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Farragut North by Blank Slate Theatre
Until May 26th
Art should be driven and created by artists who feel compelled to produce. Something comes from within and they say ‘I have to do this show, I have to show this’. They are possessed and they invite other artists to join them. That spark carries through until the show reaches an audience. Sometimes it is then discovered that the divine inspiration to produce was misguided and the work is less than satisfactory.
That is not the case at Blank Slate Theatre’s production of Farragut North. This is twisty drama is nasty politics and blind ambition that I found riveting and inventively staged & skillfully acted.
The chameleon like Alexander McMorran is Stephen Bellamy a cunning press secretary for an unseen Democratic Presidential nominee. He berates his low status but clearly clever assistant played by Bryan Demore while sucking up to the boss – Drew Taylor all warm self-effacing smiles with a trace of kick ass killer just beneath the surface. They share drinks with a New York Times writer played with guarded friendliness by Lilli Clark.
You keep your friends close and your enemies closer in the world of high stakes politics and everyone knows not to leave the room or they will be dissected or betrayed or both.
The rest of the all white cast is: a too good to be true intern played open hearted but with practical savvy by Meagan Chenosky, a sly strategist (Kristopher West) from the competitions camp with an enticing offer and a hard working waiter Ben Whipple and you have the stage set for double crosses and back room deals where winning is everything.
“Is that what you thought? You thought we were friends?” asks one of the characters as the twists and changes of tactics keep bending the plot. I will admit that I guessed wrong where some of the secrets were and that made me enjoy it more. The script was smarter than me.
Although some of the cynical cruelty can prove distasteful I think it is great insight as to how politicking is done and we the people who allow them to be elected might want know some of the tactics that are used to manipulate us.
The only real negative for me is the unfortunate title. It was wisely changed to The Ides of March when it was adapted for the screen for the George Clooney film.
Thanks to director Nicky Aderton it’s an intense and wicked drama and there is a palpable desire to share this story and for that it deserves an audience.
High Society by The Stanley Theatre
Until June 24th
They made a 1956 movie starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly and using songs by Cole Porter including one of his last big hits True Love. The book was based on play The Philadelphia Story which was made into a movie in 1940 starring Cary Grant, James Stewart and Katherine Hepburn.
The movie was adapted into a stage musical in 1998 and it ran for 144 performances on Broadway.
The story: a well to do young divorcee Tracy Lord, is about to re-marry a rather stiff self made man. Some gossip hounds from Spy Magazine have snuck into the reception in order to get the dirt on the family patriarch’s affair with a younger woman and wouldn’t you know it that scallywag of a first husband has docked his sailboat and decided to crash the party. Throw in a precocious brat and a drunken uncle and let the hijacks commence.
Act One is a tough slog as all the characters are introduced and not a heck of lot happens except the mother and Tracy decide to pretend that the uncle is the scandal plagued father once they figure out the uninvited guests are from Spy Magazine. I am not exactly sure what that is supposed to accomplish but then the story doesn’t dwell on it.
Act Two gets better once Tracy starts to listen to everyone’s advice that she shouldn’t marry stuffy George Kitteredge – gets drunk and then ‘smittened’ with the reporter played with charming awkwardness by Daniel Arnold. This rubs the photographer played by a droll Lauren Bower because she claims to be sort of in love with her colleague.
This is the kind of old fashioned story where characters declare to others “You know what you really should be doing…” and we know that by the end of the play that is exactly what they will be doing. It was actually the relationship between the reporter and Tracy (played with a bright and sophisticated air in the style of a young Katherine Hepburn) that added any semblance of tension and heart to the proceedings.
The all white cast of 14 are having quiet but tuneful fun and Alison Green’s set is kind of clever as different pieces fly in and out and at times revealing the 6 piece band jazzily directed by Ken Cormier. I just wish the set and the costumes were opulent, more special.
The main highlights are the hilarious drunken Norman Browning as the uncle, Steve Maddock’s gorgeous voice, young Bridget Esler as the younger sister who knows how to deadpan a line with serious comic effect.
But in the end you don’t really care about the well off characters, there seems to be no real threat from the gossip people and although some of the Porter songs are de-lovely especially with Todd Talbot and Jennifer Lines singing together on True Love many are very unmemorable. So all we have left to fall back on is the stylishness and the class and there was nothing ‘gasp’ inducing or provoking of envy or causing us to wish we belong to this High Society. The thin politics in the script of status and privilege are not exploited in any impactful way so there is no meat anywhere.
So the show ends up ‘fine’ but I found my mind wandering and actually for the first time in a long time I got up and wandered to the bathroom more to stretch my legs than anything.
I did not get any hint of desire or passion to share this story.
That’s what is happening on this side of queer Canada.
Joyously
David C. Jones
West Coast Ambassador
So here are some truths about producing and promoting an arts event. First off there are three types of people.
