Devil’s Advocate Critique In the play “Devil’s Advocate” by Donald Freed, it talked about people making choices between the good and evil. Making decisions is a very hard thing to do between the choices. It makes people have a hard time to making decisions or escape from those choices. The play takes place in Panama in 1989. It is in the Christmas Eve of 1989 and the time of the American invasion of Panama. There were only two characters act on stage in the play. Those characters are General Manuel Noriega and Archbishop Laboa. General Manuel Noriega is the Panamanian strongman who had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency since 1960. Archbishop Laboa is a famed Jesuit luminary. In the United States invasion of Panama on Christmas Eve 1989, President George H.W. Bush had woven together a tissue of lies and provocation to justify bombing and occupying a sovereign nation, Panama, in order to make what appeared to be a drug bust. General Manuel Noriega was the target of the cosmic sting. He refused the demands of the Ronald Reagan administration. Archbishop Laboa offered him sanctuary, but General Manuel Noriega had to against him. It is hard for him to made a decision. The playwright’s purpose was trying to tell people about the politics. However, the play also told people that when you have to make decisions, you should follow your heart. Do not let others take control of your decisions. If we do not make decisions by our own, we might feel regret about it.
I think the acting in the play was outstanding. Those two outstanding performers did a great job. I like how Noriega acted he is scare or serious when he needed it. I think he had good acting. There was a scene needed him to take off his clothing and wear his uniform. I think he is a good actor because he sacrifices for the play. I was shock that Noriega pushed Laboa when there was a scene that he had to push Laboa. I think that Laboa was old and it was dangerous for Noriega to push him. I think he is also a great actor because he put himself into the play. All the elements of the production seem to be unified and to fit together. I like the scenery in the play. When I first came into the room, I was shock by the stage. The stage was so special. The stage was like a picture, a place that I have never saw. The stage displays many props. They took care of every little thing in the play. They had a telephone in the table. The telephone in the place, which I think it matched the time of the play. I like how they put the book under the bed and all around the bed. It might make the audiences feel that the stage is really a home. There was one prop that I think it was interesting. When General Manuel Noriega came into the room, he had his gun with you. I think the gun was closely to a real gun. Archbishop Laboa took out a pot from the room and tried to cook for General Manuel Noriega. The costumes in the play were great. Noriega had his robe and his uniform. I think the uniform looks great. I like the lighting in the beginning of the play. When the play started, all the lights in the room were turn off. Then the light focused on Archbishop Laboa. I think the light will make people to pay more attention to the stage. When we had a break after the first part of the play, the lights turn off again, which it made the audiences not able to see where the actors went. The play taught me a very important lesson. It told me that evil dwells in humanity and people create their own hells on earth. We should make our own choice. We should follow our heart. Do not listen to what others told us to do. We should take control of our own destiny. No matter our decisions are right or wrong. At least we do not feel regret about the decisions we made.
I like the scenery of the play because I think the props were match the time of the play. I also like the lighting in the play. It made all the audiences concentrate on a specific character. I do not like the play that much because I do not like plays that have few actors. In the play, there were only two actors and mostly the play was that two characters talked together. The play had little actions. It was opposite of what I like. I like plays that had many actions. From those actions, I can see what the actors are trying to tell the audiences.
I personally do not like the play much because I do not interesting in politics, but I like the playwright’s purpose which beyond the play. However, I would recommend the play to others who like politics because the play is mostly about politics. If people that are not interesting in politics, they might sit there in the theatre and sleep for two hours and think that the play is boring.