Are you ready to take the plunge?
Billy Wright
Yes, take the plunge! “Niagara Falls” is a wacky, fun comedy from start to finish. It follows two newlyweds on their honeymoon to Niagara Falls, a mysterious stain on the carpet and the uncertainty that comes with love. But don’t look too long into the falls, or you might see something you wished you hadn’t.
Written by UGA alum Steve Yockey, this bizarre examination of the frailty of choices questions the power that doubt and regret play into our lives. The characters allow us to recognize our own choices and relationships as they search for a meaningful way to make life’s decisions.
Faced with love, careers, commitment or freedom, it’s up to you to take the plunge.
We are surrounded by choices in our fast-paced world. The infinite paths they can lead us down. Or the crippling fear they can abandon us with. Faced with love, careers, commitment or freedom, it’s up to you to take the plunge. So, what do you do?
The premise behind Niagara Falls is one we can all relate to. It shows the contradictions of ecstasy and dread that come along with making decisions. The play deals with the highs and lows of love in such a fresh and fun approach, and there’s no shortage of laughs along the way.
The production ran 90 minutes with no intermission, but it felt like half that time. I wanted to see more of Yockey’s zany characters stumbling their way through the choices love presents them with – the choices we see in our own lives. Through their difficulties and their triumphs and all of the eccentric interactions in between, it was a show I thoroughly enjoyed from the first scene to the last.
Speaking of opening scenes: Niagara Falls opens with the entire cast emerging out of back stage’s dark abyss. They are all wearing colorful ponchos, the kind you would presumably* receive on one of those Niagara Falls boat tours.
*I wouldn’t know for sure, I unfortunately have not been 😦
It’s fun, it’s weird and I’m all here for it.
The characters whoosh and whistle and clamor about on stage until they all finally take a seat. No introductions or preambles. It felt like what I can only imagine someone who has accidentally walked into a cult ritual would feel: strange and eerie. Then one of the characters breaks out into song. And another joins in. It’s a song about love that they sing to each other, while the rest of the cast is literally boop bopping and doop dopping along. It’s fun, it’s weird and I’m all here for it.
The few songs that are sung throughout are performed blissfully and chilled my bones.
This production was directed by UGA professor George Contini and stars Brooke Mccarthy as Avery and Sean Birkett as Jack – our two newlyweds – among others. The acting is superb and enchants the audience from the first scene. The cast plays their characters goofily, yet extremely believable, escorting the audience along this rollercoaster of a journey.
The few songs that are sung throughout are performed blissfully and chilled my bones. The voices were beautiful when they needed to be and funny when they wanted to be.
One of the unsung heroes of Niagara Falls is Matt Oliner’s lighting. He is able to use the stage lights to be so effective in creating moods, generating effects and materializing drama. I walked away impressed by the lighting as much as any other aspect of the production, which says a lot about its compelling role and power in the show, I think.
It’s a can’t-miss production by UGA’s theatre department. I hope you’ll take the plunge.
To see more of Steve Yockey’s work, visit his website here.
Impressed & Expressed 