Word: comical
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...glittering cast of characters includes a disgruntled Iraqi administration and the vital members of the White House gang. Davis also offers the twist of using the real-life figures of political life that we've come to know and revile. This allows us the comic relief of seeing our fine Arkansan leader in unguarded moments: "That's bullshit!" or "He's going to start World War III!" Or fair Saddam's familial side, "slapping his son-in-law on the back." What...
...course, these problems are merely symptomatic of the larger problem of these technothriller novels: self-absorption on behalf of the author. We can imagine the writer, typing away at his word processor (another spur to novel-writing these days: anyone with WordPerfect and memories of comic book adventures can churn out a 400-pager in a few days and modem it away) loath to omit any bit of abstruse technological research accrued over many sleepless nights of study. Perhaps the MA's are the breaks he allows himself. Perhaps Death By Fire is another example of how movies have infiltrated...
...real enough. It is well utilized: a big window allows the audience to see passers-by in the background. Kitchen equipment is placed throughout the whitewashed scene. But, perhaps the scenery should not look so real. When the audience is introduced to the cafeteria workers, they are 100% cartoon. Comic in gesture and personality, even the way they walk off stage is Scooby-like. Left with two conflicting ideals, the play fails on both accounts...
...course of the play. The audience knows that Rolf, the blond, is dumb after five minutes of the play, but then must listen to every dumb line she submits. Hahs slips on a couple of her lines, which further prevents finding any reality within her character, while hindering the comic flow...
...from Shaw's writing. The intertwining of relationships seemed to come straight from the scenes of daytime television, complete with fleeting sexual advances and enigmatic pairings. Shaw's attempt to blend comedy with suspense, along with the ambiguous acting techniques of the performance, resulted in weak transitions between undeveloped comic sequences and scenes meant to stir up emotions. Raina could be talking about her undying love and Bluntschli would be laughing at her at the same time. The combinations rarely made sense...