The Counter is a production that depicts the intricate relationship between two main characters, Paul and Katie. Paul is an old man who is a regular customer at the café in which Katie works. Prior to viewing the play, I felt dreadful because I am not a particular fan of live productions. Although I did not particularly enjoy watching this performance, I would not necessarily say that it was terrible. One of my immediate thoughts was that the actors undeniably performed very well. All three roles were capable of effectively embodying their assigned characters, however this factor was not enough to make the experience enjoyable for me. I personally felt significantly detached from a majority of the audience because I noticed that the popular spectating demographic consisted of elderly individuals, therefore I also found myself not understanding occasional phrases or what were supposed to be humorous remarks.

Nevertheless, I was ultimately able to identify multiple central themes of the piece. Originally, I believed that the message simply consisted of friendship, however throughout the show’s progression, new aspects were gradually introduced, culminating into various interpretations. Regarding the setup, I felt slightly confused by the timeline, as the switching of lighting was very frequent and sometimes I was not able to depict the significance of a seemingly new day. I would also notice that Katie and Paul often left the setting without speaking any words of farewell, which seemed strange, causing further confusion. Initially, Katie and Paul would conduct minimal conversation and I felt substantially disengaged due to the lack of dynamic qualities. What initially seemed like both characters merely sharing their life trauma soon turned into a deeper plot, exploring the importance of patience, second-chances, and taking risks. As the relationship between both individuals unfolds, they share personal flaws, providing the other with remedying advice without realizing the hipocricy within their statements. Katie admits her past failed relationships, revealing that she created a new life within the town she now lives in. Paul critiques her decision, claiming that she acted like a coward, running away from a minimal problem and forming an ironically false reality. Katie denies this personal attack, only to direct one of her own toward Paul when he spontaneously asks her to poison him. This transforms into a historical depth to Paul’s circumstances, as he persuades Katie to “surprise” him and in doing so, provide a shocking factor that has been absent from a majority of his life, causing feelings of depression, despair, and worthlessness. As the play progresses, both characters slowly help each other persevere through their individual struggles, ending with the unexpected return of Katie’s former friend. Not only does this provide Katie with an immediate resolution to face her old life again and start fresh, but it also provides Paul with what he has been looking for his entire life: a surprise.

In the end, both characters seemingly received their “happy endings”, although on an unfinished note, leaving the rest up to the interpretations of the audience. Some important lessons that may be deduced from this play may include the importance of recognizing human intricacy and that communication is vital within the need for mutual support and understanding. All people experience their unique encounters and the ability to confide in others without losing hope or determination is what defines the individual in continuing to live with optimism, strength, and hope, essentially self-same to Paul and Katie.

Introduction:

My initial expectations of the counter were pretty high since I’ve been to broadway shows like spamalot in the past and they were amazing. Broadway shows have great acting, and really interesting stories so it’s always enjoyable to watch them. The counter was located in the roundabout theater and I had some worries about getting lost, but thankfully I didn’t miss the 1 train looking around wondering if I was at the right place (sorry Brendan.)

The Set:

Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures during the play, but before it started I was able to take one picture of the set. It was an interesting set as it appeared to be a small diner with the windows fogged up to showcase the cold environment it took place in. You can always tell when a character was going into a scene by the shadow of their figure through that window. Apart from that I was surprised at how small the set actually was; however, looking back the miniature sized set played into the intimacy and perspective of the show and it was perfect since there weren’t that many members of the cast.

Picture of The Counter Set

The Characters:

In the cast, there weren’t a lot of background characters and people that don’t really add anything to the story. Every character that we were introduced to had a purpose to move the story along and it was refreshing not having to remember 20 different characters that don’t really serve a purpose into the main theme & story. The counter only starred Anthony Edwards as Paul, Susannah Flood as Katie, and Amy Warren as Peg. Paul was initially introduced as an alcoholic man who had trouble sleeping and seemed a little crazy, Katie just as the waitress with potential comedic relief, and Peg as the respected town Doctor. But, we learned about the specific intricacies of their relationships and stories later within the plot.

