Fourteen years ago, I landed what was, at the time, one of my dream jobs: theatre critic for my local newspaper, the Shreveport Times. My tenure lasted only about a year – after I married The Guy, who, at the time, acted frequently in community theatre productions, the editor of the paper felt I could no longer maintain the objectivity necessary to do the job credibly – but I relished it. I’ve often wished I could do it again, and, usually, when I see a show, I think about what I would write in a review.

Saturday evening, Charlotte and I drove from Shreveport to Natchitoches, LA, to see her daughter Sarah Lord Holoubek’s performance in her last main-stage production at Northwestern State University before she graduates with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Theatre with concentrations in Musical Theatre and Performance and Directing in May. The play, Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano, was one I’d never read or seen, and I had no idea what to expect. All the performances I’ve seen at NSU have been very high quality, so I assumed I would enjoy it, but that was pretty much my sole preconceived notion. Personally, I adore college theatre; they’re learning, so students are freer to experiment and mount avant-garde, controversial and/or commercially unfeasible shows that audiences, particularly in small towns in the South, are less likely to experience in other settings.

It was, in a word, amazing – the very best of what college theatre can be – but, for perhaps the first time, I was glad I was no longer a theatre critic because I would’ve been at a total loss to describe what I’d just seen.

Well, the unofficial Phelan family motto is “If It’s Easy, It Ain’t No Fun,” so here goes.

We walked into A.A. Fredericks Auditorium to find a semi-circle of chairs arranged outside a theatre-in-the-round stage surrounded by white paper walls. An usher invited us to sit while we waited for the play to begin, at which time we would take our seats within the paper structure. Stony-faced members of the production crew stood at the entrances to the stage to make sure no one entered prior to the designated time.

Shortly, someone indicated it was time to begin, and Charlotte, her child Jackson (a sophomore at NSU and the production’s Sound Designer), a friend and I entered the paper structure and chose our seats. The main characters, Mrs. Smith (Sarah) and Mr. Smith (Austin Anderson, who happens to look a bit like Andrew Garfield), a banal English couple, were already onstage. Mr. Smith is absorbed in a newspaper, while Mrs. Smith works at an embroidery hoop, pausing occasionally to make intimidating eye contact with some audience members, including, amusingly, Charlotte and me. On the ceiling was a projection of a large and unnervingly loud ticking clock. Finally, the clock tolled 17 times, heralding the start of a dizzying, playful, nonsensical, impeccably-paced descent into madness.

Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano is a famous example of an absurdist-style play, and what followed was, indeed, brilliantly absurd. Theatre of the Absurd, which emerged in the ’50s, challenges traditional ideas of meaning and purpose and focuses on themes like alienation and the absurdity of human existence. Typically, the settings are surreal, the dialogue is nonsensical, and the characters engage in repetitive actions, all of which emphasize the futility of communication.

Sarah, a very experienced and extremely talented actor, said when she initially read The Bald Soprano, she found herself at a loss as to how to interpret some of the dialogue. Director Scott Burrell very deftly coached refined performances from the actors, who included Mallory Speir (Mrs. Martin), Derek Walle (Mr. Martin), Angelina Wood (Mary, the Smiths’ maid) and Maudiel Aguilar (the scene-stealing Fire Captain). As gifted as the actors are, it was the technical aspects of the production, particularly the sound, projection, lighting and scenic designs, that made it an exhilarating and memorable spectacle.

Explaining the “plot,” such as it is, would be an exercise in futility – The Bald Soprano, a one-act, is more comedic commentary than cohesive story. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Martin, a flirtatious couple who are visiting Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the evening, concoct a searing indictment of the institution of marriage by behaving at first as though they’ve never met and comparing the surprisingly coincidental similarities between their lives, only to realize they’ve apparently been sleeping in the same bed for years and share a young daughter.

Foreboding clock sounds, clever choreography, nuclear holocaust, a maid claiming to be Sherlock Holmes, a delicious and hilarious make-out session, electronic dance music, actors in their underwear and the destruction of the set – if you’re game to set aside what it all “means” and take chances with your local entertainment, I can’t recommend highly enough driving to Natchitoches this weekend and experiencing The Bald Soprano.

March 22-25 at 7:30 p.m.
A.A. Fredericks Stage
Show length: 1 hour 15 minutes (no intermission or curtain call)
Reservations strongly encouraged – limited seating
witmang@nsula.edu or (318) 357-4483 for reservations
$15 Adults/$12 Seniors
Free for NSU, LSMSA and BPCC students with current ID and sticker
*Stage haze, loud noises, flashing lights and video imagery used during the performance*

Technical Director: Robert Richoux
Projection Designer: Andy Killion
Scenic Designer: Scott Burrell and Pedro Guevara
Lighting Designer: Naiomy Pérez Del Valle
Costume Designer: Hunter Becton
Stage Manager: Cortelina Encalada