“The Dark of The Moon” Play Review

By Thomas Warloe, Staff Writer

The Dark of the Moon, produced by HB APA, was overall a mediocre play, with realistic props, somewhat enthusiastic actors, and a relatively monotonous story line.  While the props were likely some of the better ones that I have seen in plays produced by HB APA, they only slightly improved my impression of the whole play.  The actors were not horrible, yet they were lacking some of that amazing acting that I have become accustomed to seeing at plays produced by the HB APA.  The script was very predictable, and was not very well thought out.

This play had one of the better sets I have seen, one that conveyed the audience back in time.  I especially liked how authentic the clothing was, and I found it very pleasing that the costume designers spent so much time making sure all the little details were in place.  For example, the old wagon that was located off to the left of the stage looked so authentic that I had trouble believing it was only a stage prop.  On the other hand, some of the stage set was a little boring, as it was easy to tell that not as much time had been used producing it.  Barbara Allen\’s house, for example, was not well designed.  The front part of the house consisted of a wall with a door.  I found it somewhat cheesy that John would walk out the door, and then turn around and be “outside”, despite the fact that he was in the living room of the house.  Yet, overall the set was clearly designed with much effort and time.

The actors in this play disappointed me.  Unlike plays such as Singing in the Rain and Titanic, these actors did not convey their emotions and actions very well, and as a result that play had a very fake feeling.  In the fight between John and Marvin Hudgens, actors acted too quickly, leaving the audience to ponder the results of the fight.  The play seemed rushed, and it was hard to follow along with the storyline due to the fake emotions and bad acting.  Many times I heard whispers from the audience that said “What\’s going on?” “What just happened?” and so on.  Clearly the acting could have been better.

The storyline also was very monotonous, and though I haven\’t actually seen or read Twilight, I could tell it had many main components of the plot copied from it.  My suspicions were also confirmed when whispers in the audience said, “What the ****!  This is just like Twilight!”  The storyline moved rather quickly, making it very hard to tell what was going on.  The overall plot and storyline was very unimaginative, and also very predictable.  I correctly predicted the ending a good forty-five minutes before the play ended, leaving me very bored

Dark of the Moon was a mediocre and monotonous play.  The only aspects that really stood out were the props and the set design.  Other than that the play was a total letdown.  The actors were not that great, but it might have been due to the fact that the script was pretty bad too.  My final word on Dark of the Moon is this: if you loved Twilight then you might like this play.  Otherwise, skip it