“The Quadroon Girl” was an excellent and inspiring play. The theme of the play was about the influence of greed and prejudice in Cuban society in the 1860’s. The play also expressed the problems concerning race, ethnicity, and social class that were prevalent during this time period. There were many different aspects of the play that made the theme more visible to a spectator. Some of the positive aspects of the play included: the acting, the costumes, and the storyline. Although the play had many advantages, there were also disadvantages about the play. Some of the disadvantages were the staging and the acting.
The actresses and actors chosen for this play did a wonderful job at portraying their characters. My favorite character to watch during the play was La Senora Condesa, who was played by Gabrielle Bailes. Gabrielle did phenomenal job acting like a snooty and upper class woman. Some of the things she did well were her facial expressions, vocal choice, and body movements.
Gabrielle’s facial expressions represented every emotion her character was experiencing in each scene. For example, when she found out her son Carlos, who was played by Jordon Webb, was in love with Julia the expression on her face was anger and disgust. Gabrielle also looked pretentious because she raised her head high, and she had a pinch expression on her face throughout the play.
Another thing that Gabrielle did well was her vocal choice. She sounded exactly like a proper women from the 1800s. She had a soft voice, but she was loud enough for everyone in the audience to hear her. I even liked how she changed her accent to fit her character. Gabrielle did not sound like a rude and stuck up twenty year old. Instead she changed her voice to sound like a snobby, forty year old woman.
The final thing that Gabrielle did well was her body movements. She had great posture during the play. Since she stood straight up for most of the play, it made her character come across as being condescending and pompous. For example, when Gabrielle walked down the aisle, she had great posture, and she was already acting like her character before she even spoke one line. I even liked how she used her fan and tilted her head when she was meeting with Don Crispulo and Emilia about the arranged marriage.
Another actor who I enjoyed watching was Tom Ross, who played Luis. Tom really brought his character to life with his humor. He had a very difficult part, because it is very hard to act funny. However he really emphasized his lines, and he used appropriate facial expressions that made his character come across as funny. For example, I loved the opening scene when Luis was trying to persuade Carlos to let him marry Emilia. I liked how he said “I don’t want to work. I just want to marry a rich woman.” When Tom spoke these lines his facial expression was hilarious, and the emphasis in his voice made the lines funnier. I also liked how he would say a random line during a dramatic scene where the other characters were getting angry. For example at the end of the play when Carlos was comforting Julia when she was sick, he just said something about it is too late now because Carlos and Emilia are married, and then he stormed off the stage. This was a sad scene, but he added humor to it with his voice and by stumping off of the stage.
Not only was the acting good in this play, but I also liked the costumes. The costumes were appropriately chosen for this play. I liked how the women wore big dresses with hoops and corsets. I also liked how the women used fans. I believe this prop helped show which women belonged to the upper class. The men also had appropriate costumes. They looked like upper class and wealthy men in their blazers and pocket handkerchiefs.
Finally my favorite moment in the play was when Carlos and Emilia were meeting each other for the first time. I liked this scene, because I thought it was funny when Luis was flirting with Emilia and Carlos did not even care. I also liked how La Senora Condesa was getting furious at Carlos. I believe this was a great moment in the play, because the acing really shined during this scene. Each of the actresses and actors played their part wonderfully, and their characters really came to life.
Although the play had many wonderful moments, there were a few things I did not like about the play. One of the things I did not like about the play was the staging. I did not like how the characters stayed in one spot for the entire play. The characters were front and center the whole time. Sometimes this made it difficult to see them, because they had their backs faced to the audience sitting on the sides of the theater.
Even though the acting was great, there were a few scenes where the acting was awful. For example, the acting was bad when Carlos and Julia were expressing their love for one another. Neither actor nor actress exhibited passion. They did not look like they were madly in love with one another. Sadly, they acted a little awkward like brother and sister. I wish I could have seen more coming from both of these characters. I also did not like the final scene. Guershley Pieere, who played Julia, did a great job dying. However the other characters did not show much expression. For example, when everyone found out Don Crispulo was Julia’s father, no one looked appalled or shocked. Also when Carlos lost his lover, Julia, he should have done something more dramatic like cry. He just did not look that sad when he lost the love of his life. The final scene was the most powerful and climatic scene in the entire play, but the actresses and actors did not do a good job at achieving this outcome.
Overall, I was highly impressed by “The Quadroon Girl.” Although there were moments when I did not like the staging and in acting the play, the play still exceeded my expectations. I also realize that it was a very difficult play to perform. The director, Caleb Mize, had to translate the entire play from Spanish to English. I cannot imagine how difficult that must have been for him. Not only was the play translated into English, but it was translated into a formal English of the 1800s. As a result, the actresses and actors were required to learn and speak lines that were a type of English that is not commonly used today. Therefore, I believe the play was a huge success, and I would definitely recommend it to my fellow peers.