A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit Review

Past Jason Hagey and Alisha Hagey

Salt Lake Acting Company's production of A Funny Thing … in Salt Lake Urban center, allows itself to exist more than a comedy about couples and more than a drama nigh dying parents. Typically, this is referred to as a 'dramedy' but if feels like something new, something unlike. Let'due south begin with Playwright Halley Feiffer'due south  purposefully overwrought championship: A Funny Thing Happened on the Manner to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit of measurement at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City. Though many funny things happen in the Gynecologic Oncology Unit, A Funny Affair Happened … is a deeply moving, exceptionally brave, and thoughtful piece. Feiffer's play proves that she is a modernistic-day Anton Chekhov. This staggering product goes places that few in Utah will get, and does so with wit, wisdom, and a fair amount of daring.

Before espousing just how great this production is, it is important to annotation a few things:

1. Linguistic communication. There is a lot of strong language, particularly at the very beginning of the play. If adult language isn't your thing, don't come across this play.
2. Content. Let's just say that there was an intimacy director (Claire Warden) on staff every bit part of the production. If you are concerned about sexual content, if it makes you at all squeamish, or worse, this is not the show for you. If plays accept a rating, this 1 would be rated R.

If none of this bothers you, then this is an incredible production and well-worth your consideration.

Now, for a short theatrical history lesson: Anton Chekhov was a Russian playwright in the late 19th century who was known for his "slice of life" realism, concentrating less on plot and more on the substance of living. His plays are ofttimes termed 'comedies' though, I must admit, I can see how they could be considered funny, simply I usually don't find myself laughing. Perhaps it is because I lack Russian heritage. Or, perchance it is because his humour was of a different era. Either way, while watching Fieffer'due south play, I couldn't help the comparing to his piece of work because Feiffer focuses on the substance of living over any prosaic plotting. We get a slice of life.

As the title intimates, the setting is a 2-person infirmary room. There are ii beds separated by a curtain. On one side is Marcie and the other is Geena. They both lay in bed, more often than not inebriated by the pain medications necessary to get through the horrid effects of ovarian cancer. The bulk of the play is spent betwixt Marcie's daughter and Geena'due south son and their interaction.

Fieffer focuses on realistic language – using overlapping, naturalistic dialogue to bring united states of america into this burgeoning relationship. At first, the couple is rude, angry, and stressed. Their differences in grieving strike at ane another. Afterward, they come to observe a need for each other during this hardship in their lives equally their mothers are dying. In the end, the audition experiences so many emotions it is amazing the plethora Fieffer is able to pack into this short play.

The production deals with death and dying (it is cancer ward, later all), but it likewise deals heavily with what it means to be a child and a parent. For those who take experienced the decease of a loved one, particularly to cancer, in that location is so much that rings truthful of the feel. The subject area and the constant barrage of differing, often contradictory, emotions are adroitly handled by Director Sarah Shippobotham. The calorie-free moments are fun and fanciful while the heavy moments are poignant and powerful. With the whimsical championship, it is piece of cake to presume that the play would be over-the-top and more commedia dell'arte than drama. This is a piece where information technology is easy to take the surface meaning, to never delve into the language. Shippobotham gives the entire play fourth dimension to breathe and allows the words to become stronger than the initial sitcom style would likely exist played out. Shippobotham has a deft manus and sees the depth, feels the emotion, and engages the audience along with her.

Though the dialogue flows smoothly, running in and out of rocks and obstacles like water in a creek bed, it is the actors who bring information technology all to life. Cassandra Stokes-Wylie* (Karla) and Chris DuVal* (Don) handle their roles with the realness this play requires. Stokes-Wylie is both brazen and suffering (her shirt says it all, "If Yous Sexist Me I Volition Feminist You"). Costume Design La Beene  captures the impressions of this character perfectly. We know exactly who she is based on her costume. DuVal is angst-ridden and desperation-filled. Their chemistry is strong, the ii coming together to smash against one another. There are sparks of acrimony, there are sparks of passion, and in that location is a friendship that grows in the midst of troubled experience. The actors handle the vicissitudes with clarity, purpose, and, above all, truth. You would be hard-pressed to find more existent performers. And they are funny besides – equally the title implies.