1) THOSE WHO HAVE TO GO – that includes people related to cast, devoted fans of the people or of the work itself and those forced to go ie: school groups, spouses etc.
2) THOSE WHO MIGHT GO – that includes people who aren’t averse to attending live arts events, those who have heard of the artist or the work but are not devotees and those looking for a prestige event in order to impress someone else.
3) THOSE WHO WILL NEVER GO – they are the people who hate live arts events because of a misconception of they have been burned before and won’t risk it again.
So you can’t get group 3 so you don’t market your show in a scatter gun approach – handing out flyers willy nilly on a street corner etc. you are likely handing them to a lot of people in group 3.
Okay so how do you hook groups 1 and 2? Well – 1 needs to know you are doing the show and if you have any hope of getting 2 – you better makes sure they know about it too.
This is done through a multi–layered attack.
a) Posters and paid advertizing.
The sooner the better, Group 1 – needs only to see it once and then needs to be reminded in case they forget but Group 2 needs to see it a lot. Your paid marketing at the very minimum needs to brand the title into the viewers head. A simple image works well to. It has to stick in the casual viewers head. Remember they are only vaguely interested. It needs to sink in. Burrow into their sub-conscious.
If you use too artsy or flowery a font so the title on the poster can’t be read from a passing bus – your poster is a wasted marketing opportunity. If you haven’t found your Phantom Mask icon or your Les Miserable little waif girl icon or your Batman icon – or some other easily grasped image that can be echoed easily in multiple places you have yourself another missed opportunity to hook Group 2 as you enter phase two.
b) Stories and editorial
Now as it get closer to the event you need blog and print stories about things connected to the show. Media folks aren’t really interested in doing a story on your show just because you are doing a show unless you are a big deal, like a real big deal. So you have to find another hook for the media to care about.
Did anyone in your cast do something super interesting recently – like save a person or kill a person? Pitch that. Is there a unique fact that is not just ‘we are doing a show’. I once pitched to a gay newspaper a story about local straight actors playing gay in shows. They thought that was an interesting topic and did a two page story on it and our show was part of that feature.
Media stunts – as long as they don’t feel too calculated – can also get you coverage. We staged kidnapping critics in support of The Real Inspector Hound and we surprisingly got national exposure.show about c
They reason you NEED these stories – it reminds Group 1 that you are doing the show and it may tip 10 to 20% of Group 2 into now coming to your live event. Since your print and poster advertizing has implanted the title or the image or title in their mind – they read the story and think “I have heard of this show” and since they are reading what is likely a positive story about your show – they are assuming positive things and then they might book a ticket.
You can also get editorial in key publications, newsletters and web-sites based on groups that our cast and crew might belong to. Are they Jewish, Indian, Chinese, Gay or Coal Miners – there is a writer desperate to do a story for their Jewish, Chinese, Gay or Coal Miner publication, newsletter or web-site and they will be grateful to you. That is a great way to hook another 5 to 10% of Group 2.
Now you do all that before the show opens – once the show opens all you have is –
c) Reviews and Word of Mouth
Now you can’t control these – they will do what they want. The good news is that neither has any real effect on Group 1 – although if the reviews and word of mouth is deadly – they will be a little sullen when they come to the show.
The bad news – they can kill the potential of Group 2 folks attending. I once read that in regards to Group 2 – it takes only one bad or less than enthused comment to squash the impetus of a Group 2 person to see a show. Conversely it takes almost 7 positive or glowing comments to change a person in Group 2 into a person in Group 1.
So you want to fill the house with charity comps and youth groups and hairdressers in the first three days of a run so they can get the potential great word of mouth (WOM) campaign going that will build as positive reviews come out or the WOM can swamp a bad review and neutralize it’s impact on potential audiences.
We also know because of this that the WOM people need to be super excited and effusive about the live event – because the Group 2 people are not easily swayed. They need to hear a lot about it before they are convinced to go.
So what else does that mean – well on the closing weekend of your show if the event is attendance is only 60 to 80% you have captured mostly the people of Group 1 who waited to the last minute to see the show. If your show is now sold out, particularly the last two shows – you had good WOM and if the last week sells out you had great WOM. If your houses actually drop a bit say to 40% – they you have bad WOM – people have been cautioned to stay away (or perhaps you are closing at a matinee on a sunny day).
Hope that is helpful to someone.
Grey Gardens – Fighting Chance Productions
Until May 19th
This is a factual musical about a documentary about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis aunt and cousin. Once the belles of the ball in the 1940’s they became eccentric ladies holed up in a dilapidated mansion filled with cats and raccoons.
Act One is back in happy times and Act Two is when they were found by the documentary crew.
The show – like the documentary has no plot – its just facts – they were once spoiled and now they are weird and pathetic.