The Plot: 

During the start of the show, I actually thought it was really boring, but during the exposition it actually started to get pretty interesting. Paul had mentioned that he wanted to become friends with Katie and she reluctantly accepted his request. They shared their darkest secrets with each other: Paul wanted his death to be a surprise, so he bought poison from the dark web and gave it to Katie, asking her to put it in his drink one day. Katie, on the other hand, spoke about her “boyfriend,” who had left 26 voicemails, and revealed that she had moved away because of her hysterectomy. Their relationship had an interesting dynamic because of its evolution overtime. At first, they were just a waitress and a frequent customer conversing, but by the end it seemed like they had a need for each other. The one day Paul didn’t come Katie had actually been worried about him as her routine of talking to him each day she worked was broken, meaning that she actually started to care about him.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts: 

The ending was in my opinion terrible since it left off on a cliffhanger as Katie received another voicemail from her friend, where he mentioned that he had talked to her mother and moved closeby to meet her again, and Paul encouraged her to go to him as it wasn’t too late to take another chance at life. Paul and Katie said their final goodbyes and that was the end of the show. I realize I did leave a lot of details out like how Paul was in the peace corps, Paul saving a family from a fire, and how Paul had an affair with Peg, but I think the theme mainly revolved around Katie’s and Paul’s relationship so, I chose to sort of leave those out from the plot. Overall, I did end up enjoying the show, but it wasn’t really my type of show if I am being honest and the jokes they made were really dry, however the story was pretty interesting so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

     My trip to The Counter play at the Roundabout Theatre started with a fun bus ride with friends into the city. We talked about our expectations for the play, and we had some collected doubts about it. After hearing it was in its beginning stages, and that it was based on conversations amongst only two characters, I had premeditated my opinion that the play would be quite boring or not up my alley. After watching the play and finally giving it a chance, I was proved wrong. 

    Upon walking into the theater, I was shocked at how small and stagnant the stage was. Even during the play, the set did not change, so this was something I was not used to on a visual aspect. I actually quite enjoyed this, because I was able to focus on the story development rather than filler chaos happening in the background. Also, it felt like I was watching a vintage TV show; the stage was carefully oriented, almost 2-D appearing. Additionally, I was impressed with the unique storyline and the development of the plot and characters. The execution of the bond between two opposing characters of different genders, ages, and life experiences was impressive. The story taught me that no matter how different the people you meet in life are, they all have a background and are living life for the first time just as every other human is; human connection can go beyond having common interests. I especially loved the full circle resolution– Paul finally got a life surprise, not by death, but by forming a friendship with Katie. I found this ending cute and creative, a fun happy ending.

     Overall, The Counter was a beautiful story about life’s tributes and human connection and I enjoyed my time watching it and spending the day with peers!

       At first impressions when looking at the stage setup, I initially thought that the story would be a typical romance story of a man falling in love with a woman at a cafe counter. There was no reason to think of creating a story that mainly had two characters except for a love story, as there weren’t many side characters present to demonstrate other possible theater genres. I would later realize that the story is more than just a romance story, but rather follows the theme of friendship. This is an underrated genre that I feel many plays, TV shows, and movies don’t do a fantastic job of doing through their similar framework of friendship storytelling. When watching “The Counter”, however, I came to realize that my initial thinking of the play was entirely false.

       Despite not admitting to it, Paul had undergone many rough periods of his life after having broken up with his true love at high school, developing PTSD from his firefighter career, and even having seen his loved ones at their deathbeds being mistreated by the staff at their nursing homes. Katie experienced a different kind of suffering that involved imposter syndrome through failing to contact her once true love and undergoing many surgical procedures that had her uterus removed. Paul, however, managed to share these experiences amongst himself and Katie by saying aloud, “Let’s be friends! Yes, the type of friends that share their secrets and talk about experiences they would never share with anyone else.” As a person who had many friends who sympathized with me during my stressful challenges in high school, I thus heavily related to Paul and Katie’s friendship and grew very content when seeing their friendship developing into one that’s very important in sustaining each of their lives.

