Performance Review

I recently attended the school’s production of The Jungle Book on May 13^th. This was directed by Mr. Junker and Schuler. I was very impressed by this performance. The cast was full of life and constantly engaging. This was best represented by the very boisterous Baloo, and man-cub Mogli. Throughout the play, the entire stage was constantly being used, making every scene fresh. This was accomplished by continuously changing where your eye was drawn throughout the play. This constant eye movement kept the play from becoming rigid and stale, clearly a very good decision made by the directors and brought to life by the cast and crew.

The actors and actresses clearly put in a lot of effort in order to make this play into what it was. If I hadn’t known better I would have been easily convinced that this was a college or large production show. The use of physical acting was unparalleled by what I have previously seen in school plays. The way that Sher Khan stalked and Baloo romped made for a very engaging performance. Along with this, I was impressed by the adaptability that the costume design displayed in creating Kaa, the snake, reminiscent of The Lion King Live.

If I was given the ability to make one change in this production, I would have redirected some of my focus towards the technical and behind the scenes work. For instance, it would have been a nice touch to have a spotlight follow cast members up or down the stairs. One final change that would have been made was to better amplify the play. It is meant to be a musical performance; audibility should therefore be priority number one. If I had to give this play a rating in stars, I would give it 8 out of 10.

Performance Review

Review of the Jungle Book         

Last Friday I watched the play adaptation of the Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. It was performed in the Henry Clay High School theater by Henry Clay students. The play starts off with a boy named Mowgli living in the jungle with a pack of wolves. A tiger named Shere Khan learns of him and comes to kill him. A panther named Bagera is entrusted with returning him to the human village. Along the way he meets a bear named Baloo and becomes reluctant about leaving the jungle. All this time he is being hunted by Shere Khan. Mowgli manages to escape being killed and begins to realize how dangerous the jungle is. Eventually he sees a human girl and returns to the village.   

The costumes were a little inconsistent in quality. The vultures, elephants, and snake were all very detailed. The monkies and king louis didn’t really have anything on that would let you know what they were. The snake costume was my favorite. They had a pole attached to a stuffed animal snake's head so it could be moved around and they had another person move the tail around. This was a school play though so overall the costumes were very nice. 

The sets were pretty detailed. They had a smoke machine that which was something I have not seen in a school play before. They also had ropes for the monkies and other characters to swing on. The paint on the sets looked very nice. The lighting was pretty good. The lights were always focused on the main character in the scene. If there was only one character on stage there was a spotlight pointed at them. 

Overall I think this was a very solid performance. Some parts were taken out but that was due to time constraints. The ending left some questions unanswered. I personally think this was the most disappointing part about the play. If I were to give this play a rating id say 8/10. It was very good for a school play but there was some things they could have improved on.                                            

 

 

Performance Review - Gates Sweeney

I attended the student supplied film festival at the Kentucky Theater on friday night. It consisted of films submitted by students and hand picked by Mr. Logsdon and Behler. Even though my film was in the show and a few of my friends’ were as well, I still had not seen the majority of the films submitted.

The show started at midnight, which I think is what makes it the most special. It’s like a midnight premier of a blockbuster film but instead it’s your work. The fact that my work was being shown at the Kentucky theater on the big screen was also very special, but I don’t think it was as important as the midnight timing. The show opened up with Mr. Behler giving a quick briefing on TV/Radio as a whole, and then the films played. I was worried that audio would be a problem, considering most of our class isn’t all that advanced in audio balancing. I was worried that some videos would be much louder than others, and it would quickly become a bad experience. Luckily, Mr. Logsdon knew what he was doing so our audio was somewhat balanced for the show. Also, I LOVED seeing a film with stupendous image quality on the big screen. A well shot film deserves a screen like that.

The greatest part of the whole show was the variety of great ideas portrayed through film. Some were definitely better than others, but I was really impressed at how much work many of these people put into their films. For someone like me that loves the hobby so much, it really was a pleasant feeling to see the appreciation of others towards it.

Throughout the show, from color to black and white, action to love, comedy to formal, not one of these films did I dislike or scrutinize. Even though I had never seen them, there was a significant attachment I felt towards each of them during the show. These films are what started the knot that ties up my wonderful senior year.