Fighting Chance provides excellent opportunities for artists to explore and grow as they get to sing and act Broadway shows. This production also had the best sounding band I have heard recently as conducted by Caitlen Hayes.
The diverse cast is in fine voice and I am a huge fan of Cathy Wilmot and she has a lot of fun playing the Mom in Act One and the now bald daughter in Act Two. Lucas Blaney is tuneful and handsome as a young Kennedy in Act One and a sympathetic handy man in Act Two. The bravest and most touching performance was by Sue Sparlin as the once bohemian now derelict grand dame.
There are some fun production numbers but I found I learned nothing so wasn’t pulled in and therefore cared little.
But members of the audience leapt to their feet at the end of the show and informal poll of 20 said they would tell everyone or at least tell specific people about how great the show is. So that means my opinion doesn’t matter – if they do as they say – the show is on it’s way to selling out.
That’s what I am thinking on the West Coast of Queer Canada
David C. Jones
West Coast Ambassador
Out TV
I love creative arts. When I take time out of my life (such as it is) I love to by transported and touched. I go with great expectations and I hope for the best. I am only disappointed when I feel I have been ripped off – the producer or director tried to get away with something or if the experience was overly indulgent or pretentious or if the show was needlessly cruel.
Sometimes it is just bad art. The people involved bit off more than they could chew. They meant well but fell short. In those cases I sometimes opt not to review. Sometimes they are students or community actors and I try to remember that but if they are charging money to see the show I try to be cautionary if it is warranted.
As I am creative type myself I try to figure out what went wrong and offer my opinion. Conversely if something goes right I am curious how they did that?
I also think the arts should reflect the diversity of the city and the world they are taking place in.
Just wanted to share that.
100 Saints You Should Know by Pacific Theatre
Until May 26th
Pacific Theatre produces show with a Christian influence. I have seen some of the most riveting theatre there and I am not a devout person. I have also seen shows that have lectured me or were too pious to enjoy.
Thankfully 100 Saints was in the former. I was completely pulled into this tiny and heartfelt drama about people seeking answers as their lives were in flux.
We start with Father McNally who has been asked to take some time off from his Parrish after some nude art pictures have been discovered and he wrestle with the desire they provoke. He moves back with his mother who is under the impression the apple of her eye and the source of her pride is on vacation. His rectory housekeeper – a former groupie now questioning God, was teenage mom now saddled with a teenager who is well on the path to becoming a chip of the old block. There is also the simple but sweet delivery boy who has become curious about rumors of the Father’s homosexuality.
The play is very funny as the plucky attitudes and the brave smiles masking pain make the characters crack wise but truthfully. In act two there is an unexpected and heartbreaking tragedy that plunges all the characters into a tailspin. Some towards the answers they seek and other further away.
The themes here are complex – the existence of God, the need for family, the need for being true to one’s self, forgiveness and independence. You laugh and then I cried. I mean my shoulders noticeably heaved.
Under nuanced and artistic direction Anthony F. Ingram has achieved handsome performances from his diverse cast. I could not take my eyes of noble and greatly conflicted Joel Stephanson, Katherine Gauthier as the teenager is all bombastic bravado and sullen pain – she has a tough part playing a character younger than her and she captured the defiance and fickle pain and I found her shocking and heartbreaking.
I have watched Chris Lam’s career and worked with him in a musical a couple of years ago. His Garrett is so funny and naïve yet desperately seeking answers that his tenacity was inspiring and then devastating.
As the mom’s Kerri Norris as Abby is a bulldozer with heart and was truthful and although on preview I saw more of the repented and not so much of the sinner – Rebecca Deboer as the former Deadhead, Theresa, pulled me in. I just pictured Cher in Mask in the role but that’s probably a gay thing.
If you love the experience of being captivated by laughter and then moved, if you enjoyed the stimulation of curiosity then I know 100 Saint You Should Know.
The Exquisite Hour by Relephant Theatre
Until May 12th
I love this show. It was my favorite show of the Fringe in 2010 and it was suppose to be remounted by The Vancouver Playhouse this year before that company went belly up (hopefully temporally). The Arts Club stepped in an offered a space.
It’s 1962 and Josue Laboucane is a quiet bachelor sipping lemonade in his back yard when a blustery young woman played by Nevada Yates Robart interrupts his tranquility and his life. I adored her humor and bravery when I saw it last time.
I loved this show and picked it as my top show of the 2010 Fringe Festival. Funny and sweet and bold and romantic – a great recipe for trying times.
Art is subjective and though I always try to be fair I have a confession. I was perhaps lenient on my thoughts about Henry & Alice Into The Wild. I was one of the only writers to think it was funny. Lately I have been going to shows with this guy I am kind of fond of, he is handsome and smart and has a great physique AND he had his arm around me for the whole show. That may have influenced my opinion.
