#Applause meter plus

That the seven men refer to Snow White as a “horsewife” and that she herself refers to her “venereal life” may seem like clever word play to some, but for me it smacks of someone laboring to be witty. Where others extract provocative and incendiary from this story, I see overly cute. Trust me, I’m not thrilled about it either. Shame on me that the man they call genius for his absurd style (and who many refer to as the Beckett of Houston) leaves me so indifferent. I know, I know….blasphemy! How dare I decry the acclaimed short story writer that called Houston both his part time home and creative/professional outlet. From a shower room orgy scene to a mid-show audience survey to a gorgeous umbrella-accompanied New Orleans-style funeral march to angsty phrases projected on a scrim that sits in front of the show’s ever vaping shadowy narrator, the production is a stunner at every turn.īut I’m here to talk about what didn’t move me rather than what did.Īnd I think it comes down to this – I just don’t dig Barthelme’s writing. Through magnificently deviceful and evocative set design, sound, music, costume, lighting and video projection, we are treated with oodles of gloriously clever post-modern mood and atmosphere. I could easily go on and on about how Greg Dean (the adapter and director of the show) and his team have done wonders bringing this narratively muddy and non sequitur riddled story to life on stage. It’s taken me a couple days to really think about how I wanted to express myself on this. So while I hadn’t planned on writing about the show, I feel compelled to at least say something. Including some involved with the production. After my tweet, I heard from more than a couple curious folks urging me to elaborate. So what gives? Turns out, it wasn’t just me asking the question. And it’s a play that holds language and the power of words in the highest, albeit unorthodox regard.Īnd yet, still, I was left cold.

#Applause meter plus

Plus it has death and sex, thankfully not at the same time. It upends and exposes less than flattering gender roles and behavioral crutches. It throws a beloved trope on its ass and it does so with humor. Why wasn’t I enamored with the play itself? This re-imagining of Snow White, tethered to her seven sex-obsessed male keepers, unhappy with her domestic situation and snobbishly waiting for the promised prince has many hallmarks of a narrative I should like. While the reaction’s topline came to me easily, its substance did not.

This was the tweet I posted immediately after seeing Catastrophic Theatre’s many years in the making/labor of love/world premiere adaptation of Donald Barthelme 1967 short story, Snow White. Photo by Anthony Rathburn.Ībsolutely possible to be eagerly impressed with a production and yet utterly unmoved by the play. Catastrophic Theatre’s production of Snow White.