This review is so old that I think I saw a cobweb.
The CreComms were tasked with reviewing "The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz," a romp through the unsexy sexy lives of Mennonite farmers.
The play, created by past CreComm CreWriting instructor Armin Wiebe, follows the drama of Obrum Kehler and his wife, Susch, as they bring a broken piano and the broken Beethoven Blatz into their home.
Things start getting a bit tricky, however, when Obrum leaves Susch and Blatz alone while he goes off to work. And Teen, Susch's best girl friend, makes things even trickier.
The play's low German inflected dialogue was engaging, funny and difficult. Blatz was irritatingly dreamy - quite the opposite of the down-to-business Teen.
Wiebe says that he had originally wrote the play to take place in periods of darkness, hence why Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" featured prominently throughout. The entire play, due to production decisions, was featured in the light. Makes good sense, but the audience is in for an eyeful.
Wiebe also noted that Beethoven originally wrote the sonata after overhearing a blind girl playing one of his pieces. When he went to see her, moonlight poured onto the piano as she played. The sonata writing, and Beethoven himself, are mirrored throughout the play through Blatz's manic episodes, composed sonata (written for Sonja, his true love, which is transferred onto Susch) and through the actual Moonlight Sonata, which plays throughout.
The play was successful and humorous, making biblical references, Mennonite cultural references (Brummtopp, anyone?) and musical references throughout. The only thing that bothered me was the ending, which I felt was cheery and ambiguous given the situation these characters find themselves in.
3.5 out of 5.
For more information on Armin Wiebe and his work, visit www.arminwiebe.com.
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