Although not a credo piece, I had to write this down.
My boyfriend and I went to see a play at UGA this evening entitled The Underpants, a delightful German story twisted and reverently turned by Steve Martin. We had a wonderful time after a few bumps here and there over who sat where and how long it would be before we ate again.
We were cooking some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches when he commented to me, “I guess comedy doesn’t change much. I mean it ends where it originally started.” And in this particular play, this is very true. Right at the end, when you believe you have reached resolution, everything dissolves back into its original chaos.
I have been thinking about it, and I believe many comedies do end this way, if their chief end is comedy. The romantic comedy, however, defies these conventions because, without the couple getting together, we have no romantic comedy. And if the two people get together, then there is change.
Comedy, tragedy, romantic, whatever. Change is the most realistic, and perhaps the cyclical stasis is the best way to drive home whatever point the author may be making.
