Final Call – A Feminine Ending - A Review in Images


Wendy Arons, associate professor of dramatic literature at Carnegie Mellon University, calls A Feminine Ending “A Solid Production” in this week’s review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Keep reading to see why!


Enjoy this visual of scenes from the play and all of the cast.
All captions are quoted from Ms. Arons' review.

"The play centers on Amanda Blue (Erika Cuenca),
an accomplished oboist and aspiring composer whose
career begins to stall after she becomes
engaged to Jack."  - Wendy Arons -

Erika Cuenca - Photo by Heather Mull


"Jack (Andrew Wind), a self-absorbed  pop vocalist 
on the fast track to stardom (think Bieber:  Mr. Wind's
costume and hair certainly invite the association)."
- Wendy Arons -Andrew Wind - Photo by Heather Mull

"Amanda reunites with her high school sweetheart Billy 
(portrayed with terrific charm and comic timing by Shaun 
Cameron Hall), now a postal carrier, and, in one of the 
play's funniest and most poignant scenes, she entertains 
the fantasy of marrying Billy so that she can have a less 
ambitious spouse serve as her support system."
 - Wendy Arons -Erika Cuenca and Shaun Cameron Hall - Photo by Heather Mull
"There is even the dramatic equivalent of an operatic aria, 
in which Ms. Sonnichsen's Kim hilariously celebrates 
the benefits of a post-menopausal mind, rejoicing in finally 
being able to "win an argument using logic.""
 -Wendy Arons -Ingrid Sonnichsen - Photo by Heather Mull

"Her conflict [Amanda's] comes to a head when she returns to her small 
hometown to visit her mother, Kim (powerfully played by Ingrid Sonnichsen), 
whose own feminist consciousness has reawakened and spurred her to leave 
husband (Weston Blakesley) and restart her life."
- Wendy Arons -Erika Cuenca and Weston Blakesley - Photo by Heather Mull

"One of the central metaphors is Amanda's impression that with
each choice she makes, fewer and fewer doors remain open to her.
Scenic designer Tony Ferrieri makes this metaphor the central
concept of his ingenious set, made up almost entirely of doors (79, at last count)."
- Wendy Arons - Ingrid Sonnichsen and Weston Blakesley - Photo by Heather Mull

 A Feminine Ending: Written by Sarah Treem - Directed by Matt M. Morrow
March 13, 14 or 15 at 8:00 PM

Off The Wall | Pittsburgh Theater - Broadway Magic
Only 6 miles from downtown.  Parking is free.
Enjoy a beverage from The Carnegie Coffee Company before the show.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Women Count at at off the WALL

WOMEN COUNT In case you missed the theatre industry’s gender parity movement, here’s a recap: women have been writing plays for millennia and landing productions for centuries.   Over time, they’ve also come to play key roles onstage and backstage.   But female theatre artists of all kinds still find themselves bonking their heads on a glass ceiling known as the “glass curtain.”   Even today, female playwrights, directors, and designers are atypical.   Shakespearian gender-swapping has been mooted as a partial solution; however, such theatrical “novelty” only serves to distract from the main issue – the absence of contemporary dramas reflecting the complexity of women’s lives.   Cross-gender casting fails to question the over-representation of dead and living male playwrights.   It does not address the fact that half our contemporary creative world is missing. In an essay in howlround.com, Jenny Lyn Bader writes: “We live in a world dominated by...
Read more

GHOSTS: A SET IN THE MAKING (PART 1)

Image
In this two-part blog, I’m going to focus not on the play itself, but on the set. Why? Because quite simply the set is astonishing! If you’ve been keeping up with our blogs, you already know that our current production Ghosts is set in the early 1880’s, that it was written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Isben and that though it is a revered classic today, it was considered absolutely scandalous in its time. The exposed secrets and immoralities conflicted with society’s moral taboos. If you’d like to learn more about the history of the play, the storyline, the characters or director, please peruse our recent posts. Scenic Design: Rich Preffer In the meantime, let’s take a look at the set. The set design, by Rich Preffer, captures the essence of the play. The mood. The character. The unsaid meanings and implications. The set itself includes a cage like structure, including a canopy structure, which encompasses the entire set. Looking at the set, you at once feel both the sense of h...
Read more

Celebrating family and friends in 2019

Image
Thank you for making 2018 so special As 2019 starts to gear up, we’re left remembering the many moments we’ve shared with you in 2018. It was a great year and we hope to make 2019 even better! We sincerely offer our most heartful ‘thank you’ to our creative partners, patrons, employees, and collaborators – Carnegie Stage and off the WALL surely wouldn’t be the same without every single one of you who make up our humble little community. From the bottom of our hearts, we’re happy to have you as part of our family. Erika Cuenca - Virginia Wall Gruenert Byhalia, Mississippi, May 2018 If you’d like to join the Carnegie Stage/off the WALL family, consider donating – no amount it too big or too small… and every little bit helps! With your help we are able to pay EVERY single person who works for us – there are no volunteers; only paid employees. We believe all working artists deserve to make a living doing what they love. To help support our cause, consider donating monthly or a...
Read more