I remember attending the movie Charly as a kid. When I’ve heard the basic plot line of Flowers for Algernon, I thought it was very similar to what I remembered of the movie. Indeed, I found, the movie was based on the same story.
I was pleased to see the Rochester Civic Theatre production of the story. Denise’s set design was interesting, covered everywhere by the lines and angles of a maze. In shades of grey, it made the colors of the costumes stand out.
The set of mazes is rather busy as a backdrop for photos. That’s something our brains handle better in person than in the 2D photographic images. Staying tight and using depth-of-field helps.
We can also use angles to our advantage and allow the lines of the set form leading lines for a composition.
Lynne played a role, too, by using her sewing talents to create Algernon, the lab mouse named in the title. The little guy looked pretty realistic on stage and respectable even in the photos.
The story of Charlie, being thrust from his happy, but intelligence-challenged life into that of a genius whose intelligence left his emotional and social side far behind, is a thought-provoking one. To me, it parallels the state of humankind in this great scientific and technical age, where we have learned so much yet cannot let go of war and greed.
Our human brains are truly incredible, allowing us to produce great art – visual, musical, performance – and understand much of the universe around us. Yet, we still maintain our animal past. Perhaps the former will win over the latter. We can hope.
Meanwhile, we think and study and consider our being. An evening attending a play written many years ago but still containing very current themes, is a pretty good way to help us along our journey.
