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Two of Hornby’s elements I noticed in this musical were
progression and ambiguity. There are
tons of examples of progression; the difference in the song progression in act
one compared to in act two, the general progression within each song, the areas
that it would build and resolve. But the use of the song, “I’m Alive” was
present in many areas, with slightly different tempos, and all kinds of
variations to it. The progression of
just that song throughout the show is interesting to look at, because the
moments in which Gabe comes out to repeat the song in some way are all
typically touchy moments. The end is left so open ended and you as an audience
member leave thinking something, whether it is thinking about the way you
wished it would have ended or the reasons why you liked it. The ending to this play when Gabe says once
again, “you’ve always known who I am” and Dan finally hears him is such an
interesting way. I remember the first
time I ever saw this musical and when I saw Dan finally respond to Gabe I immediately
thought back to the song, “Who’s Crazy” because that song is about Dan trying
to make sense of everything happening in his life, when maybe he should have
been the one in the doctors office.
John Michael Moore
I was really fascinated by that final moment in the play with Dan and Gabe. I think it was left sort of ambiguous what Gabe actually was. This moment particularly confused me on this. Was Gabe only in Diana's mind? Was he a ghost? Was he only in Diana AND Dan's minds? Did he leave forever at the end, or did he go with Diana?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the song progression. That makes sense. It's cool to switch the Hornby's elements to music. That's an interesting aspect. I love that they left the ending open-ended because the audience always expects an exact ending & as a musical, the audience don't get caught up in some perfect reality. It ends more realistic and that brings the audience back to real life.
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