Word: scripting
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...play's staging suffers from the nonsensical directions written into the script. The presence of the four extras who comprise the "later generation" (Anna Blair, Anataria Marie Brown, Jennifer Joel, and Flora Prescott) is largely inexplicable. For most of the play they sit around and watch the main action, dressed in present-day garb; are they meant to frame the spectacle as a play within a play...
That's down the road. Even an established studio takes 18 months to get a movie from script to screen. And an animation unit takes three or four years to fine-tune a feature. Soon the Big Three will be obliged to step out of the p.r. spotlight and into the crucible of creation. But for them, and maybe even for consumers, the future rolls out like a red carpet. Spielberg, after all, redefined the role of movie director; Katzenberg helped redefine the animated film; and Geffen, in many media, kept redefining himself. If these guys don't make entertainment...
...redeeming aspects of "The Secret Rapture" is Whalley-Kilmer's performance. She expresses the contradiction between Katherine's warped vision of the world and her ability to exude adamant sexuality. Juliet Stevenson interacts best with the other characters, though the script often presents her with unrealistic prerogatives and situations. Marion might have been the most believable character, but Penelope Wilton's performance suffers from her tendency to rely on hyperbole to express Marion's flaws...
...technical aspects of the production do little to assist the weak script. The stage is fully and flatly lit; the sets create neither an interesting space on the stage, nor a visual complement to the play's mood. The sound design, however, is very effective; the sparingly used piano music is appropriate but unobtrusive, and the subtle manner in which effects like a ticking clock are eased into the audience's consciousness is innovative and interesting...
...talented performances of the cast provide some focus for an audience left reeling by the plot's peaks and valleys. It's unfortunate that the directors and producer couldn't choose a script which would match up to the standards of the cast. McCullers, "master of melancholy," was unable to find the vital balance which makes tragicomedy work as a drama. As a result, "The Square Root of Wonderful" is little more than a leaky life raft which can barely hold this--or any--cast of talented actors out of the treacherous waters of dramatic confusion...