The world can't be changed in one hour.
It takes three.
"The Good Woman of Setzuan" is now onstage at the Center for the Arts. The ambitious student production runs through April 17.
Set in the slums of Setzuan, the backgrounds consist mostly of plywood walls arrayed with pallets, paper bags and crimped metal decking. Doorframes alone are enough to represent most buildings.
An oversized picture frame was suspended from the ceiling, functioning as a retractable movie screen throughout the production. Its purpose was to explain each scene in black and white text, much like an old silent film.
An accompaniment of piano was accented by special effects, like the echoing voices of the Gods and the sound of rainfall, to help move the story along.
Written by Bertolt Brecht and directed by Saul Elkin, the performance incorporates a traditional Oriental setting, with an Occidental take on ideas such as religion and life's unanswered questions.
The play poses many questions, including one of the most fundamental: Why is life so hard?
The answer: lazy Gods are unwilling to change an out-of-date rulebook.
Social inequality was a driving force throughout the play, contrasting townspeople sharply with one another. Pointy whicker hats, tiny little sun umbrellas, patterned silk garb and rags of the poor adorned the various actors as they scurried about to convey life in the town of Setzuan.
Themes of unemployment, poverty, humanity, snobbery, deception and disguise are all prevalent as the performance progresses.
The play questions if it is possible to still be a good person amidst the urban strife. This theme is reiterated by the title of the final musical score, "Change the World, It Needs It."
A good woman can be a hard thing to find, a lesson the three Gods in the play find out when charged with the task of testing humanity. The Gods, or celestial slackers as one might refer to them, consistently bend their own rules in order to help prove humanity is worthwhile. They save themselves the work of having to fix the world.
In comedic shorts, similar to the three-headed knight bit from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" the Gods reflect on the state of humanity.
At one point, the Gods state, "The Gods help those who help themselves" and the water-seller replies, "But illustrious ones, what if we cannot help ourselves?"
The center God looks from side to side at the other two Gods, confused for a moment, then proclaims, "Well, try anyway!"
Strangely enough, the star of the show wasn't one of the main characters. It was Shu Fu, the barbershop owner, played by Jeffrey Coyle. He was the only actor able to stir up significant applause from the audience at any point other than obligatory intermission and finale applauses.
Amber Abdella portrayed the lead role Shen Te. She accurately depicted the kind-hearted prostitute, referred to during the play as "The Angel of the Slums."
Other performances of note included the following: Thomas DeTrinis as Wong the water-seller, Robert Tucker as Grandfather, Chris Critelli as Yang Sun and the Gods played by Tim Eimiller, Brian Butera and Steve Stocking.
Also worthy of note were the two little urchin children. Their choreographed performance in the factory scene, which showed the two little guys scrubbing the floor in unison, was endearing.
Regrettably, a large chunk of the audience, that left the theatre during intermission - never returned.
On the positive side however, this did not seem to discourage the actors.
The disappearance was perhaps more likely due to the lateness of the hour rather than a reflection on the performance itself, which was enjoyable.
The optimism of "The Good Woman of Setzuan" was refreshing and a much-needed element after watching many aspects of human sorrow.
