Martel College senior spotlights failure in her witty play

By Jacquelyn Pass     10/24/12 7:00pm

It is undoubtedly true that we cannot really understand who we are until we discover our own short-comings. Failure is a powerful, difficult part of life yet, for some reason, we love to watch others experience it. Martel College senior Maggie Sulc's The Failures provides an intriguing take on failure that is highly entertaining, but has little bearing on reality.

The play starts with an audition for an American Idol-like talent show. An overly eager wannabe superstar fails utterly with her horrendous rendition of "Amazing Grace," but she does not realize her own ineptitude. She spills her hopes and dreams to a reporter writing a story on like-minded delusional divas. He is amazed at the sheer level of her delusion, and from there, the two deal with the repercussions of having their lives' ambitions crumble around them. 

The Failures offers a distinct experience by traveling to different colleges to bring the show to students. The concept of the show lends itself to minimal set design that can be easily recreated at each venue since the entirety of the show takes place backstage of an auditorium. The lighting is also minimal but used effectively.  The bright light shining from the stage is the perfect imitation of the spotlight that blinds performers on stage and provides that barrier between them and the judges.

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While the acting in general is not very convincing, the actors have a lot of fun playing the roles of ridiculous characters. Jones College freshman Mariah Lawhon stands out as Alexa, the delusional hopeful. She brims with energy and optimism, and though her singing is grating, she is so self-assured and likable that we sympathize with her rather than engage in the mockery typical of reality show audiences. Lovett College sophomore Ian Loya as the reporter, David, comes off as wooden and unnatural, but Wiess College sophomore Marie Chatfield is gloriously over the top as Alexa's mother.  At times, the blocking is transparent, as if the characters are moving and speaking simply because they have been directed to do so, but the performers are nevertheless fun to watch.

The characters themselves seem less like real people and more like caricatures created to make a point. Alexa's mother is the cliched, overbearing stage mother who exists to illustrate why Alexa has gone so long without realizing she cannot sing. David comes along to finally shatter Alexa's delusions, but he is not a realistic portrayal of a reporter.  It is hard to imagine that any respectable reporter would be so unprofessional as to break out in laughter at Alexa's ambitions, or to get so emotionally involved in her situation. The audience can, however, partake in his frustration that no one at the audition can bother to tell Alexa that she has failed - not even the stressed, overworked producer played by Martel junior Julie Eisenberg, the only character who might realistically exist in the real world.

For a show that is meant to be silly, there is not an issue with the characters being concepts rather than people, except that the play is not explored to its full potential. The premise of the play hits on intriguing and universal questions: Why are there so many people in the world who cannot understand they simply are not good enough?  What do we do when we fail utterly at the only thing we have ever wanted to do?  There is a long buildup of Alexa's ambitions of stardom, but she too soon realizes that singing is not her forte. The Failures never drags, but it is not long enough to unearth the true implications of failure.

There is a certain schadenfreude to watching horrible singers on American Idol. Sulc's play is witty even though the dialogue does not sound natural. As a whole, though it lacks real depth, The Failures is enjoyable to watch and certainly does not fail to entertain.

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