The Bloom Withers Onstage

July 17, 2007

Random showers permeated the otherwise sunny afternoon, but I noticed none of it as I spent my time trying to finish my homework--that plan failed, too. The only truly exciting part of the day was heading to the Duke of York's Theatre just off of Liecester Square to see In Celebration, a David Storey play starring Orlando Bloom. That's right, I saw Orlando Bloom!

We sat in row B of the top gallery, and the theatre was a pretty tall place. However, the set was two levels of a house, and the characters were frequently upstairs getting ready, sleeping, and other things, so we got to see everything. Orlando Bloom was the first person onstage, and the whole audience gasped when he came out. He was dressed in a loose sweater and looked quite a bit like a dapper Mr. Rogers: "Hey, Neighbor!" The play centered on a family of a father, mother, and three male children (all grown up now), in which the children return for a night of celebration for their parents' fortieth anniversary. The proverbial can of worms is opened wide as past grievances come to light. Problem was, we never fully found out what those grievances were.

The characters seemed agitated by minor episodes of their past, and one of them, Andrew (the best actor there, he absolutely stole the show), seemed to have quite a bit of sexual feelings for his mother--creepy! Orlando Bloom is a ridiculously terrible actor, and at one point he curls up on the edge of the couch and cries. But why? No one knows. I'm glad I saw the play, glad I can say I saw Orlando Bloom face to face (we queued up outside afterwards and got his picture), but overall I was not that impressed. It's something you see and then never worry about again.