I love how all of the girls join Martha and Ilse toward the end, and I especially love when Ernst runs up the stairs and starts signing along with them. Originally the song was a duet between Ernst and Thea, but they changed it during the broadway changes I believe. I just really love how they added that little thing into the show to kind of pay homage to the first draft of the song.
I absolutely love that Ernst starts signing with the girls. If you notice, he doesn't sign with the boys at all. I didn't know that Ernst and Thea originally sang this. (Ironic, because they are my two favorite characters.)
I love love love the blocking in this! Like when the boys all walk around the bed, signing, I always hold my breathe, like it represents how girls come to fear any boy who looks at her wrong because he could abuse her. Or when the girls join, that also highlights it. I love it so much!
What I say could be blasphemous, but I think this version is so much better than the original version of this particular performance. It packs a bigger emotional punch for me.
Omg. 1:50 kills me. Treshelle's face. I don't think I've ever wanted to jump out and protect a character more. Especially since she almost jumps, as if even when Deaf, her mum's words go right through her.
Years from now, whoever leaked the Deaf West Bootleg will be responsible for a surge of new ASL interpreters who were inspired by the recording but did not have the means to go see the show in person. This is why Broadway Revivals need Proshots!
Watching this live literally made me shiver. I'd seen a bootleg of the original before this, but the second they brought the bed onstage, I had chills. You only see it for a second at the end in this video, but while all of the girls are gathering around the bed, The boys and the hearing adult man are in this amazing sequence. The boys are on the chairs, and then the adult man pushes past them, and then the boys take the chairs and create a new "barrier" that's closer to the girls, but the adult man keeps pushing past them. You see the final movement of it at 4:43. It's one of those things that just really resonates with you. It's amazing.
i've watched so many versions of this show, and i wasn't really sure how i felt about this revival until i saw the performance of the dark i know well. this song has always made me emotional but this version has made me cry my eyes out. it amazes me how much emotion goes into this song, and this entire play really.
If it's not Trishelle and Katherine it's not Martha and Ilsa . Oh my god they're so wonderful, that part cannot be played any other way by any other person
Yeah I think Kathryn Gallagher, who is the voice of Martha, is on the balcony at the top of the stage for this part? She's there most of the show, or loitering in the shadows. It's to show how Martha is disconnected from herself/ broken inside due to her abuse
+They tell of spring returning that's interesting do you know anything else about the placement of the actors and what they represent? I know they made the more knowledgeable characters hearing on purpose.
+harpdederp89 yeah ok, so Moritz's voice is kinda like the vision of who he wants to be - this wild rock star kid with the crazy hair and stuff, but he is not allowed to be like this because of society's stifling boundaries. However as the show goes on he does start to become a little more like his voice: for all of the first act his hair is gelled down, but by the time we reach his suicide monologue it's all sticking up everywhere in a similar way to his voice. This could also represent him becoming more dishevelled/falling apart. Wendla's voice is considered to be kinda like a guardian angel? Throughout the show she sort of confers with her voice, looking to it for encouragement or asking what to do. (for example before 'word of your body', Wendla's voice encourages her to go and talk to Melchior in a 'yeah, go and talk to this cute boy!' kind of way.) Ernst is often seen holding hands with his voice, which firstly shows how he's kind of 'at one' with himself. But also Ernst's voice is considered to be like his imaginary friend, a symbol of his innocence and youth. After the vineyard scene where Ernst and Hanschen kiss, Ernst hugs and kisses his voice goodbye, and leaves hand-in-hand with Hanschen, which supposedly represents him starting to grow up, mature, and think for himself. Those are kinda the main ones :) Also the fact that with pretty much every single interaction that goes on between an adult and child, one is hearing and the other is deaf, meaning there is always a communication barrier between the adults and children. (The main exception to this is the scene where Moritz tells his father he's failed, as both of them are deaf. For most of the scene the both of them are just signing with captions on the wall above them. It's a chilling silence, until Moritz's dad signs "what are we supposed to do now?", then screams "WHAT?!" out loud. Always gives me goosebumps)
+They tell of spring returning You can actually see Wendla's voice. It's the actress wearing the purple top. Ernst's voice is his innocence. During the vineyard scene you see that Hanschen is trying to take Ernst away from his voice by being very rude to his Voice. Ernst's voice is also kind of protective over Ernst. Moritz's voice tries to be cool and all, but Moritz is the only one who has control over his voice. He tells his voice when he needs it. Sometimes you can see his voice staring at him and when Moritz shakes his head, he won't follow. Because of that, his voice is never on stage with him when there is an adult nearby. Martha and her voice are separated, as said before, expect for two moments in the show. Then you know shit is going down. Wendla's voice is the guardian angel, but sometimes she also turns away from Wendla. She also keeps the story moving by handing Wendla objects like the stick she gets beaten with, Melchior's journal and Melchior's letter.
I feel so informed right now. I have a better understanding of the relationships between the characters and their voices. I almost started crying reading this.
