College Theatre Presents “Arabian Nights”

College Theater has a penchant for stories within stories.

 Last semester, they performed Noises Off, which exposed the farces behind the stage. But whereas Noises Off used the frame of story for comedic effect, The Arabian Nights focuses more on character development.  

Set mainly in modern Iraq, an elderly local recounts a tale to an American soldier.  She tells the story of a young woman in historic Baghdad, who uses her story-telling skills to delay her inevitable execution by an aggressive king.  As she delays the sentence, the king’s patience and virtue grows.

The number of frames increases with every tale, and actors appear in multiple stories.  Keeping the audience clued in is no easy task.  It requires the vision and oversight of someone able to comprehend all levels of the play.  

Fortunately, director Mary Jo Lodge is such a person.  

The thoughtfulness is in the details, which allows each story to flow into the next.  Extraneous actions are non-existent, keeping the play at a brisk yet easy-to-follow place.  

Even the lighting and blocking complements each story.  The set is impressive, and it permits for a variety of colors and character locations, making each story feel unique.

Of course, the glitz and glamour of the set is meaningless if the actors do not rise to the occasion.  Given the show’s complexity, the cast’s overall performance is very good.  Actors always seem aware of the world they inhabit and their roles within it, be they storytellers, story-listeners, or story-actors.  

Often times, two characters speak simultaneously as the story- within-a-story is told.  Concurrent dialogue is never easy, but their tones of voice match quite well.  

As for individual performances, it is the typical College Theater mixed bag.  Actors in more prevalent roles are effectual, while less prevalent roles leave something to be desired.

Sound mixing, however, was a problem Wednesday night.  None of the actors had microphones, although they projected quite well.  Even when music was playing, the actors were heard.  

That changed whenever the actors started to sing.  This rarely happened, but when it did, the music overpowered the singer. 

 The most glaring sound editing incident occurred at the end of the play.  Multiple actors on stage spoke, but one had a microphone.  Through all the onstage confusion, we were supposed to hear one voice above the rest.  I didn’t.

This problem is minor and will likely be fixed for coming shows.  

The Arabian Nights will put on two more shows, one tonight and another Saturday, starting at 8 p.m. I highly recommend attending.  

The balance of stories is both thoughtful and amusing.  There is even a subtle message at the end regarding modern global politics. It is brief yet effectual, just like the rest of the play.