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‘Til Love Do Us Part – Love You To Death (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

Michelle Augello-Page — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:06:12 +0000

‘T’il Love Do Us Part is a dark play about love, life, and death, written by Andrew Hall and directed by Cameron J. Marcotte. Part absurd, part realism, and part cautionary tale, the whole of this play centers upon the relationship between John and Virginia Walker. The audience is taken on a journey through their seventy year relationship, which begins and ends with death. After a chance meeting at the same cemetery where John’s father and Virginia’s mother are being buried, the two characters find each other, each alone and lost, desperate to connect with another person. A casket holds the center of the stage as a constant reminder of death, as the two characters try to heal, to love, and to live in the fractured and flawed world between them.

The play begins with another character, an unnamed young girl, unseen by the two main characters. She enters the stage dancing and wide-eyed, and appears to be an angel or a spirit, witness to the couple’s attempts to love as they navigate the broken places inside themselves and between each other. This character, played by Marshall Louise, successfully translates the emotional terrain of their relationship, as she watches the characters fall in love, then fall and break, wanting to see them truly love, helpless to stop them from hurting each other.

John and Virginia Walker are played by Robert Latrenta and Abigail Milnor-Sweetser, who both conveyed a range of depth and emotion while attempting to portray the life-span of these two characters, who literally “love each other to death.” At their first meeting, they are both painfully awkward and shy; they struggle to open up and reveal themselves to another person. As time passes, a lively, antagonistic banter develops between them. Their sexual relationship also speaks to the development of their aggressiveness towards each other; they begin by kissing shyly, tenderly, then progress into a sexual scene which is suggestively rough and forceful, almost violent in the attempt to connect.

After twenty-seven years together, John says, “This wasn’t what I wanted.” He says that he had given up his dreams in order to be with Virginia. To buy a house for her, he took a job he hated; he had become someone he never wanted to be – his father. He resents that they are childless, and feels that he wasted his life trying to save someone who could not be saved. A terrible fight ensues and their hostility and anger, both within and towards each other, spirals into viciousness and violence. This confrontation offers an opportunity to grow closer. Virginia finally talks about her feelings about her mother, and how her mother had damaged her as a child. She did not believe herself capable of being loved until she met John. She says that her mother must have been right. John says that he loves her. He says he does not want to leave her, he can’t leave her. He has nowhere else to go.

Neither of these characters have anywhere else to go, save for the unmistakable casket that takes center stage in each scene and stage of their relationship. One wants these characters to find a path together where love doesn’t mean giving up their dreams or becoming stuck and trapped in a relationship that is broken, a dead-end, a place that doesn’t allow them to expand or grow. One wants these characters to love themselves and each other in ways that can heal instead of hurt. ‘Til Love Do Us Part offers a very interesting look into relationships symbolized by the ever-present coffin. Yes, this is a dark play. It is also a play that provokes thought into how we love, how we live, and how we die, both literally and figuratively; these threads are woven into the play in different ways that intertwine and affect us all.

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Cast (alphabetical):

John Walker: Robert Latrenta
Young Girl: Marshall Louise
Virginia Walker: Abigail Milnor-Sweetser

Creative Team:
Playwright/Composer: Andrew Hall
Director: Cameron J. Marcotte
Dramaturg: Nathan “Nati” Avni-Singer
Choreographer: Jillene Johnson
Costume Designer: Elise VanderKley
Lighting Designer: Nia L. Adams
Sound Designer: Ido Levran
Makeup and Hair: Meg Murphy
Production Stage Manager: Mackenzie Meeks
Assistant Stage Manager: Anne Ciarlone
Creative Consultants: Daniel Talbott and Alex Keegan

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Til Love Do Us Part

Company: High Frequency Theatre

Directed by: Cameron J. Marcotte

Feb 26, 5:30PM

Mar 01, 9:00PM

Mar 03, 4:00PM

$10.00

UNDER St.Marks

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The 2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL will run February 22-March 4 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets to all shows may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

‘Til Love Do Us Part: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

The Happiest Medium — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:50:07 +0000

Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?