So I guess if you want a good review – you better hope I am bringing him. : )
Joyously
David C. Jones
West Coast Ambassador
Out TV
The Boys In The Band by Ghost Light Projects
Until May 6th
Mart Crowley’s place in LGBT Cultural History is assured but how it will be remembered is up for debate. His play about a gay birthday party debuted off-Broadway in 1968 and spawned a movie in 1970. A time when homosexuality was never mentioned in films accept in the mostly negative way.
The debate of how The Boys In the Band was a breakthrough is championed and chastised as some gays call it a horrid representation of gay life while others see it as a interesting look at people and politics for some big city queers in the 70’s.
Some people of course also just got upset that I used the word ‘queer’ in that last sentence.
Yes, Michael the host of the party is self-loathing and a bit of a manipulative sociopath. But so was Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe. Sure Harold the older queen’s whose birthday they are celebrating is bitchy and envious of youth but so is Margo in All About Eve.
Because older queers – and yes, I think this is an older queer issue – were so starved to be represented in anyway on TV and movies I think we have become overly sensitive to any portrayal.
I remember when Queer As Folk aired and the concern that the character of Brian was going to make everyone think that gay guys are lecherous bed hoppers after teenagers.
On my favorite blog Towleroad, the amount of concern that was leveled toward the Glee character of Kurt for being too feminine, too vain that when he had a crush on Cory Monteith’s character he was called a gay pining stalker with such ferocity that the writer clearly thought casual viewers to the show might immediately look over their shoulder to spot the fag watching them.
Some people of course just got upset that I used the word ‘fag’.
When both my companion and I posted on our Facebook walls we had seen it – we both got comments deriding the script.
I will be debating/discussing this panel on Queer FM – Should we be concerned how gay characters are portrayed on TV and in movies. Should disclaimers be provided for ‘period’ plays written in a less open time. I will post it next column.
So how was this production? I was really appreciative that I finally got to see it. The directors Randie Parliament and Greg Bishop transformed the PAL Theatre into Michael’s 70’s apartment using the actual windows in the highly adaptable space and making us enter through the side door.
The actors are all engaging we some really going beyond attitude and text and finding a nice depth and truth. The very handsome Shaughnessy Redden and the equally handsome Robert L. Duncan as the ‘married’ lovers brought a tear to my eyes as they participated in Michael’s twisted phone call game in Act Two. Louis Dupris recently seen in The Pitch know how to spin the catty lines that the queenie Emory has.
Matthew Romantini as Michael had a lovely physicality to the tortured and defiantly anxiety-ridden character and at one point pawing at the carpet like an animal. Rob Monk as Harold is cruelly funny when there is gift he doesn’t want and goes into full and pointed attack when Michael gets into his face.
Riaan Smit as the hustler, Andrew Wade as Michael’s friend and Michael Barry Anderson as the unexpected straight guest did fine work in their underwritten roles.
There is a lot of 70’s navel gazing that dates the play but there are enough machinations in the plot that I found it moved along nicely.
Now I know the directors really tried to find an actor to play the black character of Bernard and were unsuccessful so they cast Lee McKoewn the girl who played the stripper in The Great American Trailer Park. They called this gender-neutral colour blind casting but all it did was make the show become more of a staged reading then a full production. Since one of the cathartic moments for Emory is when he realizes he has been “Uncle Tom-ing” Bernard there is nothing that Ms. McKoewn can do to evoke the racial injustice. I totally sympathize with their casting problems but like I mentioned about the musicals – if you can’t cast the show it might be best not to do the show.
The said – I was really appreciative that I finally got to see this ‘notorious’ play and found the story funny and darkly moving.
Henry & Alice Into The Wild by the Arts Club Theatre
Until May 26th
Henry & Alice are trying to get away from it all – their grown daughters and their drug using teenage son – the stress of urban living and unknown at the time to Alice, the uncertainty that has arisen because Henry has just lost his job. They are camping and in a tip of the hat to the old TV show Green Acres, Alice has worn heels, albeit sturdy ones – in the woods.
Michele Riml is a witty playwright and she uses the loss of the middle class status in an uncertain economy to add weight to her funny tale of two long married people at odds with each other. The play is a sequel to Sexy Laundry – but I did not see that show but I assumed Henry and Alice has similar strife that they dealt with equally funny one-liners and heartfelt confessions.
There is a screen play quality to the play with two major ‘incidents’ having to be covered by blacking out the lights and using a sound effect. There are some things you can’t do on stage like dump a motorcycle into a lake.
The script is pleasing if unsurprising. Director Andrew McIlroy gets loving and heartfelt performances out of Susinn McFarlen and Andrew Wheeler. He does such a truthful job that when my fave actress Beverey Elliott shows up as the wild sister and invites Alice to abandon everything and travel to Africa – for a second I thought it might actually happen and story might take an unexpected twist.
