On Friday, October 16th, I attended the opening night performance of the musical “The Addams Family” at the Alfresco Arts Center in Granite City, Illinois. The doors opened at 6:30pm and the play began promptly at 7:30pm after a brief welcoming and introduction through the sound system. With my previous experiences in watching theatrical performances, I knew before arriving at the production that no two plays or venues are the exact same. This expectation was definitely true upon my arrival and throughout my time spent at the Alfresco Arts Center. In comparison to my experience at the Looking Glass Playhouse last month, there are several differences between the two, yet I would consider both to be quality community theatres worth attending
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The downstairs part of the theatre seats about 150 people in three rows of pew-like benches. The upstairs section seats roughly 40 people in a U-shape and also hosts a bar. About 80% of the seats were filled for the opening night performance. The theatre has a few side rooms in addition to the main seating that have comfortable seats used during intermission. Although I am uncertain of the history behind the venue, it definitely has a historic charm and elegance throughout the building. The theatre goers ranged in age from a few school aged children to many senior citizens and everyone in between. In comparison to the play I attended at the Looking Glass Playhouse, this crowd was quieter and had less children within it – the latter probably due to the context of the play being shown. The crowd seemed to be quite happy to be in attendance, which was shown through their body language and the calm feel of the …show more content…
The costuming and makeup design was very unique for each character and the role they played in the performance. The members of the Addams family all wore black and white clothing, had dark colored hair, and were made to appear nearly porcelain in complexion. Lurch, the Addams family butler, had the most dramatic costuming and facial makeup of the family. He wore stilted shoes that made him extremely tall and had a very sunken facial appearance to portray his zombie-like role. Bright, eccentric colors were worn by the members of the Beineke family, who had rather normal hairstyles and subtle, natural makeup. The living dead Addams ancestors were clothed in an array of shades of grey with heavy facial makeup of corpse-like coloring. The clear differences between the costuming and makeup of the cast members enhanced the overall quality of the performance and maintained clear distinctions of their roles in the
The downstairs part of the theatre seats about 150 people in three rows of pew-like benches. The upstairs section seats roughly 40 people in a U-shape and also hosts a bar. About 80% of the seats were filled for the opening night performance. The theatre has a few side rooms in addition to the main seating that have comfortable seats used during intermission. Although I am uncertain of the history behind the venue, it definitely has a historic charm and elegance throughout the building. The theatre goers ranged in age from a few school aged children to many senior citizens and everyone in between. In comparison to the play I attended at the Looking Glass Playhouse, this crowd was quieter and had less children within it – the latter probably due to the context of the play being shown. The crowd seemed to be quite happy to be in attendance, which was shown through their body language and the calm feel of the …show more content…
The costuming and makeup design was very unique for each character and the role they played in the performance. The members of the Addams family all wore black and white clothing, had dark colored hair, and were made to appear nearly porcelain in complexion. Lurch, the Addams family butler, had the most dramatic costuming and facial makeup of the family. He wore stilted shoes that made him extremely tall and had a very sunken facial appearance to portray his zombie-like role. Bright, eccentric colors were worn by the members of the Beineke family, who had rather normal hairstyles and subtle, natural makeup. The living dead Addams ancestors were clothed in an array of shades of grey with heavy facial makeup of corpse-like coloring. The clear differences between the costuming and makeup of the cast members enhanced the overall quality of the performance and maintained clear distinctions of their roles in the