The Night of the Iguana
review by Shannon Wu
A
meaningful message intended, but not well sent. The Night of the Iguana performed at the American Repertory Theater
was written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Michael Wilson. The story
locates in West Mexico in a small resort, Costa Verde. The main character,
Reverent T. Lawrence Shannon was an almost-defrocked minister, who is
dispirited by the fact that he feels he has not accomplished anything good in
his life. Throughout the play he tells his story about his past and how he
wishes he could become a trustable minister; however, his attraction towards
women often fails him. At the end, he finally cut free the Iguana, a metaphor
as himself.
The
production had a grand cast of James Earl Jones and Amanda Plummer, etc.
However, the pace of the play was dreadfully slow. The whole play remained in one setting, which
made the sense of space restricted, though it was an astonishing set, and the
lighting change indicating the time of the day was also phenomenal. Each scene
contained long, intricate conversations between characters, which was effective
for understanding the story in a deep level; however, it was at the same time
hard to follow and stay focus as the characters talked. It often became quite
boring when the audiences just watched two people talk to each other for over
ten minutes on stage without more action involved. Don’t misunderstand. The acting skills of
these artists were irreplaceable. Through their words and emotions, you feel
their devotion and passion into these characters. Under the beautifully
designed set, the actors and actresses looked enchanting with their vivid
facial expressions.
The play as
a whole, however, seemed more like a conversation rather than story telling.
The majority of the play was the audience watching two characters talk on
stage, which became boring at some points. If you’re
the kind of kid who never falls asleep in a class of lecture, this is the play
for you, I suppose.
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