But this is a safe comedy that touches on heavy themes but doesn’t really explore them. But the set and lighting by Ted Roberts are lovely.
I took my handsome friend who is a business owner and he said his big fear is losing everything and when he saw Henry say he had lost everything he didn’t believe it. He knew instinctively that – at least in this play – everything would work out – and it did.
But sometimes predictable funny and safe plot twists are a fun night out though and if that is what you think you need then you should head into this wild.
Joyously
David C. Jones
West Coast Ambassador
PS: Check out my new emcee video here and my Hot Pink Shorts Promo here.
God of Carnage present by Vancouver Civic Theatres
Until May 5th – $20 rush tickets one hour before the show.
This was to be the final show of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, a co-production with Royal Manitoba Theatre Company. Sadly years of red tape and inane restrictions have finally killed the Company and it was up to Civic Theatres to keep the curtain up.
Written by Yasmina Reza this script translated from it’s original French by Christopher Hampton and has been produced all over the world and made in to a movie starring Jodie Foster (and dropping ‘God of’ from the title).
An upper middle class comedy of manners – it is about two sets of parents who meet when the child of one busts two teeth of the child of the other couple. Everything is very civil until the booze and the puke (yes, puke) starts to flow. Then accusations and recriminations start to fly and alliances are tested and traded.
It’s all very silly and although it seems to have aspirations to be something along the lines of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe it is more a sitcom on well dressed people acting badly. But man, it’s fun to watch and made me laugh out loud a lot.
The all white cast is game and they all throw themselves into their suburban brat roles.
Oliver Becker and Shauna Black as the couple with the home advantage are great, great fun but I found John Cassini as the lawyer who was always on his cel phone captivating. Maybe it’s all the film and TV work but his subtle work was very deep and fascinating to watch. The best comedian – and to be fair, it is the showiest part – is Vickie Papavs as Annette the put upon wife who not only supplies the aforementioned puke but some of the sharpest turns of character. She is as funny raging as she is hurt.
God of Carnage is the equivalent of a bitch fest that descends into a food fight but since they are such refined characters we laugh and even feel a little superior. But is there anything wrong with art that finds clever ways to make us smile and feel a bit smug? Made me feel happy, and made me hope the Playhouse will be back soon.
Hello, Dolly! By Royal City Musical Theatre
Until April 28th
It tough not to compare when two different theatre companies produce the exact same show with in a couple of weeks of each other. I saw the Capilano University production and reviewed it earlier. While that was student production this is a community production albeit one with three professional performers.
The Royal City has a visible orchestra (conducted by James Bryson) and the Cap University has theirs squirrelled away in back room. The Royal City design emulates Dolly’s fascination with shadow drawings by stylizing all of the set in 2-D cutouts – the University had more 3 dimensional set pieces. Royal City had diversity among the leading roles when the University (with their production) kept diversity to supporting roles. The University had a very capable Steffani Davis playing a part that was much older very well where as Royal City had perfect Dolly Levi in Colleen Winton.
No offense to Ms. Davis but Ms. Winton not only has a grand voice but she brings a touching gravitas as Dolly talks with her dead husband. Her desire to ‘re-join the human race’ carries more weight when a more mature actress who no doubt has experienced loss – delivers the line. And when the waiters welcome her back to the high life – the relieved and joyous zeal bursting from Ms. Winton was palatable.
We also get great vocal performances from veteran actor David Adams as Vandergelder, Sayer Roberts as Barnaby and Caitlen Cluston as Irene Malloy. I was completely charmed also by Kayla Dunbar as Minnie Fay.
But something was a little off. This show is about making your own way in life and it is about finding love, having adventure and making connection. Late in the play when Cornelius (played by Dustin Freeland) sings of his love for Irene Malloy in the song It Only Takes a Moment, the actress has been placed in the least dominate position next to the proscenium so she is in profile for the song and so that he doesn’t even look at her for the first two verses. The given circumstances are that he has not kissed a girl in 31 years yet now that he has a lady he loves who seems to love him back he can stand 20 feet away from her and not even look at her?
The Capilano production had innovation in the creation of a human train with the use of hatboxes and umbrellas and here we get a cutout of train. The mixed up wallet scene at Capilano was done with chaotic choreography where in the Royal City production they are just dropped on the floor and picked up by some waiters. In the Capilano production when Paul Almeida’s Horace broke down and revealed he wanted to marry Dolly you felt the love he was suppressing burst out as his voice cracked with emotion, in this production Horace seems to just surrender to her. Many things felt fine but they didn’t pop!
I also question the use of children in this production. Had they been used to model family life as something the widow’s Dolly Levi and Irene Molloy might ache to experience their unscripted presence might be justified but instead they are just trotted out in a couple of songs and placed centre stage rather arbitrarily. They are charming but why are they here?
