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MELANCHOLY PLAY: A CHAMBER MUSICAL
Photography © Whitney Brady-Guzmán, Ella Baum & Lindsay Matheos
Rezes explained the ironic premise of this experimental musical: “It’s a commentary on feminine sadness and the fetishization of sadness. But more than anything, it’s a very emotionally evocative piece, and the emotion sits in people’s heads, not quite noticeable, until they really start to feel for the characters.”
Further emphasizing the empathetic response that the show hopes to garner from the audience, Rezes continued, “While all the supporting characters objectify Tilly, you will see them all as individual people who are just trying to navigate this world of magic realism, and hopefully you will come to appreciate them as people as well, in all their complexity.”
Rezes explained that as a director, they wanted to stay as faithful to the original text as possible. In fact, Rezes even spoke to Ruhl directly and received her blessing. “It was a really nice experience as a senior who is doing their thesis to speak to the playwright of the play they’re directing, and have her approve of it,” they mentioned.
Rezes also illuminated what they ultimately hope to impress upon the audience: “It’s a play about how it’s okay to experience a range of emotions; that emotions come and go and it’s okay feel them in their temporality. We want to convey that complexity of human relationships.” The psychological insights of this play, presented in a whimsical, absurd manner, have been widely acclaimed, thus making it a thought-provoking piece for Vassar students to explore for their senior thesis project.
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