Directed by Sharon Graci and written by College of Charleston Alumni David Nelson, the play Folly Beach was produced and showcased at the PURE Theatre. David Nelson explores real life circumstances such as marriage, infidelity, and forgiveness. Although these are serious and sensitive subjects, Nelson reveals problems and solutions to these ideas in a comedic manner. I believe Nelson’s objective was to keep the audience engaged and filled with laughter. Nelson presents subjects that the majority of the audience could relate to. With Jeremy getting married, Tom happy to get away from his wife, Alice having an affair with Andy, Brent suffering from a heartbreak, and Daniel going through a divorce Nelson successfully conveys their feelings on …show more content…
Primarily, the casting director and Nelson did an acceptable job with the cast. Although the cast did, a phenomenal job, I believe characters such as Alice and Andy could have had a more influential and lasting experience on the audience, if their appearance was more distinctive. Alice’s makeup through me for a loop throughout the play. With her having an affair with Andy, her heavy makeup made her look much older, making it difficult for me to connect with their relationship. Alice is already a beautiful woman so not only did her makeup distract me, it also took away from her beauty instead of enhancing it. Andy and Alice’s age difference confused me throughout the play. With Greg and Alice appearing older, I assumed that Andy was their son, so when they kissed it distorted my view of the couple. I could not connect with their relationship because I felt there was no connection between them. When they kissed or met in the living room area for occasional sex, I could not perceive them as being in love or even her wanting to divorce Greg. Greg’s sunburn stole the show, but with so much sunburn, I expected him to act as if he was in excruciating pain. With him doing all …show more content…
The Scenic Designer Allen Lyndrup did not create a significant background. Without the name of the play Folly Beach, the only thing that contributed to the setting of the beach was the beach chairs and the pastel painting covering the walls. I wanted to see more sand or at least a backdrop of the beach. Enjoying their experience at Folly Beach, the actors trashed the set with beer bottles and red cups, directing my attention away from Allen Lyndrup’s creation and towards the trash surrounding the actors. The Scenic Designer did an impressive job with the creation of the windows making them appear realistic, forcing me to observe and reassure myself that there were no glass in the windows. The Costume Designer Ellen Iroff also did not contribute to the beach setting. I do not recall any of the actors wearing any type of bathing suits or swimwear, but I believe their casual every day clothing contributed to them relaxing, the weather, and them having an enjoyable experience with friends. Throughout the changing acts and the intermission, the Sound Designer Miles Boinest made sure to keep the audience engaged with modern, but relatable music. I desired for the phone calls and voicemails to be just as loud and engaging like the music. I feel as if the phone calls felt too far away, and I could hardly hear the phone ring. I applaud the Lightening Designer