Director Ann Folino White commands a large cast (24) of dedicated actors led by Jacqueline Wheeler as the steadfast grandmother Sofia Fuentes. Her last scene with her grandson was moving. The set is an interesting, stylized pool, complete with real water, made rustic by wooden framing and pathways. The pool becomes the river where unrecognizable bodies wash up and are claimed by all the women as their lost men.
I felt a disconnect between the play’s somewhat formal dialogue and the emotional events it depicted. It was not as affecting as it seemed to be trying to be, maybe because the characters served more as symbols of the world's injustice rather than people I could identify with.
A post-show discussion in collaboration with One Book; One Community will be this Thursday, Sept. 19 - and a pre-show talk with the director and cast will be held on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 1:15 pm before the 2pm show at the Arena Theatre in the basement of the MSU Auditorium building.
Widows runs through Sept 22 - 7:30 Wed/Thur; 8 pm Fri/Sat; and 2pm Sat/Sun.
http://theatre.msu.edu/