Day 22/365 - The Way of the World

It had been a while since I'd attended a play, so tonight I went to check out the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of 'The Way of the World'. I love going to plays. It's like 3-D tv. I got my ticket for half-price from Ticketplace. It's amazing that more people don't know about Ticketplace. It's DC's version of NYC's TKTS. They have half-price tickets to most shows in town, including the Washington National Opera. It sure makes theatre-going a lot more affordable.

The Shakespeare Theatre Co. is a pretty safe bet for a night out. They stage some very good productions. This is the Lansburgh Theatre -- their old, small theatre. They also have a huge, fancy new theatre just up the block that is basically an architectural rip-off of the Signature Theatre in Shirlington. I think I like the old one better. It's less uppity and pretentious.

'The Way of the World' isn't one of Shakespeare's works. It's by William Congreve and was written a century after Shakespeare. It's a farcical and funny bit of frippery with overwrought costumes and big fluffy wigs. It's essentially a sharp-tongued morality play about a bunch of scheming lovers and/or deceivers and it takes a pretty stiff needle to the foibles of society and its obsessions with reputations and appearances.

I liked it and got quite a few laughs out of it. I have to admit to getting a bit lost in the first act, though. There are loads of different characters that are all interconnected in about a dozen different ways and involved with each other in about a dozen different schemes. I was a little embarassed that I was having some trouble keeping abreast of things until during the intermission (or as I like to call it, half-time) the older couple seated next to me asked if I'd been able to make sense of the first act.

I freely confessed that the play had me a bit dizzy and then the three of us read through the synopsis of the plot that they'd printed in the program and talked it through trying to remember which characters were which and what they were all up to. It was a lot like reading a Chekhov play where each character goes by at least three different names and you can't keep them straight without a scorecard. After the half-time cram session though, I was able to follow the second act much more easily.

All things considered it was a good night's entertainment with some very funny lines, great costumes and sets, and (for the most part) excellent performances.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)