What parent has not cringed at the thought of what could happen should their offspring be the source of a schoolyard fight? This is the premise of the play,
God of Carnage, which looks at the contemporary niceties as civility gives way to madness – a factor at work in society more and more for all our advances.
Actors' Theatre's production of
God of Carnage, directed by Tom Kaechele, brings two families together center stage around this topic and is set within the most curious of settings for such rawness, the genre of comedy.
And unlike the film adaptation directed by Jodie Foster (to which critics equally savagely laid open to bleed and die), Kaechele has a different take.
"The movie took a more serious look at the subject matter. The humor was not as present – due to the fact that Ms. Reza looks at her show as being very serious," says Kaechele. "Not that it isn’t a serious matter or that this doesn’t happen in 'real' life, I've just taken a more comical, almost farcical approach to the presentation of this piece."
Fans of Tasmina Reza's previous play,
Art, will see a link to the savage side of living when the gloves come off between these two families.
The play moves swiftly, coming in just over an hour with a lot of thought-provoking, fast-paced dialogue, but with a real twist that is, at its core, humorous fun! If you love being a voyeur to folly, then Actors' production of
God of Carnege is your SchadenfreudeFest.
Looking ahead to May 1, Actors' Theatre will present their annual fundraiser with a fitting tribute to its closing show of the season,
Grey Gardens: The Musical. The gala's theme of Save Grey Gardens will be a campy send-up to the documentary that inspired the musical of the same name. You can expect plenty of East Coast-inspired, WASP-like behavior as folks take lead from the doc's characters of Ms. Edith Bouvier Beale and Ms. Little Edie Beale - the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Secure your tickets to the
Save Grey Gardens! gala here.
Admission: God of Carnage tickets start at $24 with special rush tickets available day of show for students.