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And So It Goes, a play by George F. Walker, is the story of Ned (played by Peter Donaldson) and Gwen (played by Martha Burns), who face their daughter Karen’s (played by Jenny Young) schizophrenia and subsequent death as well as their own financial ruin. Both Gwen and Ned possess an imaginary friend and therapist of sorts, the author (and very dead) Kurt Vonnegut (played by Jerry Franken). The play was written and directed by George F. Walker. A review of The Factory Theatre’s performance of And So It Goes, from the February 18, 2010 performance, will take into account the art direction, script and performances to assess the function of these elements in the play.

The art direction, specifically the set and many of the props, was the most disappointing element of the play. The set (designed by Shawn Kerwin) consisted of black flats of varying sizes, placed sporadically around the stage. They also had various paintings on them, which were supposed to be indicative of what was going on in that area of the stage, rather than a realistic portrayal of a location. For instance, the section of the stage that was supposed to be the home had a backdrop of children playing, as well as a crazy-looking eye and an equally crazy-looking baby. While it is easy to respect the artistic decision of painting representations of ideas rather than sets, it is the execution of it that was highly disappointing. The effect of the black, occasionally painted flats was reminiscent of the mazes they create at LazerQuest, and overall the look appeared to be very cheap. The set can be cheap; it just should not look cheap.

Although music has been a part of theater since ancient times, the musical theater we know and love today was born in the United States. America can lay claim to being the nursery of a unique form that used song and dance as a means of furthering the action of the text or revealing information about a character.

In 1866 the combination of a French ballet troupe without a performing venue and a newly written melodrama in need of enhancement produced a happy accident known as The Black Crook. Elevating respect for musical theater it generated a new audience and an unsurpassed box office. It contributed more to the public’s acceptance of musical theater than any work up to that point. The profitable success of The Black Crook proved that America had given birth to a new art form.

Musical theater in the United States has always informed itself in context with the fabric of American society. The waves of immigrants flooding into the United States at the turn of the twentieth century fueled the work of artists like George M. Cohan. Born of Irish descent, Cohan’s hit Little Johnny Jones, portrayed a Irish American patriot in Britain who was the epitome of a Yankee.