Performance Review Michael Dickson

Michael Dickson                                                                       Jungle Book Performance Review

            The students at Henry Clay recently put on a rendition of the Disney classic “The Jungle Book.” The play was essentially the Disney film, almost line for line, which was not at all a bad thing, “The Jungle Book” is an amazing film to begin with. The energy, conviction, and emotion with which the actors portrayed their roles surprised me, as I hadn’t attended a school play since fourth grade, and had thus expected the same level of enthusiasm and character. Instead I was met by well portrayed characters who each clearly represented the traits they were intended to. In addition, as anyone will know, Disney’s “The Jungle Book” is a musical, having relatively short, peppy, and lighthearted songs interrupting its typical train of dialogue. This too was captured in the school performance, although it does lead to my singular complaint: I could barely hear anyone.

Although the actors had microphones, several of them did not understand that, even with a microphone, they were still required to project their voices. However, I can’t place blame solely on the performers, the main reason for my forced deafness was the musical accompaniment. The school band and orchestra had come together to provide the symphonic backing that any musical requires. Unfortunately, I don’t think they had ever practiced in the actual theatre. Their music, while incredibly beautiful and proficiently performed, was significantly too loud. Even small tone setting pieces intended to be background to certain scenes easily overwhelmed the soft-voiced performers and the dialogue was quickly lost amidst the tumult.

In spite of the occasionally lost dialogue, the actors easily portrayed the events of the scene through convincing, emotive body language, as well as interaction with stage pieces. That brings up another point, the stage was used to incredible effect, and, several times during the performance, was altogether ignored as actors ran through the seating of the theatre, immersing the audience further. In addition, the stage was incredibly dynamic, with several set pieces serving multiple roles, as well as having pieces that were brought in or removed during transitions. My personal favourite were the “vines” which were dropped down for King Louie’s musical number so that the monkeys could swing back and forth, and partially over the audience.

Overall, the play was highly enjoyable, and I would gladly go see it again if possible. Despite the miscommunication between the sound booth and the orchestra, the energy and expression of the actors, mixed with their interactions with the stage, created a highly enjoyable experience, and a relatively faithful retelling of a beloved, classic tale. 

Performance Review- Skylar Mays

Hamilton Review

Skylar Mays

    Recently Hamilton has been getting a lot of good press and if you haven't seen it you might

question “well how good is it really.” I can assure you, it is well worth the wait. It made history with 16 Tony nominations, the most ever. And has also made advances towards engaging the education systems by providing shows for high school juniors in US history for just $10. Hamilton is a new take on history in some of the most exciting ways possible.

    On April 9th, 2016 I saw Hamilton on Broadway at 2 pm. It was written by Lin Manuel Miranda and directed by Thomas Kail. Miranda also starred as leading role Alexander Hamilton. Also starring were Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Daveed Diggs as Thomas Jefferson, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Schuyler, Renée Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, Jonathan Groff as the King of England, and lastly Christopher Jackson as George Washington.

    The production takes place in a common area that with a few tables and other movable props can be turned into a bar, wedding reception, or home/office. The lights change in order to set mood and provide action. For example, they use a bright, white flash of light from the right side of the stage to symbolize cannons the British are firing. And when Jonathan Groff is singing about how America has declared independence the lights are a warm red, much like the red coats the British wore, until he says “I'm so blue,” to which the lights switch to blue. The actors all wear appropriate costuming for the time period. The dancers wear beige costuming with boots, making it easy for them to add a coat to be apart of the army or a new character, like Thayne Jasperson who is normally a dancer, but added a Navy jacket and became a farmer/commoner.

    It goes without saying that it's ultimately the language that makes this play the success that it is. Miranda used hip-hop and rap not only to bring the script into modern times but to also fit more words and lyrics into a smaller period of time. His lyrics bring to life the ideals of a “young, scrappy, and hungry” immigrant capable of changing the new world. From Renée Goldsberry’s character we see hopes in advances in women's rights when she says she's been reading Common Sense, and wants Jefferson to include “women in the sequel.” Not only does it show strong feminist qualities with all the female actors and dancers but the diversity in the production is phenomenal. Almost every character is from a different descent. This is an attempt by Miranda to show students and immigrants their importance.

    I would recommend this play to anyone and everyone because I feel like there is something to be gained by everyone. And if nothing else, it is accurate and entertaining.

