Review: “The Covid Decameron” by WCSU Theatre Dept.

DANBURY, CT - The Spring Virtual Production Series at Western Connecticut State University continues on Saturday when the stream for “The Covid Decameron” was shared. Armed with my season pass, I pushed the play button on my monitor to enjoy the projects prepared by a large group of university students.

Dramaturg Sydney Maher explains in her note in the virtual program that this project was inspired by a collection of novellas that was among the countless works of art that came out during the Renaissance, which took place despite The Black Death (or the Bubonic plague) that was gripping Europe and Asia. “The Decameron” was written by Giovanni Boccaccio and followed a group of ten people who fled to a villa outside of Florence to escape the plague. There the seven women and three men told 100 stories over the course of ten days; each day addressed a different topic and focused on morality, of the lack of morality.

The Renaissance work served as inspiration and source material for all of the pieces created and performed by the WCSU students. They range from short musicals and skits to fully staged dance numbers that modernize Boccaccio’s work. The dramaturg notes that the participating writers and performers have spun the stories in the novella into “a captivation and quirky devised piece inspired by the ideas and themes in The Decameron, recognizing the presence of the Bubonic Plague and replacing it with COVID-19.”

The projects presented in the two acts were directed and curated by Sal Trapani. Pam McDaniel was the producer with Dr. Justin P Cowan as associate producer. Jonah Sydie was the lead editor of the segments that flowed nicely. Philip Balwin was the production designer, Ashleigh Shaw and Dominick Walch designed the flattering lighting, Mary Donovan was the head costumer/coordinator of the lovely costumes worn by the performers and Sophie Ritche was in charge of hair and makeup.

Tim Halligan should be congratulated on his fine work as Head Sound and Video person. The stream I watched was beautifully filmed on the university stage and the sound was flawless. For the first time in this series, I had to wait at several points for the stream to buffer, but if may have been because of the time of day that I was able to watch.

The fourteen projects listed in the program varied widely in tone and length. There were a few for which I probably missed the point, but overall they were touching and well-performed. “Alone Together” was a masked tap dance to the sound of a heart beat choreographed by Michelle Shapiro. Raul Canderon, a sophomore Musical Theatre major from Waterbury, was one of the dancers. WCSU “Hallucinations in the Key of C” is a Zoom play with a group of young women having the “same conversation in an endless loop.”

“#TheCOVIDChronicles” is the only project that is reprised through the two acts, short videos shot a la TikTok that included Dania Fedricks, a sophomore BA Theatre Performance major from Naugatuck, as both a writer and a performer. Charles Pelletier, a freshman BFA Musical Theatre major from Watertown, also was one of the performers in this piece. “Restoration” featured Victoria Santiago and Vitale Yenzer in a masked dance performance, all while never touching. “Dumb as F*ck” featured Raul Calderon in all of the roles.

“A COVID Love Story” was a dance choreographed and featuring Aurora Schloat with a voiceover by Ariana Locasio. “Honey Pot” was a weird film written by Alex Rushton. “Color Study” was an interesting short film written by Colleen Callahan with animation by Olivia Kirby, a Senior Theatre Performance major from Waterbury

One of the pieces that really stuck with me was “Bad Things Happen to Good People,” a monologue written and performed by Derek Alexander that in the end brought a tear to my eye. The bad thing that happens to Derek is a dangerous syndrome that he develops after a bout with COVID early in the pandemic but the gratitude that he expresses for the people who helped him to survive is a very good thing.

“Decameron 4 Kids,” a short film by Logan Farley, is an adult puppet show definitely not for kids. “Trial by Combat” is a dance created by Anna Raymond that juxtaposes footage of the Capitol Insurrection with the poetry of Amanda Gorman.

“Insurrection Interjection,” a well-shot short where one of the characters has been jailed after the insurrection, includes the song “Where’s My Pardon” composed by Joey Taylor. “Morning Bell” is a dance by Lizzy Quinby.

The show ends gracefully with a performance by Teah Renzi, a junior Musical Theatre major from Newtown. She sings an original song “A Year and A Day” composed by the singer and Dan Satter. Sam Rogers plays a man in this project.

“Two Weeks” could not be part of the presentation due to extenuating circumstances, but is credited in the program. Sydney Maher was the writer and lyricist and Ethan Chan, the composer.

This project was far different from the previous two performances, but it gave many students a chance to present their original work. For that I am grateful.

THE COVID DECAMERON streams again on Thursday, May 6th. Tickets and season passes are available at wcsuvpac.eventbrite.com

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently began writing a weekly column and theatre reviews for the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper.

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