Still a lot of energy was brought forth by a dynamic chorus of boisterous actors in the group numbers and their voices mixing with the live orchestra created a beautiful sound. Check them out here.
I brought a friend who did not see the other production and who loves musical theatre and I asked him what he thought? He summed it up nicely. “It was great fun but it lacked passion.”
But with a show like Hello, Dolly – it does hang on the Dolly and this production was chock full of passion there. Hello, Colleen – never go away again.
That’s my opinion, on this side of Queer Canada.
See a show!
David C. Jones
West Coast Ambassador
Out TV
The Bomb-itty of Errors by Twenty Something Theatre
Until April 22nd
Looking for clever, stupid sexy fun? This rap version of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors was created by Jordan Allen Dutton, Jason Catalano, Gregory J. Quayum, Eric Weiner and Jeffery Qaiyum and produced here by Temporary Thing and presented by Twenty Something Theatre. That’s a lot of people for a show about four young men who sing and get silly playing all the characters – male and female – in this story of two sets of mismatched identical twins.
If that sounds silly it is – such as the Dromio’s overly enthused signature song and dance “Dro…mio Dro Dro Mio” but then there are moments of fun ingenuity such as when the put upon housewife and her sister confront the man she thinks is her husband with his minion and the back and forth argument has one half of the pair beat boxing for the other, back and forth – it ping pongs with dizzying dexterity.
All of the actors – with the help of director Catriona Leger – create many hugely fun and refreshingly original characters, quirky and surprising. I also was thankful that they were all grounded in truth landing the comedy with greater impact.
David A. Kaye, Niko Koupantsis and Brian Cochrane are energetic and having a great time playing in this framework but Jameson Parker who made me laugh the most and impressed me with the dignity that he brought to all his larger than life characters. Oker Chan spins the fantastic beats for the show.
I also appreciated that the writers have trimmed some of the more bromidic plot lines from the Shakespeare original. The show is 120 minutes without intermission but it is so joyously innocent you let that slide – almost… Vanessa Imeson’s has created some vivid and funky costumes and wigs but this is a quick-change show as the actors switch back and forth between characters. But several times they are clear delays and time killing moments to accommodate costumes that although great looking, are clearly not practical.
It’s stupid, sure some of the jokes fall flat, but there is integrity here and great giddy fun landing many, many laugh out loud moments and the eager to please young cast is a delight to experience.
Scar Tissue by The Arts Club Theatre
Until April 28th
Playwright Dennis Foon adapted the novel by the man who would be Prime Minister, Michael Ignatieff. The Arts Clubs developed this material and their support of new Canadian theatre is greatly appreciated.
In Scar Tissue, an upper middle class family is twisted inside out when the mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.
We experience the story through the eyes of her younger son David (Craig Erickson) who is frantic with worry as to how she got it, how it can be stopped and will he get it.
The cast does heartfelt work – particularly Gabrielle Rose as the mother, a former artist whose descent from forgetfulness to panic at things that should be familiar is haunting and terrifically sad. I also was greatly moved by Haig Sutherland as the older brother Nick. Never a showy actor, here his understated performance was deeply felt. At first Nick seems too objective and practical but in act two there are some lovely reveals that made my heart ache for the character.
Director Craig Hall has crafted a beautiful production with set designer Yvan Morisette and lighting designer John Webber. Small movements of walls and scant furniture make for a fluid dreamlike transitions and sudden and violent shifts help evoke both the families numbness and confusion.
There was also a great use of multi-media in the second act that brought tears to my eyes and didn’t seem too maudlin.
Although well acted and moving it got a little repetitive in Act Two and one point David said “What’s happening to you?” to his mother and I thought – ‘didn’t he see act one?’. There is a final image with the mother and one of her paintings that I thought was quite touching but my companion didn’t get it, neither did another friend who saw the show the night before. When I explained it they both went ‘oh’ as if to mean ‘cool idea’, too bad they didn’t get it.
That I think is the biggest problem – we never get seriously involved with this family, they remain strangers to us, so although we moved we are not involved. It’s like going to a hospital and you see patients, you sympathize, you may be sad, you may even question your own mortality but when you leave you tend to go back to your own life since they weren’t really part of yours.
It’s sad, with beautiful stagecraft and riveting acting – then I went home, unchanged.
Egni’s Eye by Theatre Terrific
Until April 21st
Theatre Terrific is a company that works with actors who have physical and mental challenges. They are a noble and important company and in the interest of full disclosure I should point out was a board member for 4 or 5 years.
Susanna Uchatius is the artistic director and a more compassionate and fair person you are unlikely to find.
The play Egni’s Eye is a sad and virtually unknown story based on an icon of 20th Century Theatre Arthur Miller. “One of the great moralist playwrights of our century; the defender of society’s weak, forgotten and downtrodden” the program says.
