Poetry and painting in plays
I’ve seen several plays in the past few weeks that integrate other art forms. Letters from Max at Seattle Public used poetry and letters. Max and his teacher, Sarah make sense of Max’s impending death from cancer by writing to each other. The original poetry, written by the playwright and attributed to the character Max, provides a perspective that neither conversation nor action could give. Audience and actors lose themselves in the rhythm and depth, together. Blue to Blue at Annex through April 12, incorporates the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Beryl is adrift in the wake of her mother’s death. Two characters are described in the program as a Greek chorus, but function more like a different Greek character, Charon, by ushering Beryl across the river of grief. They do this by producing snippets of Dickinson’s poetry. It’s essential to get Beryl to where she needs to be. The third show, Cornelia’s Visitors, by eSe Teatro is still playing. You have a chance to see it at West of Lenin tho...