The Boycott

I saw the Boycott on Thursday and I really liked it. I think Ms. Blume did an excellent job incorporating Lysistrata with the idea of ending global warming. The characters themselves were not exactly the same. For example, in the play Lysistrata is characterized as the informed and strong individual in which all women look to and follow. However in The Boycott she was not informed regarding global warming right away and her boycott did not take hold right away. The Boycott demonstrated how it would take longer for the goals to be met. It was more realistic than Lysistrata which ended within a 24-hour period. I also thought she did a great job re-enacting the scene between Kinesias and Myrrhine, and in her version it was between Ismenia and Jack. I thought it was really funny and was a great visual to examine how frustrated the men were becoming. At first I was confused as to why she used Ismenia because she only had one line in the play and so I made the assumption that because Ismenia has only one line in the play and she is an important figure defending Lysistrata, that Ms. Blume used this character because it allowed her to have the most freedom in characterization but also because Ismenia was a firm believer in Lysistrata. However I was wrong because when I asked her way she chose Ismenia she said it was only because it was a Greek name and she was referring more to Antigone than Lysistrata. One more thing that really showed a difference that I thought was important between the play and the production was the scene when the men gave in. In Lysistrata it was clearly evident that the men did not want to give in because they desired the ending of the war but only to get in bed with the women. In the Boycott the president had already slept with his wife and so he decided to help with the cause because he actually was sympathetic to the cause. I think this is important because it demonstrates the differences in the society of B.C Greece compared to Present day. In that there are more individuals today that choose the cause rather than the means by which the cause is reached. So if you got to see the play you know what I'm talking about and if you didn't you really missed out!