Orange County NC Website
And Speaking of Angels. . . 1 Song <br /> Productions offers Naomi Iizuki's <br /> Language of Angels <br /> POSTED IN: BOOM! BITS, LIVE THEATRE <br /> 0 <br /> By Martha Keravuori and Chuck Galle <br /> Language of Angels is a complicated play, which borrows elements of <br /> Japanese Noh Theatre, including characters in life as well as ghosts, <br /> narration, time shifts that make actual time almost irrelevant, external <br /> voices and incidental music. It is set in rural North Carolina, in and <br /> near the town of Mount Airy. One would not expect it to be the fare of <br /> high schoolers. And yet, lSong Productions, a group that has been in <br /> existence for ten years, is composed entirely of young men and <br /> women not out of high school. Their management changes each year <br /> as members graduate. They operate without guidance or intervention <br /> of adult supervision. And they produce dyn-o-mite shows! <br /> A violin solo, played by Bryna Loranger, opened the play this past <br /> Thursday night (the 23rd of May), setting a mysterious and ominous <br /> tone, as misty as a Japanese fog. We then listened to several narrators <br /> speak of the past, perhaps from the past, of the night in question <br /> when ten young people caroused and partied in a dangerous cave. One <br /> of them, Celie, was gone when they awoke in the morning. What <br /> actually happened to her, and how the event affected all their lives, is <br /> the substance of the rest of the play. Who and how - and perhaps even <br /> why - are all questions discoursed upon by the remaining characters <br /> throughout the rest of the piece. This is an "actor's play," the kind of <br /> script a trained, skilled actor can sink her or his teeth into and form a <br /> character of depth and dimension. This cast gave a resoundingly solid <br /> performance. <br /> Adrian Thornburg as Seth delivered the first narrative with a broad <br /> spectrum of emotion, from simple recall to a climax that was heart <br /> stopping. He gave new meaning to the phrase "the light at the end of <br /> the tunnel." Kendra, played by Leigha Vilen, tells us poignantly about <br /> how people in Mt. Airy believe Celia's spirit still walks the hills and <br /> caves. Celie, as a ghost, is ethereally achieved by Danielle Katz. <br />