Nothing is more refreshing than to sit in a theater eagerly waiting to experience a production that nobody else in the world has seen. That is exactly what happened in the AWC Theater Nov. 9-18 with the production of He Who Gets Slapped.
Most impressive, the production was written and performed by AWC students, with costumes and set designed by AWC students. This musical version is based on Russian author Leonid Andreyev's dark love story by the same title, published in 1914.
A thick plot
Meet Paul Beaumont. He's a clown in Cirque de Briquet, a small circus near Paris.
But Beaumont hasn't always been such a lowly character. Only five years ago he was a famous scientist struggling to prove his theories on the origin of mankind. A certain Baron Regnard became his patron, thereby enabling Beaumont to do research while living in the Baron's mansion.
One day, Beaumont announced to his beloved wife Marie and the Baron that he had proved all his theories and was ready to present them before the Academy of the Sciences. But Marie secretly opened his safe and gave his papers to the Baron, who proceeded to take credit for the discoveries at the next meeting of the Academy.
When Beaumont confronted him, the Baron told the audience that Beaumont was merely his assistant and publicly humiliated him by slapping him across the face in front of everyone. When Beaumont later sought comfort from his wife, she brazenly admitted that she and the Baron were having an affair, and she called Beaumont a clown.
Now, five years later, Beaumont really is a clown, calling himself "HE who Gets Slapped," his act consisting of getting slapped every evening by all the other performers. HE has become the star attraction, well liked by everyone, and he even falls in love with beautiful Consuelo, daughter of the impoverished Count Mancini.
But one night, during HE's performance, he spots his enemy the Baron in the audience. It turns out that the Count is planning to improve his sagging fortune by letting his daughter marry the Baron. Not a pretty scenario for our heroÖ
Performance within performance
The music and lyrics were very well written and pertinent to the action of the scene. The whole ambience of the performance was definitely that of a circus, and the audience felt that they were indeed backstage at the big-top.
Clara Ortega and Jack Marshall did an exceptional job in bringing a difficult Russian play to life through song and dance. The choreography was well done; the swordfight between HE and the baron, and the tango between Consuelo and the trapeze artist Bezano were particularly well thought out and well performed.
Congratulations on the exceptional work done by the set and costume crews. The costumes were coherent and worked very well with the period setting. The artwork on the set and in the hall was very well drawn and reflected the personalities of the characters.
The production was exceptionally well directed by AWC Theatre Professor Chip Straley. The whole cast sang and danced from the heart, and the performances were nothing short of stellar.
