by Lola Furbee
North Central College Theatre Department opened up their 2024-2025 season with the play Orlando. Staged in the theater at Meiley-Swallow Hall and directed by Jeremy Ohringer, this play was adapted by Sarah Ruhl and based on the novel by Virginia Woolf. The story follows the gusty nobleman, Orlando, and his adventures as he struggles to find his place in the world. Juggling his role as a poet and a lover of many, the audience watches as Orlando goes across a journey of time and gender.
Orlando consisted of its actors playing multiple roles, which really went to highlight the casts’ specific talents. Marina Jòkanović (Chorus #1/Orlando), Riley Knoop (Chorus #2/Sasha), Lucas Fawer (Chorus #3/The Queen), Josette Falzone (Chorus #4/Archduchess/Archduke), Aidan McGuire (Chorus #5/Marmaduke/Favilla), Rowan Brando (Chorus #6/Euphrosene/AYLI Orlando/Old Woman), and Meaghan Burton (Chorus #7/Rosaline/Old Man/Chlorinda) all worked together on stage in a way that made clear the close connection they had with each other. They were careful not to step on the others’ toes–in both a literal and figurative sense–while they worked through the different transitions between scenes and characters. Audiences could even get a sense of the casts’ relationship before the show started, as they all meandered on stage about fifteen minutes before the show began and could be witnessed warming up and getting ready. Generally, there were many great moments between the actors that occurred in Orlando, though there are three technical factors that deserved to be highlighted for their role in predominating this show too.
The various movement sequences that occurred throughout the play were wonderful touches that greatly added to the effect of the show. Movement Coach Mitzi Smith’s work is prevalent throughout Orlando, especially whenever the actors were converging into a new era. However, the movement of the show prevailed the most during the beginning. The house lights went down, and the actors were thrown into what felt like a photo shoot montage. The music and lights changed every few seconds and the actors made quick switches in between to create different poses. The rapid maneuvering, which only went on for about a minute or so, looked incredibly complex and felt like a lengthy moment, and it accomplished its assumed goal of grabbing the audiences’ attention right at the start of the show.
Often going hand-in-hand with movement, the lighting design of Orlando was also a major contributor to the awe-inspiring moments this play had to offer. Lighting designer Brian Redfern and Assistant Lighting Designer Momoka Hirano did a great job of capturing the essence of the play. A lot of the tonal shifts that happened throughout the show were made clear through the lighting design. An exceptional lighting moment that occurred multiple times throughout Orlando was when all the lights would dim, except for a couple of spotlights which were faced on a set of disco balls that were placed on stage. It created a breathtaking effect in the theater, almost as if the stars in the sky had landed on the campus of North Central College. Not to fall into a cliche, but in those select moments, the stage looked like starlight defined.
The final touch to Orlando that really elevated everything to the next level were all the incredible costumes that the actors wore throughout the play. Under the costume design of Delena Bradley and the assistant costume design of Marc Loftus, these garments were nothing to take lightly. Even the simple, timely undergarments the actors wore when acting as a Chorus member were beautifully crafted and captured the spirit of the characters they were later seen as. The dress worn by Fawer as The Queen was by far the most extravagant piece in the show, while the final costume worn by Jòkanović as Orlando was a gorgeous piece weaved from beautiful colors. It should also be noted that these actors all went through multiple costume changes throughout the play, some of them occurring within seconds offstage. It’s a testament to the costume designers and the actors that they were able to pull them off in such a seamless way.
At the heart of it, Orlando is a play about the many surrealist aspects of gender and the role it has played in human beings’ lives over time. As audiences watched Orlando grapple to understand his relationship to the constructs of gender, they also got to see the freeness that comes with having those dialogues out in the open. The play was humorous and diverting, while also tackling some of the inner depths of the human connection. This dramatic rendition of such a classic piece is sure to stay with audiences throughout time.
