Big Love

by Charles L. Mee Jr.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Italy, Drama, Read For School

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Charles L. Mee is an American playwright, historian and author known for his collage-like style of playwriting, which makes use of radical reconstructions of found texts. He is also a professor of theater at Columbia University. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a wild ride of a playscript….

[Michael Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

50 women flee Greece to Italy in order to escape marrying their 50 cousins. They are taken in by a Greek family with a large house. Lots of monologues about love, marriage, and independence. A bit too much of characters shouting and throwing themselves on the ground over and over for my taste. The play ends with all the characters that fled getting married to their pressures culminating in a very strange bit of madness. Some couples dance, some couple consummate, some couples wrestle, and some couples kill one another. Leaves me with a feeling of “I guess. That was a play.”

[braap · Rating 4 out of 5]

(may change review/rating after putting this production on in the Spring)
thought vomit from reading this :

love + war - beauty is terror

it’s overwhelming, violent, even destructive. beauty can strike awe and fear at the same time. love + violence inseparable - slapping, fighting, killing, screaming

is love about choice, equality, care? or is it about control + domination

exaggerated, surreal, absurd, irrational

do we belong to ourselves or our communities

[Michael Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class which I think rushed me a little and detracted from my reading experience, but I really didn't enjoy this. I thought the writing was hindered by its flowery qualities. I'd like to see a performance of this, because I'm sure watching it would make it more comprehensible, but as it stands, the writing kept me at an arms length from the characters, which I think prevented the themes from landing as strongly than if we got to know them all more.

[Jordan Barger · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

So clearly written by a man, especially the way it ends. I’m sorry- love is NOT worth the violence women endure at the hands of men. The conclusion was not satisfactory for me. Maybe if you were a man. But not in the days where it’s revealed men train other men online how to SA their wives and girlfriends. Not now, not today.

[Katie Schneider-Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

What in the world was that? Read this for a class and that was enough for me. Some of the imagery is cool (the tomatoes in particular), but I'm not sure I can give more compliments than that. Some people on here are giving some VERY high praise, and I'm not sure why but go off I guess.

[Sarah Rabbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This is why: love trumps all.
Love is the highest law.

It can be bound by no other.
Love of another human being—
man or woman—
it cannot be wrong."

[Anna Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars-I think I liked it but I need to see it staged.

[Evan Stein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmm very sexist and too artsy for its own good

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eeked a giggle outta me

[Sage]

so extra I love it

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Didn't like it but I imagine that's just because I have yet to read the original text. Will read again after The Suppliant Women

[Kevin Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thing about Charles L Mee Plays is that they always feel like they can only take place on stage, and this is no exception. I Feel like this is the play I heard most about when I first discovered Mee, but I'm not sure if that's just because it was one of his more popular plays or just one of the newer ones at the time. If I were to describe the play as being about one particular thing I would probably say it's about obligations. What obligations are we forced to keep, how do we fight against those thrust upon us, and what do we do when they conflict our expectations? Quite a fun read.

[Caz Janei · Rating 3 out of 5]

wowee! a kinda “radical” take on the suppliant women, very entertaining and funny but also poetic. a quick read but good

[Benjamin Mason · Rating 1 out of 5]

4F, 5M or 51F, 52M or anywhere in between.

The (re)making project, www.charlesmee.org.

Setting: A room in Piero's home, ostensibly in Italy. Date: not given; could be anywhere from Ancient Greece to modern day.

This play is a modern adaptation of The Suppliant Maidens by Aeschylus. 50 sisters flee their arranged marriage to 50 brothers. The brothers follow them, eventually marry the sisters, and are murdered on their wedding night by their new brides. A summary trial follows; all charges dismissed. Only one wife/husband pairing survives and they go off together.

All in all, I'm not overly fond of this play. The script calls for a lot of action that I'm not comfortable with as a TD. Smashing dishes and glasses, splattering tomatoes on the floor, strip teases, and throwing circular saw blades. My head is ring with safety alarm bells.

Several times the script calls for music or sound effects to play so loudly that we can't hear the actor's dialogue. My head hurts just reading that. It is also just poor playwrighting.

Neither side (brothers or sisters) makes good arguments for their actions. Both are such extremes that they cannot compromise and both are completely non-sympathetic characters. I don't like anyone in this play.

I want to read Aeschylus's original now.

I have no idea why we are doing this play. What moral is it attempting to show? That women are treated unfairly in this world? That because women are treated unfairly in this world, they should be allowed to get away with literal murder?

Overall, I think this show is not deserving of production.

The more I read this play, the more I hate it. That is not my normal reaction to plays; usually, I find something in it that sparks my interest, something that I can latch onto to help me get through the production process, but with this show, the more I read it, the less I want to work on it.

[Grace Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

"What else can you do
if your father won't protect you
your country won't defend you
you flee to another country
and no one there will take care of you
what is left?

Nothing except to take care of yourself."

I think this is more of a 3.5/5 from me, but in all honesty I don't know what to think. There is some excellent dialogue in this, and it looks quite starkly at some touchy subjects in a way that I enjoy, but something is "off". For one thing, there is far too much specificity in the physical and musical directions. This is a piece that already says so, so much, there is simply no need for extra emphasis! Let it breathe. Give it room, and a space to echo.

[Emma Rund · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely relevant to the current political climate. Love trumps hate

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing piece of writing! This was lent to me by a colleague who is using it in his class. I decided to start it during my lunch break, but I just could not put it down; ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting. I couldn't believe how brilliantly executed the concept was and what amazing writing! Just fantastic!

[Allegra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was meant to be performed, not read. I am going to be in this play and I am looking forward to analyzing it and seeing in live action. For an actor, this is fun to read, just because you can imagine the imagery.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Mee is my hero. This is a re-re-re-read for me.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Threatens to go off the rails 2/3 of way through, but has real insight into what it means to be a man, a woman, or more importantly, a person.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Morally bankrupt

[J Nick]

I love this play. I love revisiting this play, almost yearly. I think, when it all comes down, its the best thing I've put my hands on as a director.