       The friendship bond didn’t form, however, until after a huge part of the story had unfolded. The beginning of the story felt very repetitive to me, as it was quite dialogue-heavy with Paul and Katie introducing themselves to one another and their lifestyles and interests. I strongly felt that the entire beginning could’ve been shortened to under a few minutes, as a play that has only 1 hour of screen time should be dedicated to plot development and landing the perfect ending that the audience could be satisfied with. Throughout the play, I laughed whenever Paul took his sweet time in wearing his heavy coat, carefully zipping it, and making a dramatic exit out of the cafe door. This is shown multiple times throughout the play, which illustrates an extreme repetition of events. Rather than having just that scene that spread no emotional impact to the audience, I think that the writers could’ve had Katie expressing her emotions of anger or sadness to the audience while cleaning up the Cafe in contrast to her leaving the scene in preparation for the upcoming one.

       The beginning portion did feel like a very important unfolding of events in reaching the climax. I was beginning to get hooked up in the play when Paul offered Katie a type of poison that he wanted her to use to end his life. At that moment I asked myself, “What kind of friendship is this?” Eventually, though, I’ll learn that Paul is offering that poison through his high trust in Katie in getting his final wish to live in surprise within the last few moments of his life. Katie was the person that Paul would want to have breakfast with before the final few moments of his life because of the sense of comfort and empathy that Katie had given him throughout the rough periods of his life. The interactions between Paul and Katie arguing on the morality of poison were very emotional to me, as it expressed to me how much they meant to each other especially when sharing lifelong secrets. This trust in itself is what makes friendships very important, as it emphasizes the respect and support that are essential for meaningful connections.

       At the end of the play when Katie got a voicemail from her ex-boyfriend in town, I almost shed tears when Paul jumped up and down in joy. The acting was top-notch and definitely impactful when having only two people discuss with one another their lifelong challenges. The silence between Paul and her ex-girlfriend was stunning, as I saw Paul’s expression of regret of not having spent his lifetime with his one true love. I wanted this acting to land a perfect ending, but instead left a cliffhanger that left many to question the events that would’ve happened. I’ve heard questions like, “Did Katie end up going back to date her old boyfriend?”, “Did Katie end up poisoning Paul that day?”, “Had Paul died shortly after Katie left the coffee shop?”. These lingering questions, in my opinion, shouldn’t be left out in any form of storytelling. This is because it emphasizes the lack of quality writing in closing the loose ends of the play to make the audience satisfied rather than craving any more events.

My experience began outside the Roundabout Theater, which looked old from the outside. When my class and I stepped into the building, we had to go to the basement to get to the theater. We then took our seats, and the play began. It started with two people, Kaite and Paul, in a diner. Kaite is the owner of the diner and serves Paul, a retired firefighter, coffee almost daily in the mornings. The play went on through their conversations and escalated when they decided to share their secrets. Katie revealed that she used to live in a different city but moved when her friend didn’t share her romantic feelings. Paul revealed that he feels his life is meaningless and wants Kaite to poison him. Upon hearing each other’s secrets, they were enraged and wanted to change the other person. The play went on and developed each other’s characters and shared their secrets. Finally, the play ended when Kaite’s friend arrived in town and asked to meet with her.
Overall, the play wasn’t horrible to see; many parts were interesting and funny, but after a while, their talking made me sleepy. I feel that the play needed more action or at least a change in scenery. The play only had three characters and one setting. If they had a larger crew or more settings, then the play would’ve been better; however, the play did well for their resources. Another thing that I disliked in this play is that it feels incomplete; the ending did not show if Kaite got together with her friend or what happened to Paul.

The Counter is a play about a a waitress and a regular visitor in a local diner of a small town.  The unexpectedly become friends and he asks her for an unusual favor which reveals their deepest secrets.

Paul starts off each morning by going to a coffee shop. He would meet Katie and he was determined to become friends with her. He learned that she came from another city, but he assumed she left because of her old boyfriend. It turned out that she had 27 voice mails from him that she kept on her phone, and she wanted to go through each with Paul. As he continued his routine each day, they learned a lot about each other and became friends. He strangely asked Katie to pour a poison he got from the dark web into his drink when he was least expecting it. He said he wanted to go out on his own terms, but he also wanted it to be a surprise.
In addition to this, Katie found out that Paul was once an alcoholic, and Paul found out Katie had a hysterectomy. This was the main reason why Katie left, not just because of her boyfriend. Katie also found out that Paul had an affair with her doctor, Peg Bradley. After going through several of Katie’s boyfriend’s voicemails, a new one was discovered. Katie found out that her old boyfriend came to her town and wanted to see her. This surprised Paul, and then the play ended.