Performance Review-The Jungle Book-Sydney Taylor

The Jungle Book

9:30 am

May 13, 2016

Directed by Kristian Junker and Kiefer Schuler

Lassiter Theater of Henry Clay High School

Performers-Raiffa Syamil, Jade Curless, Yazmina Townsley, Jade Kropp, Anne Russell, Aislinn Langley, Ji-Hae Kim, Isabel Jenkins, Maya Creamer

The Jungle Book shares the story of Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear attempting to get a young boy named Mowgli to leave the jungle for a human civilization so he will be protected from Shere Kahn, the tiger out to destroy man and any “man cubs”. Ultimately, they defeat Shere Kahn so Mowgli does not have to leave. However, in the end, he is lured from the jungle by a pretty, young, singing girl from the village that he observes collecting water near the jungle.

Most performers wore clothes specific in color to their character, though not necessarily a costume exactly depicting the character, with makeup and/or ears showing what animal they played. This is with the exception of characters like Shere Khan, played by Yazmina Townsley, who wore a full tiger outfit and the vultures who had feathers on their costumes. Jade Kropp, playing King Louie, wore a simple orange outfit and Mowgli, played by Raiffa Syamil, wore brown pants and a shirt. Jade Curless, voicing the snake Kaa, walked carrying a large green snake puppet while Anne Russell carried the rest of the snake body. The set was simple other than a background, a tree to climb, and a throne for King Louie. King Louie’s monkey minions swung from ropes suspended from the top of the stage to simulate them swinging from trees. Large green leaves hung around the top of the stage, enhanced by green lights that shone on the stage and the performers.

The content followed the same story as the movie adaptations. The lesson in this story is that everyone should have the freedom to live where they want and be accepted, but some people have destinies elsewhere that they never would have imagined.

The Jungle Book was one of the best performances put on by Henry Clay High School and the drama department in the past four years. The singers were phenomenal and the orchestra carried the performance (if sometimes overshadowing the performers without microphones). This was an impressive show for high school students, and it was very obvious how much dedication every member committed to making the show as great as it was. They seemed to always have energy, even after the countless elementary school and evening performances they did. 

Performance Review Derrick Thomas Jr.

 At the Woodford Theatre, a local organization opened its season-ending musical last Friday, and it’s no surprise that this energetic production of the popular Marc Shaiman musical Hairspray was very entertaining.

The cast is a diverse group of seasoned professionals and talented college students that share the spotlight with young hopefuls and first time performers. The sense of a community coming together to put on this play and having fun is very apparent. Anyone who comes to see it will enjoy it a lot.

The star Tracy Turnblad is played with abundant energy by Madeline Williamson. Her tone and facial expressions are hilarious. She nevertheless has a commanding presence and easily carries the play.

Singing wise I’d have to say, the props go to Peter Gibbons, who plays the pretty boy Link with likable sincerity, and Darian Sanders, who plays soul-singing Seaweed with starful pizazz. Singing from all actors was good throughout the musical

Jessica Slaton Greene casted as Motormouth Maybelle projects herself good in the part. As Tracy’s parents, Robert Parks Johnson, dressed in drag as Edna, and Patrick Lee Lucas as Wilbur, are played wonderfully, and perform great in their second-act duet (You’re) Timeless To Me.

Daniel Bruington and his larger than life attitude as TV host Corny Collins. As the stuck-up antagonist Velma and Amber Von Tussle Sloan Gilbert and Rachel Jarrard present rather flat shallow characters, but are fun to watch throughout the plot. Emma Becker is good as Tracy’s friend Penny.

The cast of singers, dancers, and actors that make up the rest of the fictional town perform with obvious energy and enjoyment that touches the audience. A credit should be given to to Erica Tilford, Alicia Davila and Brittany Morton, who play a 60’s style trio called the Dynamites with gusto.

The 1960s-style choreography engulfs the theater with flashy movement from start to finish. Constant energy is the main claim for this production, and although lack of experience can be seen throughout the cast, everybody gives their all when it comes to dancing.

The staging direction by director Vanessa Becker Weig keeps the play moving along, although sometimes dialogue can seem clouded by constant motion. Even in serious moments, when stasis would help emphasize the importance of a scene, such as Link’s deciding to be with Tracy instead of Amber, or Motormouth’s speech about the struggle of racial tensions, the characters wander around mindlessly, without real dramatic purpose. But these are small flaws in the overall staging of a huge cast in an emotion filled high-energy musical. Overall the play came off as a fun family experience that the whole community could be proud of.