Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up: Play Analysis
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Performance Play Review: Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
Basic Information & Script On June 28th, 2015, I attended a 2:00 P.M. showing of the musical Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? at the University of Central Florida’s very own theatre, known as Theatre UCF. The play was originally written by John R. Powers, and its story is mainly about a boy named Eddie Ryan spending his life at a Catholic school in Chicago along with a girl named Becky Bakowski, who eventually becomes his first love during his teenage years. Most of the story is told as a flashback that skips around to significant moments in the children’s lives, ranging from the years of 1952 to 1962. Only the first and final scenes take place in the “present”…show more content… The major themes of the play include the struggle between belief and doubt, the importance of individuality, and the extent of love and sex; they are easy to identify during the songs, such as “Cookie Cutters,” and they all connect with each other as the children get older and start to question the world they live in. This is fitting, considering that this is a coming of age story, where the main characters learn important lessons as they mature. Although there were serious moments, the play frequently displays a comic tone that stems from the side characters, such as the strict head-nun Sister Lee (played by Kate Ingram), the energetic Mary Kenny (Sami Cunningham), and the sexually aroused Felix Lindor (Evan Jones). Their personalities led to humorous dialogue for any situations that they were in. More specific examples include the students’ confessions, where Father O’Reilly’s reactions to each one is hysterical, Sister Lee’s lessons to the girls