By the Waters of Babylon

Today I went on a date with 'Broccoli.' We went to see a production of By the Waters of Babylon at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood. Normally, I wouldn't have gone, but as students we got free tickets, so how could we pass up the opportunity to get dressed up on a Sunday afternoon and go see some theater?

I was particularly interested in going because I had seen the world premiere of the show 4 years ago at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. Many things had changed subtly from this performance to that one, but from a dramaturgical standpoint, good changes. 

Synopsis: Arturo, an exiled Cuban with a green thumb, tends to Texas widow Catherine's garden. Don't go getting any saucy ideas, though—what flowers between the two is friendship. 

The play has gone through a rewrite since the last time I saw it. The play and it's depth definitely benefitted from the change in Act II. Instead of divulging the information about Catherine's past through stories, she has an interlude where she pulls a gun on Arturo and attempts to commit suicide. It makes the scene far more interesting and more weighty. The stakes are a lot higher for both people in the scene.

The Geffen Playhouse is a proscenium theater, and the New Theater in Ashland is a black box theater. These two types of theaters give a very different perspective of the show from a audience's perspective. I would have to say that I liked the black box better, because I was closer to the action of the very intimate two person play. 

It was also interesting to see new actors in the play, because the playwright Robert Schenkkan had originally written it for the actors in Ashland. I enjoyed the show again. It's great to see that a play can have longevity. 

Comparing my first viewing an this viewing, it is interesting to see how I have grown as person. As there is nudity in the show, having several high schoolers go and see it was a leap of faith that I don't know that I could have done as a high school drama teacher. But seeing the small amount of male nudity in the original production compared to the full female and partial male nudity in this production, I can see how it was not a big deal. I thought that the nakedness in this particular play added to the story line, as opposed to only being there for shock value or to get audience members in the seats. Here is a review by the LA Times. Here is a review by LA Weekly.

Overall, I really enjoyed the production. I also enjoyed spending time with Broccoli, as I do not spend nearly enough time with friends. We did some shoe shopping, ate some Mr. Noodle and then got some Diddy Reese cookies. A really great Sunday.