By Robin Nevetral
The University of Georgia Theatre Department performance of "The House of Bernarda Alba" on March 29, despite a somewhat confusing storyline and some distractions, allowed the cast to demonstrate their remarkable acting abilities. Federico Garcia Lorca’s "The House of Bernarda Alba" tells the story of a family living in a village in Spain during the days following the death of the head of the household. The play explores the constraints of women in Spain during the time the play was written.
"The House of Bernarda Alba" was written by Lorca in 1936 and was completed only months before Lorca’s death. Its first performance, however, was not until 1945. The play features only female actresses; Pepe el Romano, the love interest of some of the daughters, is only referred to by name but never actually appears in the play.
Directed by Kristin Kundert-Gibbs, the play opens in the home of Bernarda Alba, who has just buried her second husband. It depicts Bernarda attempting to control her five daughters with strict rules and stern policies. Bernarda is overly concerned about the appearance of the family to those living near her. For that reason, she and her daughters are not to leave the house or to wear any clothing other than black while in mourning. She expects her daughters to behave in a certain, prescribed manner and will not accept anything but perfect behavior from them.
The death of Bernarda’s husband means that the oldest daughter, Angustias, has inherited a large sum of money. She is engaged to Pepe el Romano, a man whom more than one daughter is in love with. Pepe el Romano proves to be a source of much conflict among the daughters, several of whom believe he is only marrying Angustias for her money and is actually in love with another daughter.
The acting by the cast in "The House of Bernarda Alba" was by far the best aspect of the play. One standout was Shana Youngblood, currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre, in a convincing portrayal as Bernarda Alba. The stern and serious look Youngblood kept on her face during the entire performance helped to convey how strong, stubborn and easily angered Bernarda is. Youngblood’s compelling interpretation of Bernarda made even me begin to fear her wrath.
I appreciated the simplicity of both the stage set and costumes, which allowed me to focus on the acting. The cast featured phenomenal actresses in addition to Youngblood, all of whom did a successful job of bringing the characters to life.
The music was another standout element of the performance. All songs were sung and played beautifully by Marisa Skolky. At the opening of the play, Skolky played and sang a song titled “Where I Stood” by Missy Higgins. I thought the pairing of a contemporary song (“Where I Stood” was released in 2007) with a play written in 1936 was interesting, but ultimately the pairing worked. The acoustic song matched the simplicity of several aspects of the play and the somber tone of the song complemented the somber tone of the play.
Despite the music and the extraordinary acting jobs of the cast, some aspects of the play proved to be distracting and made the overall experience somewhat less enjoyable. Two main problems emerged as a result of the play's script. In the beginning of the first act, the storyline was difficult to follow, however, once the overall plot was established, the play became easier to understand. Also confusing was establishing which characters the actresses were portraying. It took me until the third act to determine which characters some actresses were playing as well as which characters were related to Bernarda.
The cast used every part of the Chapel on UGA's North Campus including the balcony and back entrances. It was as if the show was being performed in the round without actually being performed in the round. Having actors enter from directions other than from the stage sides helped to make the play more convincing. At one point, the actors were standing on the balcony above the audience and began whispering during one of the play’s more dramatic scenes; however, it struck me as creepy rather than adding to the drama.
Performing in the Chapel on North Campus gave the cast the opportunity to use several parts of the theater rather than simply have everyone enter from stage right or stage left. Unfortunately, however, there were negatives to the location. Other, rather noisy, events were being held on North Campus at the same time. Their music could be heard in the theater and it pulled my attention away from the play.
These distracting and confusing elements regrettably overpowered the acting and the music of "The House of Bernarda Alba," leaving me slightly disappointed in the overall performance.
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