What I liked
As a musician, I felt completely immersed in the unfolding of this story. The dynamics of soft to loud, the various textures of sound from dissonant harmonies to the tangible crunch of gravel; it’s a visceral paradox of tension and release in it’s entirety. The physicality of performance displayed in 1972 is etched in the mind when recalling the experience of it.
It was obvious that each character was carefully crafted and every actor chosen with precision. for me, Jenny Griffin embodied an unexpected paradox in her role, leaving us to wonder if she was more like the moments of her giant shadow than just the girl in the passenger seat of her own life. Brian Ramian was the perfect pick for this story; the totally familiar guy, the could’ve been your own brother type of guy, which is maybe why we don’t really know where to land when we ask if he’s getting away with something here. Amy Newman and Erin Lee Smith quickly became some of my favorite parts of 1972. They work undeniably well together; remind me of the Siamese Cats in Lady & The Tramp giving an unforgettable duo performance that make us feel like we’re in on the entire thing with them the whole time. And John Wuchte? He’s just doing things that others aren’t. He’s carved out a place for 1972 and I anticipate we will get to see his work take up every bit of air in a place 100 times this big, I’m just happy I got to see it here and now while we can.
What I didn't like
Gonna need more seats
My overall impression
John Wuchte seemed to have intentionally taken us literally, off the beaten path with 1972. I had no idea what to expect when I was invited to experience what I expected to be a play that followed the rules of what a play would look like. He and his cast captured every member of the audience that night; he used up every bit of air in the room to pull every one of us in, leaving us with no sense of time or any other possible reality other than the story in front if us. Truely and absolutely captivating.
