Stage Wrong

Another thing I did this weekend was hit Theatre 3 for my season tickets. The show was Defiance by John Patrick Shanley (he wrote one of my favorite movies of all-time, Joe v. the Volcano, but now does serious theater stuff). I’d say it was a solid B. Decent performances, but a story that could have probably used another 5 minutes on the stove – good, but not quite al dente.

But the thing that was totally making me insane was the costuming. The show takes place at a Marine Corps base in North Carolina towards the end of the Vietnam War. A good chunk of the play happens while the men are in uniform. And not a one of the men’s pants were at regulation length. Ohh! My Grandad would have had a fit!! And in fact the very much a Marine base commander had his pants hems touching the ground in the back. Nuh-uh. No way. And there were other costume gaffes. The colonel’s wife had a scene in a formal dress that was 2 sizes too big for her. And as for the very muscular captain, a Marine with that broad of shoulders would get his shirts tailored off-base. Not out of vanity (those his shoulders would look slammin’ in a tailored shirt), but because a shirt that fits his shoulders would look sloppy tucked in around a smaller waist.

It’s those kind of details that just throw me off when I’m trying to watch a show. I understand that it’s a small theater, and they probably don’t have all sorts of budget. But that’s what pins and hemming tape are for. Every time I’d start to get caught up in the story, little things like the colonel’s pants touching the floor (yes, that really did bug the hell out of me) would throw me off, and I’d lose all the momentum of the drama. Those jobs in the theater like costumes, sets and lights sure aren’t the glamour gigs. But a good job, or a sloppy one, in any of those departments can be make or break for a show.