My thoughts and some pics

[CyberGhostface]

I went to see the Boston play last night. I had a pretty good time. While the Swedish film will always be the definitive version I think I would rank this second in terms of adaptations. I felt the play did a good job of bringing in elements and lines that were only in the book and just some interesting ideas that weren't in either version.

Some thoughts (plus spoilers):

My initial concern was seeing adults playing kids. Fortunately it wasn't that big of a deal. There were a few silly bits at first (like whenever Oskar is being childish) but once Eli came along I stopped noticing.

I liked both Oskar and Eli. Eli definitely came off as more happy and outgoing as opposed to Lina's more restrained take. Their interactions also included some of the more lighthearted bits in the book like the banana bit.

Hakan's characterization included some of the pedo scenes from the book (such as wanting to lie with Eli, her offering to undress in front of him) but they also leaned hard into the "former childhood friend" angle. Eli indicates that they've known him for a long time, Hakan says he's not as strong as he used to be, etc. Not crazy about it but it wasn't a big deal. One big change was that he was looking to kill Oskar and feed his blood to Eli but circumstances stop him. I thought that was an interesting angle on his jealousy.

Like Let Me In, Lacke's role is replaced by a detective. Unlike Let Me In, the detective actually interacts with Oskar, first as the detective at the beginning of the story warning the kids, later with them questioning him at one point given he was in the same locker room as Hakan. So the character works as being established as a threat to Oskar beforehand. In my play, a woman played the detective.

I was happy to see them include the reveal that Eli is Elias but they don't put a lot of time into it. I guess there is some foreshadowing when Oskar asks Mr. Avila ahead of time if two men can love each other.

The use of blood was effective. While the play wasn't bloodless before (we would see it on Eli's mouth during their attacks) it was only until the last kill (of the detective) that we saw blood spray across the stage. It got a reaction from the audience.

They made use of the budget pretty well. I might have tried to make the pool scene more gruesome; Eli just cavorts above the stage and then we see the bullies fling themselves aside. Maybe we could have had some fake arms being thrown around or some blood sprays? (The pool itself was made via by lowering Oskar into a hole in the floor and other people holding a large plastic sheet over him with wind making it move like water.)

I also took some pictures that I thought some of you might like:

The jungle gym.





Eli left a mess.





Costume designs for Oskar and Eli.

[danielmann861]

Sounds much the same as what I saw in terms of content.

Yeah I thought it was a little strange that the undress in front of Hakan scene is in there but they were still kind of playing up the caretaker role. It seemed like it was trying to suggest both to me as an option but I just found it a little jarring. I kind of wish they had just went one way or the other. But I suppose the pedo thing is always gonna be the sticking point for every adaptation of this story..

It was Holmberg in ours. The detective I mean. It was actually played by a guy in our version. I didn't mind it. It worked for me a little better than the detective in LMI did. I still think LMI missed a golden oppurtunity to make it Owen's Dad. I mean why not? They had Elias Koteas provide the voice of Owen's dad in that one scene. Why not go all the way and connect those two? Do something different. But anyways, not to turn this into an LMI thread But yeah, I didn't mind Holmberg in our play.

The pool scene in ours was actually portrayed pretty cheaply. It was simply done with the bullies putting Oskar on a bench and covering his mouth with a towel before spraying him with a hose. Or waterboarding. The actual pool attack was simply done by turning off the lights with the actors screaming bloody murder before the lights turned back on to reveal a blood soaked Eli. Kind of interesting to hear the different portrayal in yours.

I don't know about yours but the gender stuff seemed like subtext throughout in mine. As you mentioned, the scene with Oskar and Avalia was also there in mine. And to me, the scene with Oskar and his Father seemed like it was playing that up a little as well. I don't know about your version, but it seemed like it was subtext throughout those scenes to me.

I still kind of wish that at least one adaptation would run with the whole Zomkan thread. Or even bring in Tommy. But alas, I don't think that will ever happen....who knows? Weirder things have happened.

All in all, it sounds much the same as the version I saw. Thanks for the write up! Glad you had a good time with it!

[CyberGhostface]

Thanks! It was a fun experience for me.

The pool scene in ours was actually portrayed pretty cheaply. It was simply done with the bullies putting Oskar on a bench and covering his mouth with a towel before spraying him with a hose. Or waterboarding. The actual pool attack was simply done by turning off the lights with the actors screaming bloody murder before the lights turned back on to reveal a blood soaked Eli. Kind of interesting to hear the different portrayal in yours.

Yeah it seems that there are a few different versions of the ending there.

One version had the jungle gym turn around to reveal the pool on the back and have Oskar actually being submerged in water. I think that would have been cool to see.

[danielmann861]

Yeah...I guess it all depends on the budget of the people putting it on.

Hell, we didn't even have the Jungle Gym in ours. I got a photo of the Sydney stage on my phone. I'll upload it later to show you guys, but we didn't even have the Jungle Gym let alone anything elaborate for the Pool Scene. I think ours was very "make do with the little we have." It wasn't bad per se, it didn't detract from the story for me but yeah, it's kind of interesting to see the differences that are out there depending on the budget.