Killer Joe

Last night I went to go see the play Killer Joe. I’ve wanted to go see it for quite a while now, but was kind of worried as to whether it would be any good. It’s always so hard to choose plays to go to. I usually like to go to plays that are a bit out there, and different than your usual run of the mill theater production, and usually the reviews for these kinds of plays are really mixed. On yelp.com, some people said they totally loved killer Joe, while others said they were absolutely revolted by the play and that it was pure crap.

Well, in the end, I didn’t have any need to be worried. The play was super good. It’s about a white trash family who lives in a trailer park and hires a hit man to kill someone for the insurance money. To begin with, before the play even started, the set itself was wonderful and really did a great job of setting the mood of a grimey hopeless trailer park home. The actors were also really good and played roles that were pretty out there and probably difficult to play.

The play itself was really really intense. A lot of the things that happen in the play, and a lot of the topics touched upon were just ridiculously depressing. One scene especially was just excruciatingly painful and intensely emotional… to the point where I actually was expecting audience members to leave. Yet at the same time, a lot of the play was hysterically funny. You don’t often see plays that are like this. Most plays/movies are either a comedy with everything trying to be funny all the time, or a drama with a much more serious note, but this one was a really interesting blend of the two and kept your emotions flip-flopping back and forth. Just when you were laughing like crazy, the play would take a turn and take you back to a more depressing reality. Heh, I guess that’s the thing about rednecks, on one hand, they’re easy to laugh at, but if you really stop to think about it, their lives are really really sad.

Something that struck me last night that I hadn’t really thought about before is just how much harder a play can hit you than a movie. I think if we had seen the exact same show, but on a screen, it would have been so much less intense. Watching something on TV or in a movie theater, you’re always somewhat removed from everything that’s happening, no matter how realistic it is. but when it’s a play, and everything is happening to people who are literally right there in front of you, it really adds to the emotional charge and even though it’s just acting, it all seems so real cause it’s *right there*. And when a play is as intensely emotional as this one, and you’re seeing it up close in a *small* theater, with a realistic looking set, it really gets you.

anyways, if you want to see a really good play check out Killer Joe… but be careful, it’s really not for those who are fain of heart.

*v