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Clybourne Park addresses social segregation

“Clybourne Park” reflects upon gentrification and how the American opinion of race has changed over the decades.

Annie Hinton directs Julia Cuppy and Neha Curtiss during dress rehearsals for Clybourne Park, opening May 5th. The play will run until May 14th in the studio theater on Palomar's San Marcos campus. Savhanna Vargas/The Telescope
Annie Hinton directs Julia Cuppy and Neha Curtiss during dress rehearsals for Clybourne Park, opening May 5th. The play will run until May 14th in the studio theater on Palomar’s San Marcos campus. Savhanna Vargas/The Telescope

Palomar College’s Studio Theatre presents “Clybourne Park.” The satirical play is introduced in two acts in the course of 50 years. The generous space of a “Clybourne Park” home in Chicago suburbia welcomes act one.

In act one the audience is introduced to the main occupants of the “Clybourne Park” home. The walls are painted in a deco mint green color with humble furnishings. The audible acoustics bring life to the stage, in the warm and snug Palomar’s Studio Theatre, even with the loud pouring rain on opening night.

Karl (Joylon Maxilom) speaks during the technical run of Clybourne Park in Palomar College's studio theater. Additionally pictured, from left to right, are cast members Betsy (Rachel Stinger), Bev (Julia Cuppy) and Rus (Neha Curtiss). Clybourne Park is directed by Annie Hinton and is set to run from May 5th to May 14th on the San Marcos campus. Savhanan Vargas/The Telescope
Karl (Joylon Maxilom) speaks during the technical run of Clybourne Park in Palomar College’s studio theater. Additionally pictured, from left to right, are cast members Betsy (Rachel Stinger), Bev (Julia Cuppy) and Rus (Neha Curtiss). Clybourne Park is directed by Annie Hinton and is set to run from May 5th to May 14th on the San Marcos campus. Savhanan Vargas/The Telescope

The entire first act is set in the living room where the conflict arises, when a couple plans to sell a home to an African-American married couple. Although the satire of this particular play is that the entire cast is surprisingly of mixed race and multi-cultural, the actors of the cast do a realistic portrayal of their race they are typecasted in.

Fast forward 50 years later, “Clybourne Park” is now home to a predominately black community. The irony in act two is that a white couple plans to buy the house. The house doesn’t look the same, torn wallpaper hangs from the walls, the wood floors are warped, covered in trash and resembles beached drift wood. The furnishings are in the same condition.

The cast is constantly interrupted by the ringing of cell phones. Eventually, disorder develops and the cast is thrown in another disagreement. What will become of the “Clybourne Park” home, but most importantly will they finally come to an agreement as to what’s for dinner?

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