Departments
Arts
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Week of 30 April 1999 |
Vol. II, No. 33 |
Arts
Their Dinner with Eduardo
By Judith Sandler
On a recent weekend, 16 SFA theatre arts division students went food shopping, prepared an elaborate series of dishes, and merrily consumed a traditional Italian meal. It was all in the name of research.
Their meal was much like the one that forms the centerpiece of Eduardo de Filippo's 1971 play Saturday, Sunday, Monday, which the theatre arts division will present May 5 through 9 at the Boston University Theatre. The work is about a particular Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in the lives of a boisterous, contentious, and loving Neapolitan family.
"Everything has changed since our offstage meal together," says Magdalena Stanescu (SFA'99), who plays the mother, Rosa. "It brought the whole cast together like a real family."
The play is about a complex family drama that unfolds during the preparation, eating, and aftermath of a meal. For four months, Peppino, the father, has been harboring a horrible fear that his wife has been cheating on him. Rosa feels that Peppino has never appreciated her.
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The real meal is better. Magdalena Stanescu (center) and her family get ready to dig into their prop pasta during a rehearsal of Saturday, Sunday, Monday. She is joined by family members (clockwise, from left) played by Suzy Ibrahim, Chris Drescher, Rich Barrientos, Brian Ditchfield, and Jenny Neale. Photo by Albert l'Étoile |
"They've been coping with each other and using the family to hide behind, rather than expressing their own feelings and wants and needs," explains assistant director Michael Kaye (SFA'99), who also plays family friend Luigi.
The adaptation from the Italian is by playwright Willis Hall and humorous novelist Keith Waterhouse. "The play is very funny," Kaye says. "And in many ways the humor protects the audience from the actual play, and at the right moment the author takes it away. We uncover at the end who these people really are."
Experiencing a meal such as the one they present onstage went a long way to helping the SFA students connect with their characters. Five of the six female students gathered one Saturday evening to shop for the Sunday meal. "Sunday is sacred to the Neapolitans," explains Stanescu. "It's the day families come together to eat ragú, the sauce that symbolizes love, comfort, and the beautiful things about the family."
Assembling at Stanescu's apartment after their shopping expedition, the five women prepared the ragú with great care, sautéing huge quantities of onions and garlic and adding wine, mushrooms, tomatoes, and puree. The meat was sliced, rolled, browned, immersed in the sauce, and cooked for hours. Playing music, dancing, and laughing as they cooked into the early morning hours, the women were joined by friends and most of the rest of the cast to take part in the festivities.
"On Sunday morning, we all met in the North End to get the authentic feel of an Italian neighborhood," says Roger Croucher, director of the theatre arts division, and with Associate Professor Caroline Eves, director of the play. "We attended mass at St. Stephen's Church, and some of us stopped at Caffe Vittoria afterwards. Finally, as in the play, we all met at Magdalena's apartment for the festive Neapolitan Sunday dinner."
"Without having to follow the script, we discovered who these people are outside of the three-day period the play covers," says Heidi Pulkkinen (SFA'99), who plays Giulianella, the youngest of the family. "Since our meal together, our rehearsals have become much richer and deeper; we've found an emotional and physical truth."
"The play is famous for the cooking and serving of the meal onstage in front of the audience," says Croucher. "Though they don't partake of the food, this play is also a feast for the audience. It's a celebration of life itself. This meal isn't mere cooking, it's a symbol of unity, tradition, culture, and familial love."
The Theatre Arts Division presents Eduardo de Filippo's Saturday, Sunday, Monday, directed by Roger Croucher and Caroline Eves, May 5 through 8 at 8 p.m. and May 9 at 2 p.m., at the Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Admission is $8; $5 for seniors, alumni, and special groups; and free for the BU community. For tickets and further information, call the box office at 266-0800.
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Luoyong Wang (SFA'89), star of the hit Broadway musical Miss Saigon, talks with theatre division students and faculty at the School for the Arts on April 26. Wang, who has played the leading role of the engineer for more than 1,700 performances, shared secrets for surviving eight grueling performances a week and offered suggestions for getting ahead in the competitive world of the theater. Photo by Albert l'Étoile |
