Local theatre can be nice. Here in New Orleans there are a few places to go and a few Theatre troupes that put on shows. After a while though it feels like you are seeing the same few actors over and over again in very similar shows (there is an tremendous fondness for Tennessee Williams here.) I watch what I can and generally enjoy most of it.
In June 2014 I saw a production of Bent by Martin Sherman at a small local venue. A fitting start to Gay Pride Month, a play that shows how far acceptance of homosexuality has come… and how low humanity can be sometimes.
If you are not familiar with the play, I posted a link to the Wikipedia article below. You can also find the film version of Bent starring Clive Owen with Ian McKellen Uncle Freddy. McKellen starred in the original stage production (Link below for clip.) It is a powerful play set primarily in a Nazi Concentration Camp during World War II, where homosexuals wearing pink triangles are the lowest of the low. One man trying to regain who and what he is, starts a tenuous and somewhat imaginary affair with another inmate. “Imaginary” because prisoners are not allowed to talk to each other, look at each other, and of course, touch each other.
Heralded at the time for revealing a little known aspect of the persecution of homosexuals, Bent is still powerful even in a small venue with simple sets. While the acting in this local production was a little uneven, the main people were excellent in this riveting play. Kudos especially to Bob Edes Jr., a local New Orleans actor who played two diametrically opposed characters… Greta, the transvestite with a wife and kids, and the Nazi concentration camp Captain. The two leads, while excellent actors were very beefy, perhaps some body make-up could have made them look as malnourished and sick as the dialogue says they are.
Overall, I can’t say it was a fun evening (sobering and thought-provoking perhaps), but it was well worth my time to re-watch such an important play.
Bent the Play
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bent_(play)
Clip from original stage play
The Great Theatre Experience 