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Good review of a Play

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 155: A Good Review of a Play.

You’re listening to English as a Second Language Podcast episode 155. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

On today’s podcast, we’re going to hear about two people going to a play at the theater. Let’s go!

[start of a dialog]

I invited Bruce to a play at the Mark Taper Forum and we got there a little early. We handed our tickets to the woman at the door and found our seats.

Megan: I’m glad we got here early to find our seats. I know that this is a sold out performance.

Bruce: The cast is supposed to be really good. I read a rave review of the play in the paper last week. The review said that the leads are perfectly cast and the directing is inspired. Federica saw it a couple of weeks ago and she said that the staging and the costumes were really something to see.

Megan: I’m really glad. The last time I came to a play at this theater, it was a bomb. The two lead actors weren’t up to their parts and the whole production was amateur. It closed early after only two weeks.

Bruce: That won’t happen with this play. Hey, they’re dimming the lights. The curtain should be going up any minute

[end of dialog]

In this podcast, we go to or attend a play at a theater. The story begins with Megan saying that she invited Bruce to a play at the Mark Taper Forum. The Mark Taper Forum is a theater here in Los Angeles. She says that they got there a little early. They arrived there a little early. “We handed our tickets to the woman at the door,” the story says, “and found our seats.” “To hand (hand) something” is to give something to someone by putting it in their hand-form your hand to their hand. You can hand a book. You can hand a piece of paper._ You can hand any item that’s small enough to hold. They then found their seats - looked for and found their seats - where they were sitting.

Megan said that she was glad they had arrived early. She knew that this was a “sold out performance.” When we say it’s a “sold out” (sold out) - two words - We mean there are no more tickets left. Some people may also say, “It’s a sellout” (sellout) - that’s the same as “It has been sold out.” “It is sold out.” It’s a sold out “performance.” And that word “performance” (performance) is used for a play or any sort of - usually a live entertainment show. It could be a dance. It could be opera. It could be singing and so forth. In this case, it’s a “theater play.” Well, Bruce says that the “cast” of the play is supposed to be really good. The “cast” (cast) are the people who are in the play. The actors and actresses are the cast, and that includes everyone who’s on the stage in the play. The “stage,” of course, (stage) is where the play is performed - where the actors are in the theater. A theater has a stage and then it has seats. Sometimes it has a “balcony” (balcony) - that’s like a second level higher up, where people can sit.

Well, Bruce says that he read a “rave review of the play in the paper last week. A “review” (review) is when someone in the newspaper or on television, gives their opinion of the play. The people who write reviews are usually called “critics” (critics). A “critic” is someone who writes a review of a play or a movie and so forth.

Well, this was a “rave review” that Bruce read. A “rave (rave) review” means it was a great review, that the reviewer or the critic was “raving” about the play. “To rave” means to praise, to say very good things about a play, to be very excited, enthusiastic. There’s also a noun “rave,” which is very different in a way. A “rave” - as a noun - is a dance - usually a dance that is in some location where you don’t normally have dances - in the desert, for example. And it’s an all night party where people dance throughout the evening. I have never been to a rave before. I guess I’m too old. They became very popular in the 1990’s in the United States. People had rave parties. But I was not part of that, I’m afraid. The “rave review” was in the “paper.” And when we say it was “in the paper,” we mean it was in the newspaper. People will often refer to a newspaper as simply, “the paper.” “Did you read the paper this morning?” - they mean did you read the newspaper - probably your local newspaper.

Well, the review in the paper said that the “leads” were perfectly cast. The “leads” (leads) are the lead or most important actors and actresses. Usually, there’s one or two, maybe three, lead actors. These are the ones that you see the most -are most important for the story. We will sometimes just call them the “leads.” It’s the same as the “lead actors.” The actors were “perfectly cast.” Well, we heard that _ “cast” (cast) - as a noun - means people who are in the theater play. But it can also be used as a verb “to cast.” And “to cast” means that we find people for the play to be in the cast. So, we might, for example, see that the director is “casting the play - that means he’s looking for people to be in the play. Usually, they do this by holding auditions. An “audition” (audition) is when you go to the director and you usually have to act for a few minutes in front of them. And they can see whether you are good for their play. You also can cast a movie or a television show. And here in Los Angeles, there are lots and lots of people who go to what are called “casting calls.” And a “casting call” (call) is when they say, “Well, if you want to be in this play, come to this theater on Monday morning at 8 o’clock,” and then you go and you go to an audition.

Well, getting back to our story. “The leads were perfectly cast in this play,” according to Bruce, meaning that the director found the right people for those particular parts. And a “part” (part) in a play, is the same thing as a “role” (role). A “part” or a “role” is the person - the character in the story. For example, in the play “Hamlet” by Shakespeare, one of the roles is “Hamlet,” another one of the roles is Hamlet’s uncle “Polonius” and so forth. So, the different parts, or different roles are the different characters in the story. Bruce also says that the directing is “inspired.” The directing is what the director does and the “director of a play, is the person who tells the actors what to do. He or she is the boss of the play - the person who is responsible for putting the play on. “To put on a play” means to perform a play. Well, he’s responsible for making sure all the actors do what they’re supposed to do. And when you say that the directing is “inspired” - you mean that it was very good, that he had original new ideas.

