Thoughts on Portrait

I thought the suspense was great, and the ending seemed sudden, but I liked it.

I was a little confused as to why the lefty brother said to Nancy (paraphrased), "If he tells you the truth, marry him, if he doesn't, marry me." At the start his character is anti-marriage in general, so why would he say that? It's clear that Nancy made an impression on him at the dance, and he didn't make an impression on her because she forgot he was even there, but I never understood why he would make such a bold statement.

I also liked how the canvases were blank, because they would have drawn my attention away from the characters, and as someone pointed out, we all have different opinions as to what is and is not a "good" painting, and if the paintings looked bad to some of the audience members, they might be less engaged.

I was a bit confused as to the time skipping around--since we saw Nancy first as Alice's assistant, and then again when Nancy meets Alice as the conservative brother's girlfriend, I kept thinking "Won't she recognize her own assistant, and won't Nancy recognize Alice and Alice's home?" I realize now that I must have been quite confused throughout the play as to the time travelling based on what other people have written, I'm not sure what's wrong with me.

I liked how Nancy reacted to Alice when she started to curse, and how she did not shy away like her boyfriend assumed she would want to. This (and the fact that she poses for Alice) were an effective way to demonstrate just how much devotion she had to her potential fiancee.

The scenes with the art dealer and Alice painting him were fun to watch, and they really tore each other down. The way Alice can paint people and then know them reminded me a lot of the Idiot's ability to read people and tell them who they are inside.