The Playboy of the Western World, UWSP Department of Theatre and Dance

                After seeing “The Playboy of the Western World” on October 19, 2011 my thoughts about cruel tragedy comedies was changed a bit. I will confess that I am a sucker for romance plays with a happy ending, but this play changed my thoughts even more! Shakespeare is another example—not so much humor—but it still holds the tragedy plot. “The Playboy of the Western World” had a most dramatic ending with a monologue by Peggy—the main girl character who is loved by the playboy of the western world. Peggy cries with the loss and it not only humored me in a way because she was very rude(a more “pg” rated version of the word I was originally thinking) to her lover and the whole cast. This portrayed the humor in the tragedy though! Alongside the character development and outline of what happened it was the set design; the design of the set was absolutely fun! The items used in the set were old and rustic looking making it seem like you were living in the setting of this Irish land. The ground was some sort of wood-chip dirt that looked so much fun that I wish I would’ve been able to try out for this theatre production just so I could play in the dirt! Overall though, this play had all the emotions from crying-sad to laughing-happy. I was very pleased to have been able to see this production and maybe someday I can see it in the big Broadway theatre productions!

Thoughtful theatre thinking,

April

Playboy of the Western World Poster

http://images.moviepostershop.com/playboy-of-the-western-world-movie-poster-1964-1010204621.jpg