Bruce also says that his friend, Federica, thought that the “staging and the costumes” were something to see. The “staging” (staging) is the way that the stage looks. Remember the stage is where the actors are. And the “staging,” in part, is what you see up on the stage. And usually, there’ll be “props” (props). “Props” are anything that the actors and actresses use in the play. The “costumes” (costumes) are, of course, the clothes that the actors wear. Bruce says that his friend told him, “The staging and costumes were really something to see.” When you say, “Well, that’s something to see,” we mean it’s really good. It’s something that you will want to see. You could say that about a play. You could also say that about a movie or even a sports game - “Boy, the Los Angeles Lakers are something to see,” meaning they’re a good basketball team and you’ll enjoy them.

Megan says that she’s very glad that the play is going to be good because the last time she came to a play at the theater, it was a “bomb” (bomb). That word “bomb” has many different meanings. As an adjective, in this sentence, it was a _

“bomb” - with the indefinite article “a” or “a” - a “bomb” - that means it was terrible. It was not very good. It was an awful, horrible, play. There’s another way of using bomb as an adjective, when we say something is “the bomb”- the bomb - “the bomb” - “the” - we mean it was great. So, it can be very confusing. The expression “the bomb” is very slang. It’s very popular among younger people. So, you won’t see that in the newspaper. When you use a “bomb,” you know that it was bad, but if someone says it’s “the bomb,” or “da bomb”- sometimes we pronounce “the” - some people pronounce “the” informally as if it were “da.” So, instead of “the bomb,” they say, “da bomb.” But that’s very informal - very slang use of that word. A “bomb” as a noun, of course, is something that explodes - something that you will see in a war, for example, when they drop bombs from the planes. But here as an adjective, it means it was a bad play. We often use that adjective about plays. Not so much about other things. We don’t say, “The book was a bomb.” It’s possible but that would not be very common. We would use this for a play, in particular.

Well, Megan says that the two lead actors weren’t up to their parts. “To be up to their parts and remember the part is the character that they are playing in the play. “To be up to something” means that you are able to do it. You have the ability - the capacity - the capability to do something. You can use that for lots of different situations. If you say, for example, “My friend John isn’t up to swimming three miles today” - means he’s not ready, he’s not able to do that, he’s not prepared to do that. Well, in this case, the lead actors were not up to their parts - were not good enough for their roles and “The whole production,” Megan said, “was amateur.” The “production” (production) - the “production” is the actual performance of the play. It’s what you go see - everything combined - the music, the acting, the staging, the costumes - all of that is the production. To say something was “amateur” (amateur) means that it wasn’t very good. It wasn’t the opposite of amateur which is “professional.” A “professional” is normally someone who gets paid to do something. An “amateur” is someone who does not get paid. So, for example, in the United States, if you play college basketball - if you play basketball for your university, you are an “amateur.” You are not paid. But if you go and play for a professional team then you become a “professional” and you are paid. We also use these two words, “professional” and “amateur,’ to describe how good something is done. If someone says, “That website is really amateur” they mean it’s not very good. It was done by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.

Megan says that this play that she saw - that was terrible - “closed early” after only two weeks. When we say a play “closes,” we mean that’s the end of the performances at that theater. The opposite would be to open.” So, “When is the play going to open?” “When is the play going to close?” If a play is really bad, it _ may close early. The theater may decide not to keep performing that play. Bruce says that this play is not going to end early. It’s not going to close early, I should say.

He says, “Hey! They’re dimming the lights. The curtain should be going up any minute.” “To dim” (dim) means to lower the light. So, if someone says we’re going to dim the lights, they mean the lights are going to go from being very bright to less bright - usually, they turn the lights of completely. But they do it slowly and that’s called “dimming.” So, they dim the lights. The curtain will now go up. The “curtain” (curtain) is what is out the front of the stage that hides everything behind it. And then they open the curtain or the curtain goes up - if it’s an older theater - and the play then can begin. Bruce says that “The curtain should be going up any minute.” When someone says, “Any minute” they mean at any time, very soon - could be five seconds, could be 25 seconds but very, very soon. Someone, for example, may say, “I will be there any minute” - means “I’m driving there, and I will arrive very, very soon.”

Now let’s listen to the dialogue at a native rate of speech.

(start of a dialog]

I invited Bruce to a play at the Mark Taper Forum and we got there a little early. We handed our tickets to the woman at the door and found our seats.

Megan: I’m glad we got here early to find our seats. I know that this is a sold out performance.

Bruce: The cast is supposed to be really good. I read a rave review of the play in the paper last week. The review said that the leads were perfectly cast and the directing is inspired. Federica saw it a couple of weeks ago and she said that the staging and the costumes were really something to see.

Megan: I’m really glad. The last time I came to a play at this theater, it was a bomb. The two lead actors weren’t up to their parts and the whole production was amateur. It closed early after only two weeks.

Bruce: That won’t happen with this play. Hey, they’re dimming the lights. The curtain should be going up any minute

(end of dialog]

The script for today’s podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Tse. Remember to visit our website for the script of the dialog and for more information about this podcast. Our website is www.esipod.com.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. We’ll see you next time on ESL Podcast

English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2006.