The Firestorm By Meridith Friedman Essay

‘Firestorm’ set off from a politician’s revealed college secret. ‘The Firestorm’ is a play written by Meridith Friedman. The play was directed by Drew Martin. It was presented by the Stage Left Theatre, at the Theatre Wit. The theatre was a flexible or a black box theatre and the seating configuration was ‘alley’ (audience was seated on two sides of the stage). The play was pretty interesting because it reveals the truths behind the possible and instantaneous flexibility in a politician’s attitude and character. Moreover, it was compelling to see how a political issue can go deep into a man’s personal life and destroy his life; in this case, Patrick’s marriage. Patrick and Gaby are a happily married interracial couple. Patrick is a liberal candidate for governorship, while his wife Gaby is a corporate attorney. Patrick’s campaign for the elections is going on when a secret from his college fraternity is revealed. Patrick, paired with another girl Mich, spray painted on a black boy’s dorm door, “go home nigger”. Gaby, on hearing about it doesn’t react immediately. She, later confronts Patrick with tears of rage and confusion. It can be seen throughout the
Maya Michele Fein was the lighting designer for the production. There was a constant repetitive pattern in the production. The characters, while standing in a central spotlight, would change their clothes for next scene. This supports the basic ideology that people believe in while electing politicians; that the personality of a political figure should be fundamentally the same as he portrays himself on media. The central spotlight also suggests that the basic identity of who a politician is, has been counted as the artificial appearance which people demand of the him. In the final scene, Patrick stood in a dark room with a spot light covering him. It was an indication that everything around him was gloomy and