Caucasian Chalk Circle

The Caucasian Chalk Circle Review

On Thursday, me and my friends went to go see the wonder play,  The Caucasian Chalk Circle presented by students from my school.  This play was directed by a German modernist named Brian Brecht.   This play was written before the 1950's.  The main point of this play is about a peasant women who finds a baby and takes care of the baby.  Unfortunately, the previous owner of the baby was very wealthy.  She took very little care of her baby.

The prologue explained ,most of the story.  There was basically two stories that combined together to make the Caucasian Chalk Circle.  The people that wanted to grow crops ended up growing the crops in the land.  The play is basically when World War ll is happening. This means that the play was created near the 1950's.  Grusha's Lord ended up having a baby named Micheal.  To bad the Governor had died so his Wife Natella ended up taking off and leaving.  Natella ended up leaving her baby too because she wanted all the clothing she could bring so she left the baby by itself.  Thankfully, Grusha who was the Governor's aide ended up taking care of the baby.  Grusha felt horrible if she could not take the baby and let it be there alone with no parents.  Grusha ended up doing anything to save this precious baby.  For example, I remember in the play when Grusha had to pay good amount of money back then ($2) for milk.  This much money for milk was very expensive back then and most people could not afford it.  Somehow the soldiers had found that Grusha had little Micheal and must find the baby to give back to the Governor.  Grusha crossed the path and ended up losing the soldiers.  Grusha showed true bravery and never gave up or surrendered.  This bridge/ path was very dangerous and could have killed Grusha and Michael.  I applaud Grusha though because she had no choice and thankfully made it across and left the soldiers in the dust.  Although later on Grusha was caught by the soldiers.  Azdak was the new judge for the people.  In the play I found Azdak to be a great judge with a smart mind.  Azdak was the judge for Grusha vs the Governor's wife.  We all know that the Governor's Wife was using the Governor just for all of his wealth and land.  The judge came to a smart idea of created a white, chalk, circle.  This circle was almost like a bubble just where the kid would go that would be his new mom.  What ended up happening, both of the ladies would pull the kids arms and both of them would get half and half.  Grusha did not feel right about this tug of war type of thing.  Grusha let go twice and the judge finally came to a conclusion.  The judges conclusion was that Grusha would get full custody with her boyfriend Simon.  She would get full custody because she was not as violent as the Governor's wife and showed that she really cared about the baby and his future.  Grusha, her boyfriend and Michael were all joyful of the news and lived happily ever after.

I feel the props and the way the characters dress in the play are what makes the play seem real.  It brings the true effect almost like a Broadway show.  The clothing can show love or hate.  I have not seen a play in a while but I really like how every time someone is speaking thats where all the attention goes too.  The narrator always gets lighting whenever he or she speaks and whenever there is a change in the scene.  In all, crops, clothing, and lighting are what makes a play special and realistic to the actually story just in person.

My favorite specific character was Sam Weed.  In the play she play the role as a mother peasant.  I did not only like Sam because of her acting skills but the way she expressed her emotions to the baby and how much she cared about the baby.  Sam took much better care of the baby than her previous owner.  Sam showed bravery, love, and kindness.  She hugged her child and looked over him as he grew up.

In conclusion, I would defiantly recommend to have this play again.  It was very entertaining and funny at times.  It showed almost what a divorce was like.  Who has custody of the child and who does not.  This play was reflecting today's world.  Usually the judge decides previously who should get the kid but in the play you must pull and have the girl come to you.  This also showed the poverty back in the 1950's.  Also, I learned that you do not need that many people to make a play you just need like 8 people.  All in all, everyone who was in the play did a fabulous job and would recommend anyone to watch this play.