Last Thursday, I had seen the Pulitzer and Tony Award Winning play “Clybourne Park,” written by Bruce Norris and directed by Ralf Remshardt. “Clybourne Park” is the spin-off of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun. ” The stage was setting up as a truly house. “Clybourne Park” is an allegory about racial problems. In Act One, Russ and Bev sold their house to a “colored” family, which triggered the flutter among the mid-class community. The audiences were led to 50 years later in the second act. Now the community has become a black residential area, Steve and his wife Lindsey plan to pull down and rebuild the house.
But other neighborhoods hold different opinions with them. As time goes by, even in the same house, the interests between people are changed. A good play can hardly do without the good acting. Unlike movies or drama, we could see every detail and emotion of actors. The play, which requires actors, should have superb sills for delivering their lines. In the Clybourne Park, each of the seven actors plays a totally different character in two acts. It was necessary for them to have strong ability to catch emotional pitch and memorize the script.
Matthew Lindsay, playing an Improvement Association of the community with full of racism in the first act, has speaking as a well-educated white man in the second act. Prior to this play, I have never seen Matthew Lindsay in any plays. But he did a wonderful performance in his portrayal of both Karl and Steve. Matthew Lindsay’s attire quickly informed the audience of his status. The well-pressed suit, stiff collars and fixed hair portrayed a man on the middle of the society with high opinion of himself. And to me, the highlight of the first act is the conversation between Karl with others.
Karl (Matthew) determined to stop the sale then came to Russ’s home and tried to buy back the house. One can easily feel his superiority as white through his impressions and voices. During the whole conversation Matthew said it smoothly and with a tone of mockery in his voice. When Russ asked him “ what sort of people are they? ” He paused for a while and answer in a half-sardonic way with unbelievable voice. Matthew plays Karl very accurately and this is easy for us to feel how stubborn, domineering and how has a well-developed sense of his own superiority. The mood of the production totally changed from the first scene.
Matthew Lindsay became Steve, the most obnoxious one among all the characters. Trying to discuss about race and class problems by telling jokes. Compare with the scene one, I prefer Matthew’s acting in the act two, he played it with more gusto. He is perfectly gorgeous as Steve and really lived the part. In the heat of the argument with Kevin and Lena, Matthew increased the rate of body movement also improved body movement of the expression. I still could remember when Lindsey blurted out “half of my friends are black! ” how he said “what” with incredulous voice.
He also added more gestures while he speaks, these gestures are extremely important as they virtually strengthen his emotions. He used his larger than life acting style to express the interjections like “ oh my god. ” Both Karl and Steve share similar characteristics, they are bigoted and racist. In some respects they are variable from each other in personalities. It is better for us to understand the race problem and class struggle in different generations. Matthew played both of them so fantastic, but I prefer the way he acted as Steve that is more realistic and unforgettable.
