Tax Weekend

Las Meninas

Student Study Guide (pdf file)

Las Meninas
by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Michael Donald Edwards
World premiere
March 16 - April 14, 2002

A remarkable new drama of the indomitable human spirit. In 1695, on the eve of taking her vows in a French convent, a young woman looks back on the extraordinary circumstances of her birth, and pieces together the mystery of her history – a history that goes back to the sumptuous court of Louis XIV’s Versailles. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Queen Marie Therese of Spain opens a surprise present from Africa, proving that big things do come in small packages. What follows is a humorous, moving and suspenseful tale of friendship and forbidden desires, of intrigue and ingenuity, of one woman’s search for love, one man’s search for freedom, and a daughter’s search for the truth. Combining a rich period detail with a contemporary feel, Las Meninas puts an unforgettable human face on a lavish spectacle.

TAX WEEKEND

The weekend is off and running. Friday night my boss and I had a fabulous dinner at La Pastaia in the Hotel D'Anza. I love this non-pretentious yet elegant restaurant. The staff is always friendly and this night was no different. Apparently my reservation was a bit off, Ed Wheatley had a table at 6:30 though. I quickly changed my name figuring it easier to be Ed than explain the obvious error. The hostess was even more confused since I was answering her as Ed and talking to my guest as Sean. Eventually we were seated, and yes they gave us a nice big booth once I asked. My veal chop was bigger than my head and twice as juicy. The conversation was fine, as always, and I enjoyed our brisk jog across town after dinner. We made the theatre in time to be seated and I settled in for a historical drama with overt political and social statements jammed in every 10 minutes or so. The story revolved around the bastard love child (oh my) of Marie Antoinette and her dwarf African court fool. I am not making this up. Sort of a National Inquirer flavor don’t you think?

The play was adequate, given the wild subject, but the staging and set designs were amazing. The director and set designer have really done something so special that I am sure their style of “period minimalist” will catch on. I coined that term just now. The black barren stage utilized a series of white light bars in the floor to suggest place, distance, and when lit fully the bars formed a cross. There were heavy Catholic overtones and religious messages that the author felt compelled to make sure we saw. The light bars formed a square at one point and the speakers released the gentle sounds of a slow moving stream. Once the actress stepped into the square and motioned as if she were washing, the audience saw and believed she was in a real brook. One actress and four bars of white light on the floor (plus the sounds) created all the environment necessary to carry the scene. Another “off the hook” piece of staging was the birth scene. Grips dressed as court attendees hoisted the Queen up into the air much like the kids who compete in the ESPN Cheerleading competitions. The stage lights dropped, a red light was shoved up under the Queen’s dress (remember she is still up in the air) and she began to wail. Goodness, the horror and brutality of this scene was exquisite. Again no high tech special effects, just our imagination and the right amount of stimuli.

After the show we walked to another restaurant for coffee and dessert. The first place we tried (E&O Trading Co.) didn’t want our business since we arrived 5 minutes after they stopped seating. I even mentioned that we only wanted coffee and dessert. “Well that’s different.” I was told, “Go ask the bartending if he’ll let you order.” No thanks, I’m not asking permission to spend money in your business. Instead we went back across town to Il Fornaio, we were happily greeted, seated and jokes with us until we left at midnight. We walked most downtown San Jose and in some respects it was really sad. The buildings and walkways are postcard perfect. The palm trees are lit with tiny white lights and we even a saw a couple stealing a kiss by a nearby fountain. How is this sad? Well there weren’t really any people there. It was as if the area was a modern ghost town. Then as we finally walked back (again across town) to the cars I again realized why I tend to favor San Francisco over San Jose. San Jose is much closer and it does offer many of the same type of attractions, stores and culture that San Fran does, with one big difference.

Next came the boy/men hooting and yelling at the girls every step of the way. In case their was any confusion as to their message the boy/men all grabbed their crotches and made other nice polite gestures to the “ladies”. I was touched to see today’s young men showing so much respect to the local girls. The boy/men wore what appeared to black leather jackets and fashionable shoes. Upon closer inspection the shoes were some Land’s End type knock offs and the “leather” was questionable, perhaps pleather better described it.

The sad part was not what you might think, I am not making fun or looking down instead think about this. The kids were all trying to appear as something they are not. It is part of this idea that we all must have that look to be cool. No one loves shopping and labels more than me but I think you should also be true to yourself. I like my Tommy and I have a few luxury items but I also understand me and I don’t try to force a look or label that is not me. In San Francisco the chic and the hippy live, love, and shop keeping their identity and rareness. An eclectic patchwork of people, styles and life. San Jose felt like it was trying to be something it was not, enough of this for now. Again I am not really a snob, just my observations.