A little know fact about this great man is that he with his third wife Inge Morath gave birth to child with Down’s Syndrome and institutionalized him and never spoke of Daniel Miller again.
This subject matter is important and there is great and shocking and complicated story here. Susanna holds the material very close to her heart and although admirable in sometimes does not allow the work to breath.
The diverse cast does stoic work that is open and sincere but much of the material is just presented as facts and there is little drive to push us through. We need a plot or a hook to propel the story. Not just a series or characters feeling bad for doing something bad. That starts to get repetitive.
I was reminded of Re:Union by Sean Devine from last season. He was compelled to write about Norman Morrison – the man who set himself on fire outside the Pentagon with his baby girl nearby. Mr. Devine told the story from the grownup girl’s perspective, as she was about to expose different government corruption. But as she pursued her objective new facts and crushed assumptions startled and changed her and compelled us to listen.
Inge was complicit in this erasing of her son. Arthur Miller did not hold a gun to her head. This is richly complicated material but this production although admirable only scratches the surface.
Last column I wrote about a musicals and how the local schools are pumping out musical theatre artists as fast as they can. So I thought I would go a see one of the schools and attended Hello, Dolly at Capilano University. They have a three year musical theatre program and by the looks of this production they are doing some very good stuff.
The show featured a big set, and big dance numbers and seeing so many young people doing ensemble work with such energy and panache was inspiring. The leads all had great singing voices and some of them especially Steffani Davis as Dolly, Paul Almeida at Horace and Michele Bardach as Irene Molloy lifted their characterizations off the page and made interesting and bold acting choices.
I can easily see any of the actors though stepping from this training program into a big touring show or destined for cities that have big musical theatre scene (Broadway?). Their experiences at Capilano University Theatre appear to totally lay the groundwork.
Sure some of the actors default to making safe or obvious choices but they are young actors some still in the middle of their training. By only real concern with this production is my usual one.
All of the leads were played actors of European descent. Non-Caucasian actors were regulated to chorus or bit parts. That is not very progressive casting but then I have not seen a lot of shows at the school so maybe this was the except as oppose to the rule.
Between this show and Bomb-ity of Errors’ DJ – I think someone should write a show called “The Asian In The Chorus”. The presentation of most theatre in this city, especially in musical theatre (community, school or professional) still seems to be ‘yes, we want you in the show – but no, you can’t play a leading role.’ I don’t think it is deliberate but it also does not seem to be regarded as important.
Actors are actors and actors of colour should not have to wait for someone to produce Flower Drum Song or The Wiz to get a solo. Just as an audience will accept, for example that the same staircase in one show is 1) the stairs to the upper part of an house, and 2) a bridge to watch a parade and 3) the entrance to a fancy restaurant and they understand the food the actors are pretending to eat isn’t real, they will ‘get’ a diverse cast playing various leading roles. They get they are actors playing a role.
To be clear – I am not accusing Capilano of doing anything untoward and I have not seen all their productions – this is what I always think (and speak about) when I see a show especially when I see several shows back to back. Oh, and yes, in case you were wondering, the cast for Scar Tissue was all Caucasian as well.
Theatre holds up a mirror to society. I wish everyone would reflect.
So there we go from the West Coast Queer Canada, the Vancouver scene. What’s happening in your area?
David C. Jones
Ambassador – Out TV.
Hello Queer Canada
So I have been down in LA because I was directing a small musical comedy down there called Cabaret Confessions of and Eco-Diva. I wonder if I will be down in LA again soon because Out TV’s The Making of Hot Pink Shorts will air soon and yours truly is in it. It’s a documentary tv series about making short movies and I am one of four film makers who were profiled and tutored. Sure you need some snacks and a short nap to get through the title but who knows where it shall lead.
So because I was busy with The Odd Couple (Female Version) and away I haven’t seen a lot of local performing arts. So here instead are some unsolicited opinions about comedy and musicals.
First off – many Broadway Musicals have a big splashy number for the young male and/or young female singer – often times in act two. Think All I Need Now Is the Girl in Gypsy or Another Suitcase in Another Hall from Evita. Besides giving the audience a break from the leads singing voices it allows a young talent a chance to stretch their vocal chords and develop their stage confidence and experience. Of course there are musicals like Hair or Spring Awakening or RENT that are all young casts sharing the workload.
In Vancouver we are producing musicals at an alarming rate. Young producers and directors want to showcase their love of the art form and make their mark. But I wonder – are we stretching the talent pool a little thin. The local musical theatre schools are training and pumping out students as fast as they can but are we running the risk of casting them in lead roles before they are ready?
It’s not just the recent grads though – how many triple threats are there in the city and how many are available to do unpaid or little pay independent theatre. Especially when there are also big professional musicals in town that are offering opportunities.
It’s a question.
