Joanne Lu Green Group Agnes Play Review The bittersweet play, Agnes tells a tale of immigrants seeking happiness

in America. This group of immigrants come to discover that they are all unhappy with their lives through their encounters with one another. Agnes (Joy Jones) is plagued by cancer and eventually commits suicide. Similarly, Happy (Jason Glass) wants to build a better life in America but eventually resorts to stealing money from the bedridden Ella (Annie Houston). All of these characters are plagued by the past and struggle to find a new identity in America. Throughout Agnes, the theme of the difficulty of trying to forget the past is portrayed again and again throughout the lives of not only the immigrant characters but through Ella as well. Ella may not be an immigrant who is trying to forge a new life in America but she is desperately trying to force herself to believe that her son will recognize her existence. However, she cannot embrace her current situation which leads to a meaningless obsession in the phone which is the only access to communication with her son. Annie Houston does an outstanding job in creating the character of Ella. She incorporates everyday objects such as the phone into her actions which in turn puts great weight on things which the audience might glance over. Furthermore, she fantastically expresses Ellas psychological situation which is created by her obsession with the past. She uses that to characterize how Ella dramatically speaks and acts. Furthermore, Joy Jones use of the fourth wall was flawless. Not only in the end scene but in all of her solo appearances, Jones eyes were fixated on a segment of the back wall which gave more depth to her dialogue. Jon Jon Johnsons lively violin background was noteworthy and specifically timed. His melodies were often solo which added to the simplicity of the play. The creativity was especially excellent as Johnson incorporated the sound of the bird in the window into his violin. This in turn impacted the difficulty of escaping the past for Ella because the bird represented a form of

Agnes after her death. Furthermore, there was just the right amount of music played at the right times. Different dramatic effects called for varying amounts of sound. Sometimes, there was total silence as to emphasize the importance of the scene. This certain aspect of Agnes was astounding. The set was simple and uncluttered. Using only the necessities, moving objects on and off stage was unnecessary. Similarly, the costumes were not gaudy or showy but showed what would really be worn. The set and costume design are laudable because they do not attract too much attention and, they do not turn the main idea of the play into a different direction. Furthermore, the light design was down to earth. Instead of using the regular color of lights for the metro, the light reflected the true colors of illumination at a traditional subway station. The staging and directing was clean and precise. Not one character was in confusion as to where he/she had to go and the play was even made so that Ella could always stay in the same area without having to go off stage. The actions of the characters greatly influenced the over arching theme. In one scene, the difficulty of forgetting the past is emphasized when Agnes kisses the phone that she uses to communicate to with her son who is left behind in her original country. This shows that she longs to be able to live a similar life in America. Finally, the movement/choreography was praiseworthy. The specific and dramatic movement of the hands signified the emotions of the character as well as how the way they walked gave character. Even the lack of movement from Ella characterized her as weak and non independent. All in all, the play Agnes was satisfactory as well as creative. However, the heavy and melancholic mood made the majority of the play seem extremely dark and gloomy. It portrayed a life only a partial amount of immigrants experience. Despite this aspect, the play was excellently performed and expertly put together.