The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart

Last night, we saw "The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart."  It was one of the more intriguing, enjoyable and innovative things we've seen in a long while.

For starters, the play takes place in a bar -- an actual bar.  In this case the Bier Baron on 22nd street.  For another, the actors wander throughout the bar as the play goes on and engage the audience in participation.  Katy got a nice warm hug from one of the actors (the fellow in purple above) and had another actor (the fellow on the left) strip and throw his shirt to her.  Indeed, the play started when one of the actors said the word "snow" and all of the audience threw ripped up napkins.

Describing it that way makes it seem a bit weird ... and we suppose it was.  But the weirdness really reflected the mystical nature of the show.  It takes place in the border region of Scotland and the underlying theme is all about the mystical ballads and stories from that region.  Prudencia is an ethnographer who studies the ballads and to her surprise gets caught up in one story that seems to come to life.

The play is a joyous mix of music, laughter and fun.  It really reminded us of nothing so much as a fun night out with friends -- except this time it was 60 strangers we'd never met.  Yet by the end of the night, the play had the entire audience singing along and waving their hands in the air.

The Shakespeare Theater is hosting the production, but it is only here in DC until December 9th.  Buy tickets quick and go see this play.

Time Stands Still -- 3 1/2 Stars

We went to the Studio Theater the other night and saw a play by Donald Margulies, "Time Stands Still." If you have a chance you really need to go and see this play. It was one of the most memorable plays we've seen in quite a while. We would recommend it generally as being exceedingly well acted and produced.

The two lead protagonists are a photo jounrnalist and her boyfriend, a print journalist, who spend their lives covering conflict in Iraq/Sudan etc. The play is set back here in the US where they have just returned after she is injured in a road-side bomb attack. Holly Twyford, who plays the female lead, is just wonderful as a photographer who just can't say "no" to the challenge of covering conflicts.

We don’t pretend to know a lot about journalism but this play had the feel of verisimilitude. They players struggled with the effects of the horror on them; with the challenge of observing bad events and “not doing anything” and with the conflict between their yearning to be doing “something” and the desire for a safer quieter life. We have to imagine that this play would resonate with journalists everywhere and with those who consume the news.

At its core this is an excellent play that is just plain well done!