Analysis Of Not About Nightingales
Submitted By kristiana19
Kristiana Bradford
Thea 203, Main Stage Play
Ridge directed the play, Not About Nightingales that was presented at the O'Connell Theatre on March 3rd 2013. This play shows the setting of a prison surrounded by chicken wire and people needed to take the ferry to get to the prison because it was surrounded by water. Inmates, on a normal day complained about how nasty the food was and how it made them sick. They also ate spaghetti every day. The inmates thought to teach the warden a lesson by going on a hunger strike but the tables were turned when he put them in the Klondike (the steam boiler room) which he made sure they would feel the heat and the longer the stayed the higher the heat went. Something that was different was the love scene between the warden's new secretary and an inmate that assists the warden, Jim. The secretary, Eva sees that is she falling for Jim and he's doing the same. However, Jim is trying to get out on parole but has to be approved by the warden, who is also attracted to Eva. Brandon Greenhouse (Jim) a main character in the play a convict who's been at the prison for 10 years, and who assists the warden. The other convict gets information out of him but also thinks he's a snitch. Greenhouse a handsome and is willing to do whatever he needs to do for the warden to get out on parole. He holds his words because he knows he just need to do what he is told to get out and make sure that he is on the wardens good side. Then one day Eva the secretary tells him he needs to speak up for himself and tell the paper what is going on at the prison but he's really not trying to do that he knows if the warden found out he would never get out. Greenhouse knows to shut up and only speak when being spoken to. The convicts complain every day about something and how they eat spaghetti every day. One of the convicts Bill Gordon (Butch O'Fallon) plays a tough, smart talking convict, many look to him as the leader and who wants to control things and it's afraid to speak his mind. Gordon comes up with the idea to teach the warden a lesson and go on a hunger strike to make situations better. In the beginning everyone is on board but the warden doesn't really care into the