What the text, the director, and the actors bring to the stage is not but moving but hilarious. While nosotros suffer with the characters in their personal pains, nosotros laugh because real life can be humorous even in the midst of misery. Marion Markham* (Marcie) is an absolute delight as Karla'due south foibled and dysfunctional matron. Her timing is beautiful. Her ability to go betwixt funny and frustrated is flawless. She's equal parts vinegar and oil and she makes for a delicious mix of comic and dramatic perfection. Annette Wright (Geena) has a very small part (autonomously from laying comatose in plain view for virtually of the show, which is no easy feat). This veteran actress is exactly what the play needs at the very moment it needs it most.

For anyone who has spent long hours in a hospital room, Thomas George (Breathtaking Design) nailed the experience. There is a slight difference in an oncology ward to a typical hospital floor. They effort, like with children'south floors, to brighten it up with different patterns outside of the typical flat beige. I imagine this is considering the patients spend then much time in that location that they want to requite it a dwelling house-similar feel (really, they nearly always requite the impression of a home for an older woman with a lot of cats). This gear up was no different. You had what you'd expect: identical hospital beds with identical uncomfortable chairs with those awful wooden arm rests. A duplicate fix of trash cans, bed side tables, an countless supply of Dixie cups, the sink that is outside of the bath, and, of class, the railing angled to help those who need it to go far and out of the bathroom. I accept spent many long hours in hospital rooms and especially in oncology rooms. The striped wall pattern, although loud and advised, felt very typical.

James Thou. Larsen (Lighting Design) and Cynthia Fifty. Kehr Rees (Sound Design) added exactly what was needed. The lighting and sound did non detract and did not call attention to themselves. Information technology is a marking of a adept designer that they can allow the show to work harmoniously. The subtlety of the music choice and the simplicity of the lighting grid did exactly what was needed, they set the stage and helped give insights into the world we lived in for a cursory fourth dimension.

Although not listed in the programme, the Assistant Phase Managers and Backstage Coiffure added another level of realism. They, as is usual, moved the props and dressed the set up during transitions. What isn't common is that these men were in full costume. They worse scrubs and acted every bit orderlies. We watched them make clean beds, take out trash, and just for fun, check vital statistics. This was a clever and diverting fashion to handle transitions. Like the writing, this became some other layer of authenticity.

Chekhov wrote plays that explored the bones humanity of their characters. He meant for the acting to be light, while many productions focus on the hefty themes and lean to the overly-histrionic. Fieffer, Shippobotham, and the talented actors and crew ride that line and do so with the greatest aplomb. They are an improvement on Chekhov because they know how to mix laughter and sorrow. They speak to our contemporary audience. We understand the humor and the horror.

In that location is a sensitive spot between humor and grief, and in less capable hands this evidence would come up across every bit something less than, not good or bad but just trite. With this incredible team of artists, the piece comes alive and is grounded in each of us and each of our private experiences. A Funny Thing is simply that: a collection of heartbreakingly funny moments that bring us joy in the fact that we take another twenty-four hour period to share with those around us (or to screw upwardly as well if that is where life takes the states).

Common salt Lake Acting Visitor presents A Funny Thing Happened on the Fashion to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City by Halley Feiffer
168 Due west 500 N, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
vii:xxx PM Wednesday – Saturday, one:00 PM, 6:00 PM Lord's day
Boosted performances: September 22 2:00 PM, September 25 7:30 PM, October ii 7:thirty PM, October 13 2:00 PM
Tickets: $15 – $44. Discounts are available for Student, Senior, and thirty & Nether and for groups of 10 or more.
Contact: 801-363-7522
Salt Lake Acting Visitor Facebook Page
A Funny Affair…Facebook Issue
*Member of Actors' Disinterestedness Association, the Wedlock of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Again, this play has a strong R rating. Not recommended for families or those sensitive to language and sexual content.

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