Glass of Water

Okay, so it seemed to me as though Glass of Water adhered perfectly to the "well-made play" standard. All of the pieces of the puzzle made sense together, and there weren't very many moments that didn't match up with what was currently going on in the plot. However, if I was to say one that didn't add up, there is an odd encounter between Bolingbroke and the Duchess towards the end of the play.

Bolingbroke says, "You honor me, madame...especially since you don't even know my best qualities." Then Duchess replies with, "But I have an excellent imagination. However, milford, let me claim the first privilege of a wife..." and then they kiss. This incident stands apart from the conflict that has gone on between them throughout the play. They've acted hostile towards each other the entire time, so this moment definitely seemed random to me. The Duchess has been in love with Masham the entire time, so it seems unlikely that she'd be over him so quickly.

Love! Valour! Compassion!

Love! Valour! Compassion! definitely differs structurally from the last few plays we read. It isn't in linear order, for one thing, and the story includes some direct narration to the audience. The men in this play have a complex history that gets fleshed out as the play progresses, so the story is much more fuzzy than other pieces we have read that are more straight forward. Honestly, I had difficulty getting through this play, because I kept having to go back and re-read passages, or rethink relationships to make sure I knew who was involved with who, who was hooking up with who, etc.

A historian could draw from this play that during this time period gay-rights and gay awareness was quite a relevant issue. I think that the playwright does an excellent job conveying the Truth of the matter, because although homosexuality is much more accepted at this time than it was in the past, there is still hate that must be fought against. Even though these men are at their oasis, she still touches on the fact that there are hateful people out there. They're watching footage of a gay demonstration in seattle and Perry says, "...He whacked that guy with his nightstick right against his head. Motherfucker!" This play is different than other plays we've read because it raises awareness of a societal issue....homophobia...that's still relevant today. I like how McNally makes every character in the play homosexual, because he's propagating the idea that love is love, no matter what gender you are.

The Children's Hour

There are several place where The Children's Hour departs from the traditional structure of a well-made play. Firstly, i was definitely expecting the obligatory scene to be a reveal in which Martha and Karen confess their love for each other, but that never happened. Secondly, the "just-in-time" resolution never showed up, because Martha succeeded in committing suicide. The play isn't really resolved until the very end, and but the style isn't in keeping with what is dictated by the "well made play" structure.

In regards to the question of whether this play should be produced today, I definitely think it should, however I think the situation in which it was performed would play a huge factor in whether the show was successful or not. I definitely think that this would give younger, even up to high schoolers, negative feelings and act as a bad behavioral example, if that makes sense. I would definitely support the awareness that'd be generated by performing this play, but I do think it'd be important to make sure it was given to a mature audience, and not someone that would handle it in an inappropriate way. I feel like Night, Mother exhibits shades of this as well. It's a very interesting plot, however because of the adult themes I don't think it would benefit audiences under a certain age.