Theater as Theater

As a Theater Person, I see a lot of Theater — this trip: Oklahoma! and Hadestown, both remarkable in their own ways and deserving of all of the accolades, BUT — regardless of what I’m seeing, I always have moments of disconnect whenever something super theatery happens. Classic theatery happenings:  someone walking very slowly with an elongated gate from one side of the stage to the other. Someone lifting a chair VERY SLOWLY so that it looks like it’s slow motion. Someone looking out into the audience with profound tears in their eyes, but we’re not quite sure why. I always resist these moments, which is largely unfair, as theater IS theater, but — I think I want to be tricked. I want to be led into a scene so simply and magically that I don’t even know I’m watching a play, because I AM INSIDE OF IT, I live in a world where chairs Fly.

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