Written Play Reports - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... George Cuckor's direction is stunningly elaborate and his skilful handling ensures that none of the script's acerbic wit and irony is diminished under the fluff of the musical numbers. The execution of the musical is indeed praiseworthy and a truly befitting tribute to the George Bernard Shaw's classic 'Pygmalion'. Apart from the main protagonists, the actors playing Eliza Doolittle's father and Professor Higgins' mother, stand out for their acidic sharpness of dialogue and dialogue delivery. 2. Write a paragraph talking about the set design, the lighting, the costumes, the special effects, and the overall effect of the play. The film has sumptuous well lit sets of royal ballrooms where every pixel on screen appears buffed up and polished, with men and women draped in regal finery in sharp contrast to the threadbare and dirt encrusted faces of the poor folks at the shabby flower market. The set of Higgins' library stuffed full of hard bound books and recording instruments seemed quite realistic for a professor of his stature. The background score backed by a full orchestra credibly supports and carries the play through its many moods. The costumes, scenery and production design-the handiwork of Cecil Beaton- was indeed successful in the challenge of intricately recreating London of a bygone era and ensuring that the characters and sets were not reduced to caricatures. It is known that an entire sound stage was converted into a hair, make-up and costume area for prepping for the famous Ascot sequence. 3. Write a paragraph describing the script of the play. Talk about which of the following aspects of the play are important to this script. You may not have to talk about all of these aspects in your paragraph, just the one's important to this play: subject matter, style, point-of-view, language, characterization, theme. While the story may be of a cockney girl's transformation into a lady on the back of a wager between an arrogant misogynistic phonetics professor and his friend- the genial interlocutor Col. Pickering, the subtexts run significantly deeper and are rife with satire and social commentary on how language and dialects create barriers and restrict social mobility; and a lowly flower girl's grit to break that barrier and to obtain a better station in life and be a respected lady as articulated by her in 'Isn't it loverly?' and an arrogant professor whose interest in the matter is entirely selfish. It is the style of presentation and articulation of these thoughts through intelligent verbal duelling and lyrical jousting like that of the pompous Prof. Higgins, the blatantly immoral Alfred DO little that entertains and enlightens the audience throughout. Despite perpetuating cultural stereotypes the musical remains non judgemental and largely fair and the watching the metamorphosis of Hepburn's Eliza Dolittle is quite enthralling. The film succeeds in showing the audience how accents and language reflects class and upbringing and how it can affect a person's life and lifestyle. 4. Who would you recommend see this play? This musical for all its attention to detail, its extravagant costumes and witty banter would appeal to the most discerning of audiences of all ages and watching the story unfold from a third person perspective is quite interesting, the story line itself being refreshing for a transatlantic audience. But even if these fail to impress, who can resist the charm and grace of Audrey Hepburn and the hope that the character of Eliza Dolittle holds out. Sound of Music 1) The movie in its appearance and content has more or less lived up to the source or origin, the autobiography of Maria Von Trapp (The Story of the Trapp Family ...Download file to see next pagesRead More