‘Til Love Do Us Part

High Frequency Theatre

A graveyard. Two funerals. Two strangers. Grief. An escape. And a mysterious young girl. Oddities of darkness and light come alive through intense emotion and intimacy.

Show Times:

Wed 2/22 @6:00pm
Fri 2/24 @ 10:30pm
Sun 2/26 @ 5:30pm
Thu 3/1 @ 9:00pm
Sat 3/3 @ 4:00pm

Answers by Andrew Hall

(Playwright)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Andrew: The title, ‘Til Love Do Us Part, comes from the legendary phrase commonly used in marriage ceremonies: ‘Til Death Do Us Part. A friend of mine read the play, which at the time was entitled The Eulogy of an Endless Marriage. She hated the title. She began to make countless suggestions. And then she said it. She meant to say it should be retitled ‘Til Death Do Us Part, but she accidentally said “Love” instead of “Death.” And it made so much sense to me. The play on words has become a dark symbol of the love/hate relationship the audience watches develop over time.

Diánna Martin’s Question
If you were going to invite five people, anyone from past and present, to see your FRIGID show – who would you invite and why?
Andrew: I would have to say 1) Stephen Sondheim – my musical theatre aspirations have led to the development of the play’s dissonant musical underscore. He would appreciate it. 2) Tim Burton – my love of dark quirky characters with such specific attention to detail has led to very specific detail in the script of this play. 3) Edward Albee – my understanding and obsession with complex love/hate relationships begins in my personal life and then extends into theater with plays such as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Only then could I appreciate the absurdity of it all. 4) Edgar Allan Poe – of course I would want the father of dark stories and characters to be in the audience, and 5) Charles Addams – if anyone would understand what I’m trying to accomplish with the characters in this play, it would be him.

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made for your Art and was it worth it?
Andrew: The biggest sacrifice I’ve ever made for my art was in an unusual way the main reason I wrote this play. I eventually had to choose between my art and what I thought at the time to be true love. I chose art. I had to write this play about giving up everything for love to make myself understand and move on. I am hoping that when I sit in Under St. Marks Theater watching ‘Til Love Do Us Part with its first real audience, I will smile with the reaffirmed knowledge that it was all worth it.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and, if so, can you share it?
Andrew: Besides finally understanding why playwrights drink? … But seriously, I can’t think of any specific discoveries. I wish I could share one.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Andrew: In an ideal world, I hope that through the theatricality, the music, and the intimate dramatic scenes, the audience will take part in the seventy-year relationship they see before them. Love. Hate. Death. And from that (to answer the question), I believe a deeper meaning will come. I will say this: I ask a lot of the audience in this show, but I think those who take the journey will find it worthwhile. I definitely did.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH

THM Bonus Question – We’re serious this year!
In the THM virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH which FRIGID Show do you take on? And what do you throw?

Andrew: …

Huh. Looks like Andrew “parted” before we were done! Well that’s why we invented the Randomizer … so that we don’t have to stand here staring blankly into space in the Rock Paper Scissors Arena with no big final Ta-daaaa Moment. So … Here we go! Flippity Flip … we randomly choose PAPER! And one more spin to determine your opponent … it lands on … Little Lady who threw SCISSORS. Bam! Pow! That’s a direct HIT and one strike against you in the Tournament of Deaaaaath! So far I’m betting you’re happy that you “cut out” early (wah – wahhhh).

Round two is Love in the time of Chlamydia who challenged everyone and threw ROCK. That’s a WIN!

Round three is Initium/Finis who also challenged everyone and threw ROCK … another WIN!

Congratulations, Andrew – that makes 2 victories out of 3 rounds! Not bad for someone who was nowhere to be found. Sneaky, sneaky!

Thanks ‘Til Love Do Us Part for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2012 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially PAPER in any and all challenges. You may win, you may not – who knows! This is how it works in the crazy world of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH!

For the rest of you don’t forget to check out ‘Til Love Do Us Part!

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