Lets talk about Killer Joe for a bit

Killer Joe was written by Tracy Letts in 1991 but it wasn’t produced until 1993 because of the violence in the play. It’s first production was in Evanston, Illinois by Next Lab. If you want to find the play my suggestion would be to buy it. It’s very good.

 

In Killer Joe, a trailer park family falls into trouble with money when the son Chris falls into debt with some bad people. In order to pay it off, they hire the hit man Killer Joe to kill the mother (who is not in the play as the parents are divorced and the father is remarried) to collect the life insurance. Killer Joe takes the sister Dottie as a “retainer” to make sure he gets his cut when the job is done. It all falls to hell after that.

 

I think the fact that the play is set in a trailer park is very interesting. Letts could have set it in a middle or upper class neighborhood with the same basic plot but because he set it in the trailer park it seems sadder, in a way. Because that’s where it’s set it’s gritty and rough and just violent.

Letts also chooses to not show the mother at all in this play. She is only mentioned and not very fondly. By keeping her out of the picture, the audience can only form opinions based on what we are told about her, all of which is, again, not very good. Another thing that would happen if the mother was actually in the play, is that it would take the focus off the characters of Dottie, Chris, and Joe (and to a lesser extent Ansel and Sharla) and put more focus on the murder plot which isn’t really the point.

How I Learned to Drive Response

I think Vogel used the “Greek Chorus” in How I Learned to Drive because this is Lil’ Bit’s story, and it’s the story of her and Uncle Peck. The other characters are non-essential. The play is like Lil’ Bit’s memory in which she is choosing to remember the things that were important to her. By having the other characters being played by the Greek Chorus, Vogel is showing how those characters appearances and opinions don’t really matter to Lil’ Bit or to the story.

Vogel uses a Voice throughout the play to say things that sound like driving instructions. I can understand how the instructions relate to the story but I find it curious that she chooses to do it through a “Voice”. She could have just had the Greek Chorus or Lil’ Bit do it. She could have even had Uncle Peck do it but she didn’t. I can’t think of why. Well I have ideas but they are disjointed at best.

The Conduct of Life Response

I think Fornes’ use of the character of Olimpia in The Conduct of Life is an excellent way to provide the voice of reason in the play. She contrasts Orlando, who is violent and cruel, and Leticia, who chooses to ignore the tragedy that’s right in front of her. She calls Orlando out on his cruelty and tries to take care of Nena, and she tries to bring things to attention (ie the fact she needs a new pot or the fact that Nena is ill). What makes her an interesting character to choose for this position in the play, is that she is the servant which means she is going to notice everything but because of her position there is no chance for her words to fall on anything but deaf ears. Perhaps if Olimpia was a character with a higher position in this world she would have been able to stop everything that happened but then again if she was she probably wouldn’t have seen what was going on