abingdon square
Uploaded by Brent R Goodin on May 09, 2004
Amidst the hustle and bustle of Greenwich Village, New York, is Abingdon Square where the story of Marion’s teenage immaturity turns into an adult drama. When Juster, a fifty year old man, and Marion, a fifteen year old girl, decide to unite in matrimony under the façade of love, the play begins. They live together with Michael, Juster’s son from a previous marriage. Michael and Marion are the same age. As one would expect, this unusual family’s existence set in motion a rather morbid series events which Maria Irene Fornes’ calls Abingdon Square.
In a timeframe of two hours, nine years passes in the context of the play. From the stance of a director, it was always going to be a difficult task trying to string together the irregular time gaps between each scene. Scott T. Cummings, the director of this play, created his own version of Abingdon Square which took my fancy; but, others found it boring and very confusing because he failed to demonstrate a congruous link in time (i.e. especially with regards to the aging of characters). Having read the play prior to the performance and discussed it, I knew the plot would thicken, tempers would flare, Marion’s sexual urges would only be satisfied by extramarital sex, and it would all be worth it in the end.
However for others in the audience, changes in time were too much to digest and Act One seemed to last an eternity. Upon returning from the intermission, I heard groans of discontent from audience members around me. So I asked the man seated to my left what he thought of the play; he was a young Chinese fellow from the graduate school named John. He said, “The only reason I am still here is ‘cause my friend is in the performance. I don’t understand what’s going on-” “Sheww,” a woman seated in front me interrupted with a sigh of relief. She continued, “I thought I was the only one that thought this play was a bit slow…” Had I not been enrolled in a theater course reading the same play, I might have found myself in the same boat as them. Anyway, after explaining to them the intricacies of the plot and rehashing a few insightful phrases from class, they decided to stick around...