House of Blue Leaves

Recently I went to see the Texas State Theatre Production of "The House of Blue Leaves," in which my brother and a few friends had roles. The play was put on in the University Performing Arts Center, due to the renovations being done in the Theatre Building in preparation for the American College Theatre Festival. It takes place in 1965, right in the middle of arguably the most tumultuous decade of the century, on a day in which the Pope is coming to town. The cast of New Yorkers that the play is centered around contains Artie Shaugnessy, the father figure songwriter who is in his own words, "too old to be a young talent," his wife, the literally demented Bananas, his girlfriend, the fame-crazed Bunny Flingus, and his son Ronnie, an Army Private who went AWOL in order to build a bomb to blow up the Pope. All in all, it was a very good play, and music was done especially well. Michael Amendola as Artie was very good, along with Jack DiBlasi as Ronnie. Ashley Rhodes stole the show, however, in her lovable translation of Bananas. The next show to be put up by the Theatre Department is Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth," this coming spring.