Libby Emmons on ALBA

Alba was bitter and cruel without respite for humor or sympathy. This retelling of Lorca's House of Bernarda Alba possesses all of the meaness and treachery of Lorca's original without the humanity.

Furthering this feeling of alienation to both text and audience was the choice that was made to double some of the characters. Not unsimilar to the drama class convention of "whoever's wearing the green hat is Peter Pan," the doubled characters wore the same color lingerie. It was this feature that clued me in to the fact of their doubling, and throughout the play we got to see alot of it. Those doubled were Maria Josefa, Bernarda's three middle daughters, and Bernarda herself. It was definitely a weird sensation to watch while two actresses played the same role at the same time on the same stage. They shared lines and movements, sometime one of the pair would express the subtext of the line while the other would say the line itself. At first I thought it was an interesting take, but the device never became anything more than that. It was distracting to watch the actors interact with the other side of their own characters instead of with the other characters or with the audience.

When it wasn't impeded by this choice, there was definitely some good acting. Most notably, Natalia Duong as Adela, Mary Sheridan as Angustias, Dana Hunter as the Servant, and the younger half of Maria Josefa. It's interesting to note that the best acting was primarily seen in those playing characters by themselves instead of by those sharing a role. I think the character doubling impeded both my investment in the play as well as the actresses playing the parts. So much of the time I just didn't know what, or who, I was watching.

Focussing on the problem of domestic abuse in the play, the production is working with charity Safe Horizons, directing fundraising efforts to the Safe Horizons cause. It's exciting to see downtown theater partnering with groups actively pursuing positive social change.

ALBA
Adapted from The House of Bernarda Alba by Frederico Garcia Lorca
Directed by Glory Kadigan
Benefiting Safe Horizons
Running Saturday November 5th-Sunday November 20th
Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 2pm, Mondays and Tuesdays, 8pm
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Libby Emmons is a guest blogger and NYTR published playwright, for more info on Libby Emmons