It’s no accident that the MSU theatre department’s latest play brings the Great Depression back to life in a time when current economic woes continue to concern the country.
Tony Caselli said the relevance of the 1930s is one of the reasons why he chose to direct new stage production “The American Clock.”
“There’s something about the way the economy is happening right now in the world,” Caselli said. “There was something really worthwhile about doing a play that deals with the Depression.”
“The American Clock,” which opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Auditorium Arena Theatre, pieces together story lines before, during and after the Depression.
The play dissects how the Great Depression affected different people from all walks of life.
“You see an older, married couple and what happens to them through the depression,” Caselli said. “You watch businessmen who think they’ve got everything and watch it all fall apart. In the end, it’s a play that’s about hope and perseverance.”
Jeff Tremblay, a theatre senior, who plays Lee Baum in the production, said his character evolves under the stage lights.
“My character goes from that point in 1929 as a 14-year-old boy to living throughout the Depression and growing up,” Tremblay said. “A lot of people refer to (Lee Baum) as the voice of the author, Arthur Miller, and how he grew up.”
Tremblay, who will be making his MSU acting debut in the play, finds his character relatable, despite the large gap in time between settings.
“I’ve always grown up with that kind of family love — there’s a really strong family unit in the play,” Tremblay said.
“Also growing up in the last couple years with the financial downfall, my family hasn’t been immune to it either. My father’s self-employed, so it hits home.”
Although the play is not a musical, music composition junior Nick Strong said the jazzy genre of the 1930s plays a large role in the overall tone of the play.
“The music definitely adds a sense of time and place,” Strong said.
Strong, who wrote the majority of the music for the MSU production of “The American Clock,” researched the musical stylings of the time period to accurately convey the mood.
“I did a lot of listening to all the old musicals and jazz,” Strong said. “I had to really acquaint myself with the music of the time so that I could really instill in the audiences where we are in our history.”
Theatre sophomore Jessica Doyle, the play’s lighting supervisor, said along with the music, the lighting design adds an important element in presenting the emotions of the Great Depression.
“You want to try and find the mood of the piece,” Doyle said. “With ‘The American Clock,’ it’s set in the Great Depression, so the mood is harsh and there’s this pressure pushing down. Matt (Reynolds, theater masters student), the lighting designer, really tried to bring that out in his design.”
Doyle said she’s excited to enact one particular scene, when a character is at her wits’ end.
“There’s a scene when one of the characters steps out in front of a subway car to commit suicide,” Doyle said. “The lighting is very dramatic and very cool.”
With hours of rehearsing and bonding each day, many of the 30 person cast said they have become closer than just a cast list.
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“Being together in this concentrated, long-schedule period, we’ve really grown,” Tremblay said. “I’ve gotten to know some people I didn’t know at all and made a lot of friendships. The theatre department is just so wonderfully close knit — it’s been great getting to know everyone.”
_For more information including showtimes and tickets for “The American Clock,” visit theatre.msu.edu. _
