The House Play Analysis
1. Discuss the genre, plot, and theme of this play.
The theme is both racism and political correctness. The plot focuses on racism, but the 2009 couple of Lindsey and Steve expose the “liberated” views of the modern age. Racism is still creating tension in the house as it did in the 1950’s. The satire of the play has key moments of comedy, very needed due to the tension created by the suicide of Kenneth, and the changing neighborhood in both decades. The den of the house is the room that gives stage to the 50 years of life, conflict, and change at the same address. The white couple of Russ and Bev of the 1950’s are leaving because the impact of their son’s death upstairs in the house is something that they apparently cannot recover from. The house is sold to the first black family in the neighborhood. Fifty years later, the black neighborhood is in decline, and the young white couple want to tear down the house to build a bigger home on the site. The house has so much history; but in Act II, Lindsey and Steve just really want …show more content…
The furniture in Act I made the house look like your typical, middle class home; or what most white middle class homes probably looked like in the 1950’s. The intermission helped age the house, before the actors took the stage in Act II. Intermission was not a bare stage. Stage hands were movers that cleared the home out, knocked a number off the front door, and acted like a light switch no longer worked. There was no more decorative shelf above the fireplace. The buyers, sellers, and real estate agents were either sitting in lawn chairs, crates, or standing in Act II. The warmth of the old house was gone. The lighting changes were minimal, but had a strong impact. Kenneth’s footlocker, buried by Russ in Act I, and the only appearance by Kenneth onstage; reading his goodbye letter were spotlighted on a dark stage. It was depressing and
The theme is both racism and political correctness. The plot focuses on racism, but the 2009 couple of Lindsey and Steve expose the “liberated” views of the modern age. Racism is still creating tension in the house as it did in the 1950’s. The satire of the play has key moments of comedy, very needed due to the tension created by the suicide of Kenneth, and the changing neighborhood in both decades. The den of the house is the room that gives stage to the 50 years of life, conflict, and change at the same address. The white couple of Russ and Bev of the 1950’s are leaving because the impact of their son’s death upstairs in the house is something that they apparently cannot recover from. The house is sold to the first black family in the neighborhood. Fifty years later, the black neighborhood is in decline, and the young white couple want to tear down the house to build a bigger home on the site. The house has so much history; but in Act II, Lindsey and Steve just really want …show more content…
The furniture in Act I made the house look like your typical, middle class home; or what most white middle class homes probably looked like in the 1950’s. The intermission helped age the house, before the actors took the stage in Act II. Intermission was not a bare stage. Stage hands were movers that cleared the home out, knocked a number off the front door, and acted like a light switch no longer worked. There was no more decorative shelf above the fireplace. The buyers, sellers, and real estate agents were either sitting in lawn chairs, crates, or standing in Act II. The warmth of the old house was gone. The lighting changes were minimal, but had a strong impact. Kenneth’s footlocker, buried by Russ in Act I, and the only appearance by Kenneth onstage; reading his goodbye letter were spotlighted on a dark stage. It was depressing and