by Reilly Wilmit. @reilly.wilmit.
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - Reports of motion sickness and severe vertigo from actors and audience members alike at The Poughkeepsie Community Players’ production of The Music Man can mean only one thing: this mimed musical train ride is really bumpy…like…REALLY fucking bumpy.
“The goal of every theatrical project I craft is to take the audience on a journey. In this particular case, that journey happened to be through Illinois on a circa 1912 train with tracks in a state of extreme disrepair,” noted director Veronica Du Prix, with both hands on the wall trying to steady herself. “It isn’t my fault the audience isn’t ready for the kind of groundbreaking theatre that I do. If you want to be coddled, take the Metro North down to Manhattan and see a Broadway show. I hear that train ride is really smooth.”
We ran into Arthur Michaels, one of the actors in the production, furiously slathering his neck with Tiger Balm backstage.
“Ms. Du Prix is a real artist. She was in the non-union national tour of The Music Man back in 2002, so when she tells you that you have to commit, you commit, goddamnit," noted Michaels, hooked up to an IV drip of Dramamine. “The world is still bouncing to the jaunty beat of a golden age tune. That said, I kinda hope it stops soon. I’m going to be sick.”
Michaels wasn't the only cast member impacted by the really, really fucking bumpy train.
“My doctor says my body may never fully recover from this rehearsal process and weekend of performances,” said William Andrews, another member of the controversial production’s ensemble, before dry swallowing three loose ibuprofen from the brim of his costume’s boater hat. “But as Ms. Du Prix says, we moved the audience with our art…many of them to the point of motion sickness. That’s worth any amount of bodily harm or extreme psychological distress.”
At press time, it is unclear if this choice was meant to be a metaphor regarding the immersive nature of musical theatre, a scathing critique of the production from a thematic standpoint, or a literal cry for help.
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