The America Play (Attempt #2)

(Photo credit to Johanna Austin)

Last week, I wrote a piece on The America Play after seeing it at The Wilma.  And I absolutely hated what I wrote.  This was extremely weird for me, because I’ve never hated a post as much as I hated what I wrote about this play.  I don’t think I hit all of the important parts.  I don’t think I highlighted the actors’ performances.  I don’t think I properly articulated what I was trying to say about this absolutely mind blowing play.  I took the time to write a piece on this show, and I absolutely couldn’t bring myself to post it.

At this point, I’m kind of late to the party.  The America Play closed yesterday.  But I still feel like I owe it some sort of write up on my blog.  Honestly, I loved this play.  It was surreal, and strange, and not like something I’ve ever seen before.  We have a black Abraham Lincoln impersonator (who is also a father and a grave digger).  We get to see him work, as people came in and “shot” him before yelling out famous phrases from John Wilkes Booth (“Thus always to tyrants!”) and how he acts out his death.  That part was super interesting.  Thus we’re introduced to Foundling Father.

On the other hand, we have Lucy and Brazil, Foundling Father’s family.  They’re trying to find him, and are in the hole he had dug.  This is where things get a little weird (okay, we’ll say a little weirder).  It’s like two dimensions on top of each other…sometimes we get whispers of Foundling Father, and they keep unearthing things that were important to him (a bust of Abraham Lincoln, a trunk filled with fake beards).  The America Play brought something special to the stage.

There really is so much to say about The America Play, and my problem is that I don’t know how to say it all.  I think that’s why I hated my first post so much.  I tried to talk about what I had seen, and for once, I couldn’t do it.  It didn’t come out right.  Everything I wrote just sounded wrong.  My analyses just didn’t connect.  I was going to try and rewrite it.  I was going to try and write a much better piece.  But then I realized that I just can’t.  Oddly enough, I’ve found a show that I can’t properly write about, and I don’t want to try to.  I’ll scribble out a few things, but I’m not going to try to say a few things.

The America Play was truly a work of art.  They didn’t need anything huge to make a huge impact on me.  The set was beautiful…it was simple, with the focal piece being a huge side view of Abraham Lincoln’s face.  And it wasn’t even in the center…it was off to the side.  Everything on the set was built around it.  The costumes were also simple.  Nothing incredibly special, but they worked perfectly to boost the art of this play.

Props were also simple, but highlighted everything in the play beautifully.  We had things like a bust of Abraham Lincoln and a collection of fake facial hair.  There’s the guns that were used to “shoot” Foundling Father.  They didn’t even look like real guns…but we get the idea.  I have to say…I love when plays don’t rely on anything over the top to get their point across.  The America Play was one of those plays.  The thing with this play is that a little bit goes a long way.

I said that I wasn’t going to talk much about my feelings about The America Play, or analyze it, or write all about the show.  So that is all I’m going to say about the play.  I just can’t go any further on it.  I’ve finally found a show that just leaves me with absolutely nothing to say.  I could never do this show any justice, and anything beyond these basics would cross over into that area of writing about this show that I don’t want to write about.  I think I just have to let this one be

So really…what is so special about this show?  You’d think I’d be able to write about it easily if I loved it so much.  That first write up on The America Play just didn’t work.  It just wasn’t right…maybe that just happens sometimes.  But this play was incredibly special.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it, and it gave so much to the audience.  I actually walked away from this show not wanting more…I felt like I got absolutely everything from it.  I don’t think that first piece will ever see the light of day again, but at least I can give some tribute to one helluva piece of art.