The Bald Soprano: Live Tweeted Play

Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the Oval Office
Photos by Johnny Kassis

By Johnny Kassis

Right before the play, The Bald Soprano, started on April 12, the announcer told the audience that cell phone use during the play was encouraged.

In fact, throughout the play, the cast live tweeted pictures and commentary about the play using @TUMainstage. They invited the audience to interact with them on Twitter.

The Bald Soprano is a revamp of a play with the same name written by Eugene Lonesco after the World War II. The Trinity version was directed by Roberto Pestigiacomo, a highly acclaimed theater-maker who’s works include many renditions of original productions.

In this production by Trinity's Department of Theatre, Mr. and Mrs. Smith were the president and first lady, and the first scene of the play was in the Oval Office. Mr. and Mrs. Smith wore red and the company they were waiting for, Mr. and Mrs. Martin, wore blue.

There is also a scene where Mr. Smith was in the Oval Office signing a bunch of executive orders, reminiscent of President Trump doing the same on his first day in office. 

Cast of the play

The connection was one of many that you could make to the current political environment. “The absurd nature of the script is just reminiscent about the way our world appears right now and Roberto wanted to call attention to that,” said Casey Deal, sophomore theatre major and the production manager of the show.

As for the live tweeting, Deal said, “The idea of using Twitter came with the idea of making the connection of Mr. Smith to Donald Trump, because President Trump and Twitter are so connected.”

The audience seemed to enjoy the Twitter interaction. “It added a fun interactive component that added to the richness of the production,” said Zach Villa, a senior from Lee High School.

The play starred only six actors in total. Mrs. Smith was played by Mindy Tran. Jayce Lewis, another senior from Lee High School, said Nico Champion was amazing as Mr. Smith. The actor “did a great job of communicating his character to the audience,” said Lewis.