does melky rape wendy?

[luvtheEmcee]

omg. Why is this thread back?!

[LizzieCurry]

I don't know. But I do want to say that if anyone had seen it in Sydney, it was more like the other way around...

[dramamama611]

Oh, come on.....who doesn't like to rehash a thread from two years ago. What fun. I'm sure we can learn something new and exciting.


Thud.

[qolbinau]

" don't know. But I do want to say that if anyone had seen it in Sydney, it was more like the other way around.."


lulz. I'd like to see Andrew Hazzard the other way around!!

[RENT's_Awakening]

This thread came to mind today when I read this review of Temple University's recent double cast production of SA, in which I was a member of the Orange Cast.

"The Blue Cast seemed to be playing the young love and naïve take on the show, something that is hard to do with Spring Awakening as the main theme seems to be “no innocence.” The young man playing Melchior, decided to create and earnest and sincere character, a choice that is not usually made for the role; this combined with Wendla being portrayed as a more receptive than resistant, allowed the play to be more sympathetic and heart-wrenching than previous productions I had seen of the show.
The Orange Cast, on the other hand was the opposite. The young Man playing Melchior seemed to shy away from truly believing what he was saying and came across as arrogant and overbearing. The young woman playing Wendla made a smart choice by shying away from Melchior more in this production, and, while it made sense, in doing this production took on a darker tone which alienated the audience at points. It may well be that was the cast’s intent, but it may not have been the most successful tactic in engaging the audience as many, myself included, left that production feeling like they had all borne witness to an actual sexual assault."

...this rather infuriated me. I feel like the author seems to have missed the entire point of the original story, which was never, EVER intended to be a beautiful love story along the lines of Romeo and Juliet. In the minds of me and my Wendla, Melchior pushes himself on Wendla and only after the act do the begin to rationalize it, retcon the event as it were, until Wendla believes it was love and Melchior believes they can build a world together, although truthfully they still barely knew each other.

I find it disturbing also that this scene always overshadows the scene where Melchior unleashes on her with a switch - an act of pure sado masochism which he can only justify as confusion. In short, I am quite licked by this article.

[henrikegerman]

Never saw the musical, but in the play, he rapes her.

[dramamama611]

Every two years.

No, in the musical, he coerces her -- but she most definitely consents.

The whipping scene is also mutual, he just gets carried away.

Certainly seems that you are at odds with the review because it didn't agree with your choices. (or that of your cast).

Opinions are like belly buttons, everyone (but Alfred Hitchcock) has one.

[TheatreDiva90016]

You dug up an old thread to complain about the review you got in your local production?


*head/desk*

[FindingNamo]

Is that a college paper review? Cuz you just have to realize that young writers are most interested in gazing at their own navels and writing pages and pages about it in much the same young actors are interested in gazing at their own navels and don't want anything but praise for doing so. It's best if the writer and actor paths do not intersect.

[SporkGoddess]

If someone is coerced into a sexual act, then they did not consent. Coercion is considered a form of unwanted sexual contact by most, if not all, sexual assault researchers.

[justoldbill]

Is the show as loud and irritating as it was at the Eugene O'Neill?

[Taryn]

Oh man I missed this thread.

[dramamama611]

Yes, perhaps 'coerced' was not the best choice of words.

[Taryn]

Wendla can't consent because she literally does not know what sex is or understand anything about it. Melchior does, he knows she's ignorant, and he pushes anyways.