Delaney Elder is a News Clerk for the Post and Courier. She graduated from Warner University. She contributes to The Post and Courier's arts and entertainment section, Charleston Scene.
Beaming stage lights direct your attention to an unassuming city council room. Five wooden desks face the crowd as nine city councilmembers take their seats, but one chair is left vacant.
Where is Mr. Carp?
The question hangs in the air over the course of this 90-minute dark comedy as Councilman Mr. Peel leads the one-man charge in determining the cause of Mr. Carp's absence. Yet he is incessantly hindered by the ever-tedious business of the city council meeting itself, littered with sharp remarks and joking jabs, reminiscent of NBC's "Parks and Recreation."
Artistic Director Kyle Barnette first saw "The Minutes," written by award-winning actor and playwright Tracy Letts, at its Broadway debut in the summer of 2022 and immediately knew it was a production he wanted to introduce to Charleston. As luck would have it, the Footlight Players of Queen Street Playhouse earned the bid to perform the show's East Coast premiere.
Charleston Scene Broadway's 'Beetlejuice,' 'Les Misérables' coming to North Charleston By Chelsea Grinstead [email protected]
As political as the show may be, the timing of its Charleston performances being so close to the 2024 presidential election are nothing but a coincidence. Barnette told The Post and Courier that the Queen Street Playhouse simply felt like changing things up with this year's Halloween show slot.
They chose to step away from their typical array of on-the-nose scary plays and instead delve into "The Minutes" for something a little more secretly sinister this spooky season. As its characters draw you in with familiar, quick-witted humor, the piercing prick of reality enters the scene, and suddenly the situation is no longer a laughing matter.
Lights fitfully flicker and a storm settles in outside of the Big Cherry city council room, inciting an air of suspicion. As the truth comes out and the curtains close, there's a moment of self-reflection: a consideration of what kind of person you will choose to be, what you will choose to believe and if you will be the one to raise an important question when the time comes.
"It's about standing up for what is right, even as the one voice of reason," said Barnette.
Charleston Scene This theater is closing the curtain on its downtown Charleston space By Kalyn Oyer [email protected]
Karyn Amira, associate professor of political science and associate chair of the College of Charleston, identifies how varying political narratives arise and clash through the media's many outlets, especially just before the presidential election.
"Mainstream news programs, magazines and editorials are all platforms that can make things seem more alarmist," Amira said. She confirmed that fearmongering and uncertainty is known to cause great stress for all leading up to Nov. 5.
A tip Amira has passed on to all her students to aid in navigating election-related anxiety is that "being proactive and contributing to democracy is a good way to reduce stress."
Being a poll worker is another option and happens to be the focus of a new class she'll be leading at the College of Charleston beginning Oct. 9. She said this form of civic engagement is a neutral, positive way to be included in the election process.
Palmetto Politics Lead shut down this popular Mount Pleasant polling site. Turns out, there was no health hazard. By Caitlin Byrd [email protected]
"The Minutes" production creates a space for voters of both parties and independents to meet somewhere in the middle, demanding its audience to be mindful of the how the country's politics are accomplished, though not in a "politically preachy" manner, as Barnette puts it.
The next performances to expect from the Footlight Players are the "Rocky Horror Experience" (a screening of the movie paired with live performances onstage, on Oct. 30 and 31) and upcoming holiday shows "A Christmas Story" and "Who's Holiday."
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