Katie spent the last two years trying to escape her reality. She moved to an isolated town because she got friend zoned by someone she kissed. Paul is different. He wants to have control of his life, which is why he wants to chose the way in which he goes out. He gave Katie the poison because he wants his death to be a surprise. He claims everything was straight forward, like the books he used to read where he could predict what would happen before it actually happens. However, the play ended with Katie deciding to go visit her old friend, which was a complete surprise to him.
I was confused about this ending. It seemed very sudden and I was under the impression that the play would end with Paul being poisoned. It can be inferred that he was poisoned that day, but the audience will never know for sure. Aside from this, I was impressed that the whole play was done by two characters and in the same setting. I also felt like some people in the audience were planted there to laugh at some of the jokes they made throughout the play, even though they weren’t really that funny.

My experience surrounding The Counter play began long before I actually sat down in my seat to watch it and fully immerse myself in the performance. To elaborate as my peers and I discussed how we would get to the play we organized a bus trip and decided to travel together. Therefore, though the commute was over an hour and tedious, having my new friends with me made the trip not only tolerable but enjoyable in their presence. However, as we talked throughout the entire drive, we formed premonitions about the play and created inherent dissatisfaction and disappointment with the play prior to ever hearing an official synopsis of the play or giving the work a chance. Many of our concerns surrounded the fact that this play was off broadway, was not a musical, and had a slow and unentertaining story line.

I can now proudly admit that my preconceived notions of the play proven to be very wrong. Despite the fact that this play had one setting, their play on time and light transported us into their universe where through we were bound to a window into the characters’ lives set in the diner, we were able to connect and understand the characters’ fears and dreams. Additionally, in my opinion it was irrelevant to travel anywhere else as this is the only place the main characters interacted and grew their friendship. This diner, though seemingly simple and bland at first can be interpreted as so much more. it is symbolic for the characters’ newfound friendship, new beginnings, and a place of inspiration to face one’s fears and truly have the strength to live fully. Moreover, this diner perfectly captures the beauty of human nature.

My typical impression of small productions like these is often negative, as I do not particularly enjoy simple works. I would prefer a play like a Broadway show because I like it when there is more going on since I get distracted less. The trip getting to the city wasn’t bad, just a lot of traffic which is to be expected.

Walking into the theater, honestly,  I was underwhelmed because I was skeptical about how such a small set could remain the set for the entire play. Even looking at the audience, I was certain that it was meant for a different audience than myself. I thought to myself that it surely couldn’t be as static and boring as it seems, in some aspects, I was proven right and very wrong in others.

When the play began, we were introduced to the two main actors: Katie and Paul. Katie works at a diner where Paul is a frequent visitor, and throughout the play, the dynamics of their relationship reveal itself. For the first of the play, I was unimpressed because their interactions seemed very mundane and too ordinary to become interesting. Honestly, I did not like the play until Paul asked Katie to become friends, this puzzled me because with a person who you see almost every day, I would assume they are already beyond acquaintances. After Paul established the two were friends, he revealed a deep secret that he was rather bored and depressed with the life he had led, and in the future, he wants Katie to poison him. This struck me. Such an ordinary play suddenly turned into a complex dynamic between the characters, and this now put Katie at a loss.

After the poison came into play, it allowed for both characters to open up and tell each other’s secrets. At this point, it became so interesting since Katie revealed her past love life and that she had 27 voicemails she could never bring herself to delete. Paul helped her through it. The connection between these two made me see each of them in different lights; it revealed that neither of them had a person who could help them with these tough decisions, they didn’t have a best friend. It showed me how such simple interactions at a diner could be so much more meaningful. The fact that there were only two characters in the play was so more impactful as it shows the quiet nature of the town and how their connection is so simple yet complex. It is insane that this little town, little diner, and ordinary people left such a message.

