Welcome to “The Great Debate”
Greetings NEXTians and welcome to the new incarnation of our blog, “The Great Debate!”
For the past 31 years Next Theatre has been producing socially provocative and artistically adventurous work from our home in Evanston, Illinois. Every night, in rehearsal, on stage and in our audiences, dialogue and debate flourish. And now, through the internet, we want to bring the discussion out to you, our friends, family, neighbors, audiences, artists, supporters and detractors! It is our hope that this space can become a destination for spirited (yet respectful) debate, behind the scenes photos and videos, insight into the artistic process, and thought provoking, entertaining diversion.
Lastly, dear readers, what do you want to see in this space? Sound off in the comments below! We are beyond excited for you to join us on this new adventure! Plus there will be free tickets along the way. And who doesn’t like free tickets?
Come for the show, stay for the discussion.
1 Comment
First off, we love Next. We’ve been subscribers for several years and have enjoyed it. Thanks for doing a great job!
Just saw Maple and Vine and while the acting was great, I really thought the play was less provocative than normal Next fare. Most disturbing was the lack of character/relationship development of Dean and Roger’s prior relationship. The audience is left with viewing it as cheap–which it couldn’t have been if they were drawn back to it. Ellen’s description of their past just wasn’t enough. The same goes for Ryu–the play doesn’t substantiate his easy conversion to the 1950′s world–his disillusionment with the modern world wasn’t portrayed as at a breaking point; nor was his intrigue enough to draw him there.
In conclusion, I like the theme–but I don’t think the play was as deep as most Next plays are. The social issues were handled almost gratuitously. I expect live theater to help us examine societal stereotypes and I was disappointed with this play.