Curtain Call:The Children's Hour

operatorLA loves show business. He was practically brought up in entertainment since his dad was a drug dealer rock musician. He especially loves the Theatre and is always finding ways to keep himself involved in it.

Last night operatorLA saw a wonderful production of The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman at the Celebration Theatre in Hollywood. He had never actually seen a production of this play before, he had only read it in school and he was amazed. A play written in 1934 could render itself irrelevant in today's society, but not The Children's Hour. While it's underlying subject matter (homosexuality) is not quite taboo nowadays, the theme of reckless gossip and moral righteousness still rings true, maybe even more so in today's political and religious environment.

Given operatorLA's penchant for melodrama, it is no surprise that he found himself quite emotional by the end of the play. Hellman is the queen of this genre and mixes in quite a bit of clever dialogue to keep the emotion rich. Under the direction of Matt Bankston, the cast uses her words to full effect and fights for each of their own causes. And that is the true magic of this play. Hellman gives each of these characters such strong and overwhelming objectives to fight for, that when you steer the actors in the right direction and allow them to invest in these causes, wonderful and powerful moments explode on the stage.

Run out this weekend and see this production.
review in Variety
review in Backstage
Half-price tickets at Goldstar