DreamCast: After The Fair

After the Fair, set in late 1890s England, is the story of the tangled web that is woven when Edith, a bored married woman, begins to write love letters on behalf of her maid, Anna, to a young man with whom Anna has had a brief romance. The letters, Edith insists, are her words, but Anna's feelings. One of the interesting questions this musical raises is whether feelings can be separated from words. Can you feel something if you can't express it? Anna, charming as she is, is uneducated and limited in her ability to convey her feelings. Her brief (and physical) encounter with Charles is very different from the deeper, cerebral relationship Edith develops with him via letters. Which is more real? Which would he choose, if he had to? 

After The Fair: TalkinBroadway

Why I Love This Tiny Musical

• It reaffirms the power of letter-writing. At the end of the day, there really is nothing better than receiving a great, well-written letter. And if it's a love letter, all the better.
• With the love letters holding so much power over the plotline, there is a substantial amount of pressure for these love-letters to be exceptional. The beautiful text fulfills the expectations, but the fact that these love letters are placed to music of equal quality makes this the most authentically romantic musical I have ever encountered.
• In an opposing (but equally appreciated thought), this musical also brings to light the dangers that come with writing something meaningful rather than speaking it. It's ironic that this is such a solidly-set period piece because this message is so applicable to the contemporary, text-friendly audience.
• I love theatre being structured in a quadrangle [4-character] structure. This structure is becoming more common in plays, but I would love to see it applied to the musical theatre scene as well.

The Players

Bonnie Wright as Anna
I'm not a Harry Potter fan, so her face seemed familiar
but it was hard to pinpoint from where.
I like that vibe for Anna.
She has a manner & face that is
vaguely familiar & vaguely worldly, while still seeming
earnest, endearing, entrancing, & adorable.

James Franco as Charles Bradford
He immediately comes across as charming but with some depth.
If he could channel that sense of intensity with
a lazy rich-boy tone,
he would be a perfect casting as the
charismatic but ultimately disappointing beau.

Edward Herrmann as Arthur Harnham
Arthur's role is that of the unwaveringly strong, eternally oblivious,
but ultimately loving male provider.
He operates from the mentality that care-taking equals love,
but a love that is not always sufficient
to the complicated females in his life.
The distant, white-collar husband/father is a role that can easily fall flat,
but on he played & conquered a similar role on Gilmore Girls.

Sela Ward as Edith Harnham

I initially thought of her because of her physical resemblance to Michele Pawk.

And being a regular on CSI means that she knows how to play a thinker,

and Edith is nothing if not a

plotter, planner, & executor.