A lot of people, the City Paper’s Ida Becker and The Post and Courier’s Mindy Spar among them, have noted how ironic it is that director Lee Breuer excised a scene from his Mabou Mines DollHouse in which the actress Honora Fergusson, who plays Kristine, simulated fellatio on the miniature actor who plays Nils Krogstad (Kristopher Medina) — in effect treating Charleston audiences like children. (The scene was in last Thursday nights preview performance but had disappeared by opening night.) It’s intriguing to wonder what would happen to Breuer’s play if Charleston audiences reacted to Breuer’s condescention in the same way that Nora Torvald ultimately does to her husband’s patronizing behavior toward her…..
I suppose after tonight’s premiere of Don Govanni I’ll have to compare notes with my associates who were at Friday night’s preview performance — where a patron was loudly disclaiming about ‘pornography’ in the lobby at intermission. Will anything be missing?
Dear Mabou Mines,
My boyfriend and I have tickets to your Spoleto performance on Monday, June 6th. We are both from Charleston, and try to go to as many events as we can when Spoleto comes around. We don’t get much edgy theater around these parts, which is why we so look forward to Spoleto. Spoleto has always been one of Charleston’s very few and rare outlets for contemporary, in-your-face art. Well, I like my art to be uncomfortable and sometimes disturbing. That is what art is to me; something to jar my perceptions and wake me up.
We’ve just learned that you are editing the remaining Spoleto performances due to a few surly reactions. I implore you to restore your show to its original scripting. We have been so excited about this particular theater piece because of the controversy. Isn’t that what the story is about? And the story of the story? Please don’t adjust your interpretation for a few measly sticks-in-the-mud. Didn’t this same thing happen to Ibsen? Don’t censor our art.
Sincerely,
Randy Risher
Comment by Randy Risher — May 30, 2005 @ 4:37 am
If you’re fortunate enough to snag some of the forfeited ticks to DollHouse (I saw some on P&C’s BLOG that are for sale), avoid balcony boxes AA through about DD. Much much much of the action takes place downstage left and, even leaning over the balcony rail, I couldn’t see what was going on.
Comment by pluff mud — May 31, 2005 @ 8:41 pm
[…] ‘Heaven’ is Stellar
Gardner Likes to…
DollHouse Fails…
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Pingback by SPOLETO BUZZ BLOG :: “The Scene” in DollHouse Reinserted :: June :: 2005 — June 1, 2005 @ 7:25 pm
This is a shout out to Randy Risher. You tha Man!!! And yur right, this lil provincial town needs an artistic enema…and if Mabou Mines can help do that, more power to you for egging them on!
So this is the dirt I heard about Monday night, the performance you caught. Apparently it included the felatio scene that had been previously cut (which, for the record, is not even remotely offensive and should have never been cut in the first place…but when the Psychopathic Republicans want their way…) but instead, the New Nude scene was cut. Why? Because the festival got nervous because they knew that a bus load of High Schoolers were coming to the show that night. I’m sorry, but what a joke. Can you just think for 5 seconds what these kids are exposed to on a daily basis…film, television, modern media…and when they finally have an opportunity to see nudity used in a mature, provocative, and frankly brilliant way…it is taken from them…before they have a say on it. It’s really too bad…because it got script from you too. It is not an extraneous part of the show, or a cheap party trick. It is powerful, well used and enhances the show…but…wouldn’t want to have any part it putting nudity on the mind of a 16 year old. naww…that would scandalous, inappropriate and just plane wrong.
Comment by Dodd Loomis — June 8, 2005 @ 2:50 am
In which country do you live?
Comment by browser firefox web — March 19, 2008 @ 12:41 am