The University's School of Music performance of The Scarecrow this past weekend was beautifully sung though lacking in dynamic stage direction and charisma. However, the actors seemed to do the best they could with the material they had.
The Scarecrow, written and performed in English, is an opera that is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story called "Feathertop: A Moralized Legend." Set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1685, an old witch named Rigby builds a scarecrow and gives him life with the help of her demonic servant, whom she calls up from the underworld. She uses the scarecrow to seduce her neighbor's daughter. She wants revenge on her neighbor, Justice Goodkin, although it is unclear exactly what her motives are. For one, it seems that she was jilted by Goodkin because she ties an old jeweled medal to the scarecrow that supposedly was given to her by Goodkin when she was younger. According to the program, she wants revenge because he is "hypocritical and well-to-do." The scarecrow must smoke a pipe filled with demonic pipe tobacco that keeps him alive and gives him wisdom and knowledge of experiences he has actually never had. Goodkin's daughter, Polly, is enchanted by the scarecrow, who goes by the name Feathertop, and she says she is in love with him. The scarecrow questions what it means to be human and decides, after seeing his true reflection in the mirror, that he cannot live a lie knowing that he is only a scarecrow.
After seeing Sunday's performance, it seems that this story was not meant to be converted into an opera. The characters spend so much time explaining their complex reasoning and actions that the audience has a difficult time following the plot and what they are saying. When I go to the opera, I want to listen to the beautiful music and the vocal skills of the singers. As an audience member, it is difficult to enjoy the quality of sound and the music while trying to comprehend the disjointed dialogue and follow the plot. This may be a typical pitfall of listening to an opera in your own language. However, as one usher supervisor noted, there is something about the English language that doesn't sound right in opera.
The singers all had beautifully skilled voices, but the material they had to work with was too complex and garbled. The lyrics and music seemed to flow as a stream of consciousness. In other words, there seemed to be no melody or structure to follow along with for most of the performance.
In addition, the actors' movements and blocking on stage was stagnate and boring. I understand that it is probably difficult to move around much when you belting operatic verse, but the blocking seemed dull and lifeless.
Particularly, I was disappointed John Dayger's performance of the demon spirit Dickon. When I read that there was going to be a mime playing the servant from the underworld, I pictured a creepy creature in black who would move about the stage in a brisk and artistic manner, as if flying. However, Dayger's portrayal seemed lacking in charisma. The director chose to dress him all in white for one, which is not a choice I would have made. The white echoed a pure, angelic nature that was probably not meant to be there. For blocking, his entrance was less than remarkable as he just walked out from behind Rigby's shack and appeared as if he was a visiting neighbor. This character is supposed to be a demon or spirit, but the actor did not implement any unique style of movement or charisma to bring out the character. I forgot at times that he was a spirit and not just an old man who just never spoke to anyone.
On a more positive note, the sets were well-made and visually pleasing. For example, the mirror trick at the end was very effective. The scarecrow is led to look in the mirror by Dickon after being told by Rigby never to look into mirrors because they reveal the truth. He sees his true form, that of the scarecrow, in the spotlighted mirror, the lights go down, red backlights and dramatic music flare, and all combine to create a wonderful moment of dramatic tension as he faces his true self for the first time. It was the best moment of the performance and I congratulate the set crew and design team for their creativity and ability to convey a message and create a mood.
Overall, the performance went on without a hitch and was relatively successful despite the complicated plot, the boring dialogue that was difficult to follow, and the overall lack of charisma on stage. It also seemed that the overall theme or conclusion of the play was lost on many audience members.
(Photo is courtesy of Google Images)
Lauren Mietelski
English, Secondary Education
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