LSU Theatre is pushing boundaries — first with “Museum of the Fetishized Identity,” then with the “mature audiences only” stamped “Killer Joe.” Its next installment, “The Gingham Dog,” doesn’t hesitate to once again step into our society’s controversial territory. The first studio production of the spring tells the tale of a failed interracial marriage set in the late ’60s.
“The Gingham Dog” was written by Pulitzer Prize winner Lanford Wilson and is directed by LSU senior Arlando Smith.
The audience follows main characters Gloria and Vince in their lower east side Manhattan apartment on their last day together, acting out a highly symbolic facet of a breakup — dividing possessions. Racism is a dominant factor in their lives and has consumed their marriage.
“The play takes an intimate look at the marriage’s disintegration,” said Kristi Ybarzabal, marketing advisor for the play and public relations senior. “They couldn’t overcome the realities and prejudiced opinions of the society around them.”
Ybarzabal also said the minimal cast affects the impact the play has on the audience.
“It’s a very small cast, so it adds to the intimacy of looking at this one specific incident at this period in time,” Ybarzabal said.
The inspiration for the play ironically comes from a children’s poem from the Victorian era by Eugene Field called “The Duel.” Ybarzabal said the poem is about two stuffed animals, a gingham dog and a calico cat, who fight in a room until they destroy each other. The complementary designs of the animals — one a fabric woven in stripes, checks, plaids, or solid colors and the other mottled in tones of white with red and black– are reflected in the racial differences of the play’s main characters.
“It makes reference to a clock on the wall that watches the whole event,” Ybarzabal said. “In the play, there is a neighbor and Vince’s sister who mirror the clock. They watch these two people destroy each other and themselves.”
Assistant director and theatre senior Mary Ain-Rashida Sykes believes the play still is relevant in American culture.
“In a time when the country is divided over a pending war, I think it’s something the community needs to see for unity,” Sykes said. “It really shows the horrors of what racism can do. I think it’s vital to this day and age when we feel we’re not as racist as we thought we were, and now we see that we are, but in a different way.”
Sykes says the cast is young, but they are showing what they can do.
“It’s a cast of students who aren’t really recognized for their serious roles,” Sykes said. “They’re really showing the potential we all knew that they had. Arlando and I are very proud of the casting process.”
Sykes said all involved believe this play will have a lasting impact on the audience.
“The actors are going to the limit,” she said. “It’s real. It’s actual. It’s in your face. These actors have done the work well, and they deserve recognition.”
“The Gingham Dog” opens Thursday, March 13 and will run through March 23. Performances will take place in Theatre 106 in the Music and Dramatic Arts Building from Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the door up to one hour before each performance on a first come, first served basis. A $6 donation is suggested. For more information, call the Theatre Department at 578-4174.