealing with the root of the problem. They are asked to become ostriches, burying their heads in the sand.
And, like in the show, it is just sad.
Another touching moment of this story didn’t happen onstage, but rather, next to me. One of my closest friends from college, Helene, and her girlfriend came to see the show. I call Helene my sister, (we played sisters in a show in college, and the nicknames just stuck.) Anyway, Helene is bisexual, and she went to a Catholic high school. At one point during the show, I looked over at her, and she was sobbing.
Sobbing.
This show, that performance, it touched her heart & soul on a personal level that I cannot begin to understand, and that dear friends, is a beautiful thing.
To the cast & crew & creative team of bare…Bravo. I, and all of us here at The Write Teacher(s), wish you all nothing but the best in your future projects. I have no doubt that there will be many more for each and every one of you.
Live, Love, Learn,