A politically marginal presentation of the classic Of Mice and Men provided the AWC Theater audience deeply emotional perceptions into the human psyches struggle to survive in adverse conditions.
I recently visited the AWC Theatre for their recent rendition of Of Mice and Men. This was my first experience at the campus theatre. I, personally, am not a huge fan of live play acting. I usually prefer the usage of a video camera, but the cast of this recent show delightfully caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting the high quality of performance, brought to the stage. My expectations were surpassed tenfold.
I was impressed by the courage to push the boundaries of political correctness and use the original script by John Steinbeck. The original language was much more powerful than if they had opted for a edited dialogue. People should be able to handle realism without being offended.
Jake Greiner took the role of George in direction that I hadn't expected, based on my memory 1992 flick with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. The underlying hatred for Lennie shined through from the first scene, while we witnessed the personality transition throughout the play, which was both dramatic and moving.
Lennie, played by Anthony Ochoa, stole the show. Ochoa's experience came through making his character come to life on stage. The performance was funny, fun, and extremely emotional by the time of the final curtain call.
The minimal props and simplicity of the set brought the audience's attention to the actors themselves, who drew in the crowd for intimate moments and tense conflictions. I already knew the story and plot turns of the play but found the cast entertaining and enjoyable.
Chris Franey had a fantastic performance portraying the character Slim. He fit into his role perfectly in the supporting role for Greiner. They worked well off each other, making for stimulating encounters on stage.
The presentation ended up being more than I had anticipated and I will be sure to find my way over to the theatre for more productions to come in the near future.
