Chazare’ Riley

Dr. Huddleston

Theatre Appreciation

March 7, 2011

Die Fledermaus by John Strauss

English Translation by Quade Winter

Set and Costume Design by Ivan Ingerman
Lighting Design by Matthew Georgeson

I went to the Sunday showing of Die Fledermaus, and the place was pretty packed. I

had been told that the show was three hours long, so I was not really looking forward to

sitting in the Fine Arts Theater for that long, but as soon as I walked in the door the

orchestra was already playing. The sound was beautiful. Then the curtains opened, and it

was like I was sent to another time. It was New Orleans in the year 1913 to be exact. The

set, costumes and lighting were excellent representations of what was going on in the play

itself, and they all tied in well together.

As soon as the curtains went up for the first act I was immediately dazzled by all

the detail on the set of the Eisenstein home. I loved how they had real doors, and

characters were constantly going in and out of them, so it seemed like a real house. All the

furniture on stage was real, and they even had a cocktail cart filled with “alcohol.” The

home set seemed to have a peacock feel. It was especially apparent in the back door’s

design, and Rosalinde’s costume also had a peacock theme. It was extremely colorful. The

Adele was in a proper maid’s uniform, and all the gentlemen were either in nice suits or

their work uniform for the first act. The lighting was very bright during this act, so

everything going on stage was very visible to the audience.

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 During the second act things were livelier because it was a festive atmosphere. All

the partygoers were elaborately dressed in sparkling and shining costumes, so our

attention was really drawn to them; it had a Mardi Gras feel to it which was perfect

considering the setting. Rosalinde’s costume was the most eye-catching as the Hungarian

Countess, which made sense because she was supposed to be Dr. Falke’s main event for

his revenge scheme. The scene design itself was genius because while the main party was

held in a courtyard, the background was painted to look like there was a mansion in

which other party guests were enjoying themselves, but they were actually just painted

into the backdrop. The party was at night, so the lighting was dim and they made it look

like night lamps were lighting the stage. They even had two real ones hanging from the

ceiling, but the rest were painted into the backdrop.

The third and final act had a pretty barren stage, but everything that needed to be

there was there. The jail cell, deputy’s desk and office door was all the scenery required.

Every necessary prop was in the desk, and Frosch knew exactly where to get them. The

hilarity of this scene wouldn’t have been without the gun, alarm clock and liquor. Most of

the costumes worn in the third act were the same from the previous night’s party because

it’s supposed to take place really early the next morning. This was made clear by the

orange floor lights on a blue background, so it looked like the sun was just starting to rise.

The only other visible lighting was from hanging lamps like the kind you’d see in an old

TV crime drama’s police station. Rosalinde was out of her party gown, but her ensemble

was still brightly colored green, gold and purple like Mardi Gras beads, and Frosch was in

an old fashion cop uniform.

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 In the end everything blended from act to act. The set, costumes and lighting were

even better than most could probably imagine by just looking at the script and making it

up in their mind. Everything fit the setting for both place and time, and that definitely

helped make the show more enjoyable. It also helped me to suspend my disbelief which is

key to seeing a theatre performance and loving it.