Wednesday, February 20, 2008

UGA's World Priemere of (the English language version of) The Misadventures of Uncle McBuck by Augosto Boal.

This brilliant political satire by Augusto Boal uses a myriad of interesting techniques to poke fun at "democracy by capitalism," in the funniest way possible. Before the play started I didn't know anything about it except that it was a political satire with lots of superheros and other copyrighted characters whose names and costumes had been changed, and that it was going to be very, very funny. Funny is an understatement. This play also deals with some very dark themes. Political unrest and misinformation from the government were a major topic.
The play was filled with pop culture references. The whole play was narrated by a Mr. Rodger- esque character (Bradly Golub). From there it incorporated everything from a scene that included "Friends" -like characters who sit in coffee shop and talk about political revolution (to laugh track) to a musical interlude that consisted of the Thriller dance, to a parody of the Robin (Sparrow) and Batman (Catman) are gay theory.
This play also explored issues of racial stereotypes and the exploitation of workers in foreign countries. A wonderful scene involved Uncle McBuck (played by a very capable Shana Youngblood), searching for stereotypical natives to exploit, er employ as workers.
Of course one of the most important questions to ask when watching theater such as this is - is the audience (and the actors) going to be inspired or merely entertained by this play? I'd like to believe that the audience will be inspired, and this is largely in part to the excellence of the cast crew and director of this show.
So, do Catman and Sparrow find true love? Do the revolutionaries win or does Uncle McBuck conquer this poor third world country? Are 2-d props really as much fun as 3-d props? For the answers to these questions and more, you are just going to have to watch the play.
Uncle McBuck opens Thursday, February 21st and runs through Sunday March 2nd. For more details call the box office at (706) 542-2838 or online at www.drama.uga.edu.