By MICHAEL J. SMALL

As I sat down in prepa- ration for the show, I was im- pressed at the time apparently spent on constructing the set... It gave one the impression of a pleasant, homy atmosphere, coupled with a rather cold, impersonal contrast. Further, while waiting for the show to begin, the audience listened to some rather anxious, eerie music -- no doubt in order to set the mood for the perform- ance to come.

The play had a strong opening scene, with a drown- ing heartbeat and rhythmic humming -- a nice touch... Also, I was amazed at how long actors were able to stand motionless when pretending to be pictures during the opening scene. Moving along, I also found the way in which Lizzie Borden’s story was presented to be intriguing, the play be- coming in essencea play within a play -- the story taking place after the fact, with Lizzie’s parents already dead and gone.

I loved the way Lizzie’s poor family life was presented to us the audience, who are treated almost as the jury at her trial on several occasions. We see the Mother, a woman who’s only ambition seems to be to drive Lizzie out of her father’s will... and an uncle who only wants to take advan- tage of an old man.

I think the actors pre-

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On Stage: Blood Relations

formed really well overall, with only a few things I didn’t like. For example, they didn’t do a great job at accents... some- times the accent would be there, sometimes not. How- ever, their acting was great. Especially when the Father slams an axe into the table in anger, the same axe used to kill him later on. Further, the role of the lawyer I also rather enjoyed... it was very con- vincing.

Lizzie’s torments were

izzie Borden took an axe, Gave her mother forty whacks. When the job was nicely done, She gave her father forty-one.

..Or did she?

clearly shown to the audience, it was almost as if we were given the chance to observe her slowly loose grip with san- ity... Near the end, it’s clear Lizzie no longer has any re- gard for human life, no sense of right or wrong... she now sees people as just animals, no better than the slugs we kill in our gardens. The way the final murder scenes unfold were also really well done,

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with really good music, and a nice fade to black when the acts are committed... followed by a return to an eerie green - - nice. One final note about the performance, I loved the ending... it leaves the audi- ence still wondering whether or not she actually committed the double murder...

As for the actors them- selves, those interviewed, all expressed positive opinions on the play, and their perform- ance on the second showing... The first showing, Paul rea- soned, is a nervous perform- ance, one where you don’t expect things to run perfectly smooth. Paul also showed an interest in the era of the play, and was intrigued by the story of Lizzie Borden... as for the way the story was presented, he says “Bruce has excellent vision...” Trish, the woman playing Lizzie, felt the perform- ances were especially strong... She says, “We Rocked!!! No better play in the world!!!” Matthew enjoyed playing the part of Andrew (Lizzie’s tired old father), he also said he enjoyed the acting experience, getting to know new people, and looked forward to the party.

All in all, it was a great play, one I really enjoyed. I would recommend this play to any who enjoy a good mystery or intrigue story.

April 1, 1997