The NSU Theatre department recently produced a comedy about suicide, depression, and adultery.
Yes, a comedy.
"Luv," which was written in the sixties by Murray Schisgal, is the story of Harry (Donald Jones, freshman theatre major), who is contemplating suicide when he meets up with Milt (Regan McLellan, freshman theatre major).
Milt, a slick businessman, deals with Harry's ridiculous antics until he can finally convince him that being in love will solve his desperation.
Milt introduces his somewhat obsessive-compulsive wife, Ellen (Allee Peck, sophomore theatre major) to Harry so that they will fall in love and Milt can continue having ...Read More
The NSU Theatre department recently produced a comedy about suicide, depression, and adultery.
Yes, a comedy.
"Luv," which was written in the sixties by Murray Schisgal, is the story of Harry (Donald Jones, freshman theatre major), who is contemplating suicide when he meets up with Milt (Regan McLellan, freshman theatre major).
Milt, a slick businessman, deals with Harry's ridiculous antics until he can finally convince him that being in love will solve his desperation.
Milt introduces his somewhat obsessive-compulsive wife, Ellen (Allee Peck, sophomore theatre major) to Harry so that they will fall in love and Milt can continue having an affair with another woman.
"Chaos ensues," said McLellan. "I'm not really 'the bad guy.' My perception of the play is that every character is looking out for himself."
Although the script deals with serious subjects, it is considered a comedy. In one hilarious segment of the play, Harry and Ellen execute a dance number to express their passionate "luv" for each other.
Shortly after the dancing scene, viewers were surprised to see Ellen with her shirt open and Harry with his pants around his ankles.
Eric Marsh, the director, said, "That's part of the joy of live theatre; it's supposed to catch you off guard."
Marsh made sure that he chose students who would be comfortable performing that part of the play.
"It was a definite challenge," Marsh said. "But we go through that all the time in theatre. It's definitely something that you have to think about when you cast. The two of them read that scene when they were doing auditions, so they knew that was coming."
Though the script was, according to Marsh, "beautifully written," it depended on some physical comedy and it was definitely rated PG-13. A play with such a small cast sometimes fails to capture its audience, but not in this case.
Some may wonder why the play is titled 'luv' instead of 'love.'
McLellan said, "Well, the play's not really about love. It's like when two kids fall in love. They're not really in love. It's luv."
Attendance on Friday night was low, but the few audience members that turned up experienced some great laughs and learned a valuable lesson.
Marsh said, "Things come full circle. Love is there in all of us, but it's never going to be a perfect love; there are always going to be complications."
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