The play addresses such serious issues in a lighthearted way as a way to spread awareness. When Katie revealed that she could not have kids, that really hit me. I even felt bad for judging the play so quickly, saying it would not have an impact on me. But that twist explained so much about Katie’s hard exterior and soft inside persona. It made me think that people that we meet daily have things going on that we do not know of. Ordinary people have something going on that never reaches the surface. No matter how well you think you know someone, they have an untold story. It is a lesson to be conscious that you can’t tell everything about a person by looking at them or small interactions. It was such a small thing that left a huge impact on me.

The only thing I must note is that many of the references were outdated, at least for me. This confirmed my prediction it was aimed at an older audience. The one thing I liked was the connection to sharing the Netflix password it provided a humor that was easy to understand. However, even with the play geared toward an older audience, the message was still clear.

The use of lights and audio was something that was worthy to note as it added an element of movement in an otherwise static play. It was interesting that the progression of time was still easy to understand despite no direction. The simple light movement was crucial for supporting the play’s message.

The ending of the play was what I loved most about the play. The open-ended play posed so many questions: Did Katie poison him? Did Katie reunite with her old love? Did Paul continue his life in the town or move? It was such a meaningful ending. I loved the evolution of both characters, which was most seen at the end of the play. Katie is now able to open up just a little more and is able to rekindle her love with her past. Paul now sees the complexity of life, and how it is not always running away but simply moving forward, I hope he moves out of the town that he has stayed in most of his life.

 

On Saturday, 9/21, I made a trip to Manhattan to visit the Banksy Museum. I had ordered my ticket online prior to arriving, which was convenient. However, I do not think I would have had to wait very long to purchase a ticket in person because there was no line, and there were only a few people in the museum at the time. These people were different from one another, some were younger couples, some were older, and there were a few small families walking around. I thought it was interesting that Banksy’s art attracted various different demographics.

Attempting to ignore the amount of pieces that were displayed on artificial walls (to me, this felt disingenuous), the images themselves were quite intriguing to me.

1. Show Me The Monet, 2005

This piece stood out to me because I remember seeing original Monet works at the MoMA when I visited for this class. This modern take on the piece in which Banksy adds items such as shopping carts and traffic cones to the landscape. These items look out of place in the context of the piece, which seems to be intentional. I think that this can be interpreted as commentary on the rise of the capitalistic nature of the world, as shopping carts are essentially polluting this image of a natural environment. The parody-like disposition of this painting is exemplary of a common theme among Banksy’s art, which is that it goes against the anticipated. He uses his craft to call out issues in the world that he deems important to spread awareness about. This can be considered a sign of non-conformity, which is both prominent in his ideology and his art.

2. Game Changer, 2020

This piece piqued my interest due to its meaning. This art is a tribute to healthcare workers, aligning them with figures of superheroes. While this can be considered a general sentiment, in context it is more meaningful when the year it was made is taken into consideration. This work appeared in 2020, amid the peak of the global pandemic. Nurses and healthcare workers were risking their lives to treat others and worked to minimize the spread of the virus. Creating this work dedicated to the sometimes unacknowledged challenges that these workers faced signifies how Banksy not only uses his abilities to draw attention to negative aspects of the world that need attention, but also utilities his art to uplift the under-appreciated.

3. Festival (Destroy Capitalism), 2006

The message of this piece continues to affirm the anti-capitalist beliefs that are conveyed in other art that Banksy has created. However, the metaphor of a merchandise stand stood out to me because when I reached the end of the museum, I was led into a gift shop. I found various different items bearing images of Banksy’s most famous and popular pieces, all available to purchase. I am aware that this museum is unaffiliated with him, but it provokes me to wonder why he would not stop the operation. I believe this may have been intentional to give further meaning to pieces such as this one, as even Banksy’s most anti-capitalist works have been commodified in some shape or form by this museum. Whether they are merely being displayed, or they are literally being sold in the gift shop, they are being commercialized. This solidifies the idea that capitalism is still on the rise and that this is a current matter.

In conclusion, the Banksy museum allowed me to explore the various topics that Banksy used his art to discuss and raise awareness of, but its existence may be built upon irony.