University of Virginia Library

More Criminal

But, perhaps even more
criminal, at the end of the play
after Henry has disappeared up the
center aisle to an all-too-soft
drumbeat, and the curtain calls
have begun, instead of having the
irregular drum-cadence build and
resound (as is indicated in those
words in the script) to celebrate
Henry's breaking out of the shell to
rejoin society on his own terms, Mr.
McLaughlin has sounds of a flute
take precedence. Now, I've got
nothing against flutes, but
throughout the play the flute has
been associated with Walden Pond
and it represents Henry's life at
Walden. The flute should not be
heard after Henry says he must
leave Walden and the fact that it is
presents an obvious contradiction
to the spirit of the ending and,
indeed, the entire thrust of the
play. This is the sort of directorial
carelessness that sends playwrights
up walls.