Friday 10 August 2012

As Promised...

...The Count of Monte Cristo. Okay. I actually didn't promise to write a post. I just mentioned that I really ought to write a post about it. But here I am, so we can say it was a promise (because it's actually being fulfilled!). I wish that there were some photos that I could share with you, but alas, all I have at the moment is the play poster. Maybe sometime in the future I'll be able to share more visual pretties, but for now, I'll just do my best to describe some of the process and experience in words. After, of course, sharing the poster.


Don't worry. Our actual count was much less creepy - and pedophile-esque.

Basically, things started with the play back in May, though I wasn't a part of it until mid-June (busy getting married/honeymooning and all). But it was alright, because I really only missed the read-throughs. Which I then got to do on my own! 

You'll have to keep in mind that this was QUITE different than the movie. Richard basically abridged the book directly into the play, so the two characters that I played aren't even IN the movie (though one of my husband's was). I played Madeline Caderousse, and Madame Villefort. My characters were both quite interesting, though it was not at all surprising that I was cast as them - they did fit into the general role that Richard puts me as.

Madeline is the poor wife of the tailor Gaspard Caderousse. The two are greedy, and somewhat crude in their attitudes and mannerisms. Gaspard is drunk almost every time he's on stage. Madeline is loud, demanding, a terrible nag. They never have a kind word for each other - finding it much more "fullfilling?" to argue constantly. About halfway through the play, Gaspard kills his wife, only to be later killed in the third act. Tragic... but no one's sorry to see them go.

Madame Villefort is the second wife Monsieur Villefort - the man who sent Edmond, aka. the Count, to prison to save his own skin in the beginning of the story. However, as it turns out, she is even more corrupted than her husband. Though she retains a subtle, soft-spoken character (except when dealing with her son, in which case she's snappy and mean), it is eventually discovered that, by means of poison, she has killed her husband's original in-laws, and eventually kills her step-daughter, accidentally kills her son, and in the end kills herself.

Essentially - good times with the Count of Monte Cristo. The play turned out quite well. It was about three and a half hours long, but the audience didn't seem to mind. We got a number of comments about how people were just sitting on the edge of their seats the whole time! Though that might have been because the chairs at the Manitou Opera House tend to be a bit uncomfortable.

The costumes were fantastic (props to Ruth and Vanessa). And the sets/props just added to the entire thing. It was gorgeous. I really wish I could show some photos. Maybe eventually? Well, that's about it. Thank you to such a group of wonderful actors (and backstage peoples). Made my summer a blast.

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