BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) is a satirical domestic tragicomedy with a classical twist set in a seemingly idyllic New Jersey suburb in 1960. North Orange, NJ seems untouched by the civic upheaval roiling in America but progress is coming. The Greek heroines, Clytemnestra and Medea, have been recast as pill-popping housewives, and Antigone is the lovelorn, teenage girl next door. Their blissful lives, full of afternoon tea parties, shiny electronic appliances, and JELL-O!, are upended when Cassandra, a “colored” girl new to town and cursed with the gift of prophecy, arrives with a mind to free them from their dark destinies.
__________________________
CAST:
Clementine – Ann Noble
Maddy – Jackie Misaye Lee
Antonia – Becky Gordon
Cassandra – Jasmine StClair
Apollo/Dr. Smith – Andrew Carter
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Written by Jami Brandli
Directed by Darin Anthony
Produced by Cece Tio
Set Designer – Amanda Knehans
Lighting Designer – Ebony Madry
Sound Designer – Gabrieal Griego
Costume Designer – Allison Dillard
Props Designer – Jacqueline Hartenfels
Assistant Director – Chuma Gault
Stage Manager – Amanda Garcia
Assistant Stage Managers – Courtney Rhodes, Kirsten Turkle
Casting Director – Raul Staggs
Publicist – Demand PR
Key Art Design – Unsupervised Kids
Having loved Jami Brandli's Through The Eye Of A Needle so much that I went back for a second holiday-season visit, I found BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) more than a bit of a letdown. At the very least it scores points for ambition, and for those who can tell Clytemnestra from Cleopatra or Medea from Madea, it just might just do the trick.
.....the play's satiric targets are familiar ones, and the comic riffs surrounding them aren't particularly fresh. The most novel aspect of the piece is the effort to line the characters up with famous literary figures, but even here the parallels drawn by the playwright are rough and random.
Funny and powerful in equal measure, “Bliss (or Emily Post Is Dead!)” is a terrific spirit-rouser at a time when women everywhere are calling out bad behavior and demanding equality — and, this week, boosting their numbers in the halls of government. Moving Arts energetically brings Jami Brandli's script to life in a presentation at Atwater Village Theatre.
Having loved Jami Brandli's Through The Eye Of A Needle so much that I went back for a second holiday-season visit, I found BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) more than a bit of a letdown. At the very least it scores points for ambition, and for those who can tell Clytemnestra from Cleopatra or Medea from Madea, it just might just do the trick.
.....the play's satiric targets are familiar ones, and the comic riffs surrounding them aren't particularly fresh. The most novel aspect of the piece is the effort to line the characters up with famous literary figures, but even here the parallels drawn by the playwright are rough and random.
Funny and powerful in equal measure, “Bliss (or Emily Post Is Dead!)” is a terrific spirit-rouser at a time when women everywhere are calling out bad behavior and demanding equality — and, this week, boosting their numbers in the halls of government. Moving Arts energetically brings Jami Brandli's script to life in a presentation at Atwater Village Theatre.
