Spring Break
The Daily OrangeActors bring passion to 'Dinner' table
By Angela Chan
Posted: 9/26/03, 3:31 PM EST Section: Feature
The second act impresses the most. Kate Siegelbaum, a senior acting major, carries the show as Gabrielle, the embodiment of desperate love-portrayed as the most passionate kind of love.
"I don't enjoy pain," she said. "I like the pursuit of it."
Her ex-husband Andre, played by Nick Fondulis, a junior acting major, is as composed as she is frantic. Their relationship captivates its bitterness and the remnants of love it tries to hide.
"If you're a maggot," she said, "is it wrong to love another maggot?"
Gabrielle resents Andre for making her love him unconditionally. At the same time, she sees the beauty of the unfailing love.
"I loved him unconditionally because conditionally would've killed us," she said.
Witty one-liners interrupt the play when it gets too sensitive and emotional. The lines are delivered with perfect timing and manner.
"Does it bother you that Andre told us you were dead?" asked Claude, played by Michael Penna, a junior musical theater major.
"Oh no, we always call each other by our pet names," Gabrielle responded.
The intimacy of the Black Box increases the impact of the play. By the second act, most of the audience was leaning forward and listening intently. When Mariette, played by Jenna Paone, a sophomore theatre major, broke down due to her claustrophobia, the room felt smaller. The character's comfort zones clearly decreased.
Despite being a story about failed marriages, "The Dinner Party" is ironically also a story about the resilience of love. The characters never stopped loving each other. It is the superficial actions they take that lead them to where they are.
"Some of us will take a look at ourselves," Andre said. "What we have lost and what we have gained."
And what Syracuse University has gained is an impressive performance that could persuade even the most adamant disbeliever in love.
Angela Chan is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. E-mail her at anchan@syr.edu.
"I don't enjoy pain," she said. "I like the pursuit of it."
Her ex-husband Andre, played by Nick Fondulis, a junior acting major, is as composed as she is frantic. Their relationship captivates its bitterness and the remnants of love it tries to hide.
"If you're a maggot," she said, "is it wrong to love another maggot?"
Gabrielle resents Andre for making her love him unconditionally. At the same time, she sees the beauty of the unfailing love.
"I loved him unconditionally because conditionally would've killed us," she said.
Witty one-liners interrupt the play when it gets too sensitive and emotional. The lines are delivered with perfect timing and manner.
"Does it bother you that Andre told us you were dead?" asked Claude, played by Michael Penna, a junior musical theater major.
"Oh no, we always call each other by our pet names," Gabrielle responded.
The intimacy of the Black Box increases the impact of the play. By the second act, most of the audience was leaning forward and listening intently. When Mariette, played by Jenna Paone, a sophomore theatre major, broke down due to her claustrophobia, the room felt smaller. The character's comfort zones clearly decreased.
Despite being a story about failed marriages, "The Dinner Party" is ironically also a story about the resilience of love. The characters never stopped loving each other. It is the superficial actions they take that lead them to where they are.
"Some of us will take a look at ourselves," Andre said. "What we have lost and what we have gained."
And what Syracuse University has gained is an impressive performance that could persuade even the most adamant disbeliever in love.
Angela Chan is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. E-mail her at anchan@syr.edu.
