"Middletown" Review

Huntington University’s theatre department has done a fantastic job putting on Eno’s Middletown. It is one of the most thought provoking and detail oriented shows I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.

From the symbolism at the beginning with the dead flowers on one window sill to the fresh flowers in another window, this play is incredibly well thought out.

Middletown’s genre is hard to pinpoint. It’s humorous and sad all at once. The show even addresses this when one character says “Use humor to try and distance yourself from the pain.”

That quote makes me cringe because I do that very thing all too often. I hide my hurt by laughing.

Laughter is indeed good medicine, but I think we also need to take the time to acknowledge the everyday pain we feel. Basking in grief can actually be a healing process. If we constantly suppress our genuine feelings, we lose one of the most beautiful aspects of our humanity.

This play also deals with the concept of self-worth. The mechanic participates in a rain dance near the end of the show. The audience very obviously feels embarrassed on his behalf as he starts, but he continues and all of the sudden he transports us to a glorious land of self-acceptance.

In summary, Middletown displays the contrast and correlation between life and death, teaches us where humor belongs in relation to pain, and emphasizes the importance of self-love.