SMC's Moon Over Buffalo Play
After a very intense month of rehearsal, ranging from four to six hours a day, the cast of Moon Over Buffalo took to the Theater Arts main stage at Santa Monica College on Thursday September 28, 2017, for their preview showing. It takes place in 1953 and is about the madcap comedy, Moon Over Buffalo. The play depicts a small-time theatre company affected by the new popular medium, television, and everything that could go wrong does go hilariously wrong.
With lines out the door to watch the performance, stage manager Carol Alexander says she was “very pleased with the outcome” and went on to say, “you never know what’s going to happen on the first night and the audience's reactions were absolutely wonderful and I think they really motivated the cast.”
“I’m just really pleased with where our SMC students are with this show” gushed Janie Jones, Director of Moon Over Buffalo and employee of SMC’s Theatre Arts Faculty for 38 years. Jones expresses in the Director's Notes section of the play's pamphlet how the election coverage for the past two years had driven her to the brink of tears. Jones continues to state that the power the media has over us all is frightening. People rely, not only on TV, but also on film for news, style, culture, and political thinking. Jones sums up the message behind the play by expressing how TV and film productions do not hold a candle to the study and analysis done by actors who recognize the universality and validity of great theatrical works with many levels of themes. Jones said, “Live theater is this jewel that is just so very very special.”
With a packed audience and positive remarks, SMC student Michael Rainey Jr., 19, majoring in Theater, said, “I liked the energy coming from the actors.”
Alicia Maldonado, 22, majoring in Theater Arts, said the play was “awesome” and that “it was one of the best shows she’s seen in awhile.” Maldonado also said she enjoyed the acting the most and how they knew what to do with the comedy piece.
Lead actor Anthony Tringali, who played George in Moon Over Buffalo encourages people to watch the play and said, “it’s very funny, and everybody in the cast is so good at what they do, everybody...it’s very funny, it's a great time, and they'll be incredibly entertained and they’ll probably want to come back.”
Moon Over Buffalo was performed at SMC’s main campus in the Theatre Arts Complex on September 29-30 and October 1, 2017. Performances will also be held on October 6-8, 2017. To purchase tickets visit www.smc.edu/theatre or call (310) 434-4319 for more information.