Cappies Review: Blood Wedding

The following reviews were written as a part of the Critic and Awards Program (Cappies). The Cappies program encourages high school theatre and journalism. Students from surrounding high schools attended Annandale’s performance of Blood Wedding this past weekend as a part of the program and wrote their reviews of the production.

 

By: Elizabeth Waldt of West Springfield High School

Get ready for a wedding…a blood wedding. Annandale High School’s production of Blood Wedding tells the tale of a highly forbidden love.

Blood Wedding was originally written by Fredrico Garcia Lorca in 1932. The Spanish tragedy was later translated, and its English version had a short run on Broadway in 1935. This rural tale tells about a Mother, bitter from losing her first son and husband, and her living son who is about to be married. The day of the wedding arrives and the ceremony goes perfectly, except the bride has disappeared. It quickly comes into focus that the bride has run away with another man! A normal wedding quickly turns bloody.

The actors bow at the end of the production.

Maya Koch portrays the mother of the groom, a sour old woman who is not totally approving of her son’s upcoming marriage. She has incredible stage presence, with a voice that boomed even without a microphone. Playing her son was Jack Dalrymple, who demonstrated very realistic chemistry with his mother. He seemed as if he was actually in love with the bride, who breaks his heart within the day.

Blood Wedding would not be complete without a bride. Emily Trachsel acted as the son’s wife who leaves him on the wedding day for another man. She showed the essence of someone who is torn between two men effortlessly, and naturally portrayed the relationships with her two men. The comic relief of the show was the servant of the bride who made the audience crack up with her enthusiasm (and awful singing). Ioana Marin was committed to every crazy action she had to perform, making the show all the more realistic.

Perhaps some of the best aspects of Annandale’s show were their costumes and properties. The props head, Christina Le, made everything look life like, from the kitchen equipment to the baby who sometimes appears in the show. One of the actors even uses a real pan and stove to make eggs on stage, filling the auditorium with delicious smells. Since Blood Wedding was set in the Spanish 1930’s, Annandale was challenged to show the time period through costumes. They obviously did their research, as the cast sported period appropriate clothes such as a black wedding dress and white dresses to a funeral.

Blood Wedding is a classic Spanish tragedy telling the story of two lovers, forbidden to be together. Annandale did a fantastic job showing off the rural countryside of Spain in such a dark tale. You would be surprised how quickly a normal wedding can turn bloody.

 

By: Meredith Nolan of West Springfield High School

A bride must choose between her two lovers on her wedding day- no, it’s not the premise for the latest soap opera! It’s Annandale High School’s production of the Spanish tragedy Blood Wedding, written by Federico Garcia Lorca. Get ready to be taken on a roller coaster of emotion, forbidden love, and death.

Blood Wedding was originally written in Spanish in 1932 and was performed in a multitude of countries, including locations in Argentina and Spain, and eventually had a brief run on Broadway translated into English in 1935. The play follows a bride on her wedding day who must choose between her groom and former love, and when she goes missing, tensions arise in the community as old feuds come up.

The cast was clearly able to understand the rhetoric of the play, allowing them to do an excellent job connecting with the inner feelings of their individual characters. A stand out performance throughout the play was that of Mother, played by Maya Koch, who was able to create a character with incredibly varied emotions, as the Mother’s grief builds throughout the play. Koch’s ability to portray such grief-stricken emotions was truly unbelievable and showed her dedication to playing her part realistically. Both male leads, Bridegroom and Leonardo, played by Jack Dalrymple and Beckman Hollis respectively, were able to accurately portray the emotions the push and pull of a love triangle brings out in all parties involved.

Emily Trachsel, as Bride, expertly brought a touch of innocence to the show, allowing her to garner sympathy despite the downfall of her character. William Rangel Cardozo, as Father, was another great performance, as Cardozo tapped into the grounded nature of his character, bringing relief from the otherwise dramatic nature of the play. Savannah Gravitt, as Leonardo’s Wife, had an incredible ability to portray the despair felt by her character as she watches her husband pull away and leave her and their two children. Ioana Marin, as Servant, brought comedic relief to the show, adding hilarious mannerisms and facial expressions that distinguished her from the rest of the cast. The emotional spectrum brought by this cast helped bring this production together.

This play had a few key technical elements to help convey setting and mood. The set, designed by Carson Binkley and headed by Beckman Hollis, had incredible detail and thought, as every piece had its own symbolism. This helped immensely with the understanding of the play and looked extremely professional. Costumes, designed by Maya Koch and headed by Juliana Iglesias, were also very detailed and well thought out, staying true to the era of the 1930’s. The music composed by Anna Castillo and played during scene changes by a group of student musicians, helped to set the mood and keep the audience engaged throughout blackouts. All of these elements helped pull the show together and were a huge asset.

Annandale High School’s production of Blood Wedding was a bloody success.