Now with comedy and in particular comedy theatre or comedy musical theatre we have to remember that it is still theatre. Theatre is about connection, it’s about revealing something about our humanity, and it should be a deep experience because it’s live intimacy allows for a more impactful experience for the attendees. It’s much like how watching live sports with hundreds of strangers can be much more visceral than watching it on TV.
That means you need to find the truth in comedy scripts just like you would with a dramatic script. When you explore the text on a real level and THEN heighten it for comedy sake you still get laughs but you get rich belly laughs, laughs of recognition and characters we can empathize with and maybe even relate to or care about. When you treat comedy characters in a play as caricatures you are treating light material …well lightly. The situations they find themselves in are superficial and therefore not as involving. Two lights make the comedy airborne in a way that you can’t grasp it – you can only hope to admire it or be amused by it from a distance. But since we are not having a visceral experience with the comedy you had better show that there is enough originality and cleverness to get our attention.
But you don’t want dramas to be too damn dramatic or their heaviness will land with a thud. So one tactic is to treat dramas like comedies and comedies like dramas.
It’s an opinion.
The Great American Trailer Park Musical by Ghost Light Projects
Until April 1st
The Great American Trailer Park Musical is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso in 2004. As the title suggests nuance is not going to be served.
Directed by Randi Parliament and starring Jessica Kelly, Arne Larsen, Aaron Lau, Claire Lindsey, Shantini Klaassen, Laura Wilson and Erin Palm – the red haired dynamo I just saw in Because I Love You.
The story is narrated by a trio of trailer park girls like Hercules or Little Shop of Horrors and concerns a man who in becoming tempted from his agoraphobic wife by a new stripper in town. What he doesn’t know is that she is on the run from her gun totting glue-sniffing boyfriend. Oh and the agoraphobic wife is housebound because her son was abducted 20 years ago or so.
If you are thinking the boyfriend shows up and shoots the husband dead, well – you don’t know musical comedy.
There are some fun songs but they can be a little derivative. Songs like Strom’s A –Brewing (sort of It’s Raining Men) and Road Kill (sort of You’ll Be A Dentist) make you laugh as the actor bite into them even if you are thinking you have heard them before.
There is a charming performance by Arne Larson as the beleaguered husband and Aaron Lau has a lot of fun. There are great laughs supplied by Shantini Klassen as the ditzy Pickles and Erin Palm brought the house down when she encouraged the svelte stripper Lee McKeown to express herself by deadpanning “let the whore sing”.
It’s fun and although I did not know what drove Ghost Light Projects to produce it was a great chance for some young talent to explore and play. The musical direction was not as pristine as one would expect from the talented Steven Greenfield and the amazing Dawn Ewen put the actors through their paces in stylish and fun ways.
It was great fun but it also prompted the essay above in the opening comments.
Still I look forward to Boys In The Band – their next show.
But not as much as I look forward to Out TV’s Making of Hot Pink Shorts. That’s right – I brought it back to me.
Thanks and that’s it from the West Coast.
West Coast Ambassador
Mother May I & The Pitch
Drag Queens on Trial by Ghost Light Projects
In repertory until March 18th
Let’s face facts – average theatre goers tend to be mostly women, then gay men, then straight men who have been dragged to theatre by a women, and lesbians (who are usually involved in the arts). So the fact that Vancouver just got another queer theatre group in town should come as no surprise. The ballsy and passionate Randie Parliament heads Ghost Light Projects and his plans are ambitious. 5 shows – including 2 one acts and another full production in rep!
Mother May I was written and directed by Mr. Parliament, inspired by the true experiences of his family beset by rules and secrets. It is said direction is 95% casting and in no way to do I want to diminish the direction but – what a cast!
The story is a young man returns home with his boyfriend after his parents have passed away. As he goes through boxes of photos ghosts of the past come back to life.
Morgan David Jones is simply lovely as the Randie stand-in – alternating as the wary lover to the awkward young man; he is always alive and truthful. As the older teasing sister Lesli Borwnlee is heartbreaking, definite and full of life. As brother and sister their interaction is never cloying or sentimental. Their relationship is the show and with the directors help they find moments of levity and love that provide sharp contrast when things take a dramatic turn.
As the stern mother and the always drinking father, Brenda Matthews and Greg Bishop were almost always spot on (although I wish a lighter hand was applied with Mom’s last monologue, always more interesting to see someone fighting emotion rather than indulging in it).
The memories – like life – serve curve balls that slam you in the face. Verging on melodramatic – they always felt truthful and I burst into tears as the family is torn apart.
I don’t want to give away any of the twists the beset this prairie family but they are surprisingly not shocking while still being devastating. Bravo to the diverse cast and bravo to Randie Parliament.
Double billed with
The Pitch by Jordan Patterson
A frenetic and surreal rant about an aspect of gay drug culture based on the writers true experiences. Our hero is making a video in order to get on Oprah’s Wildest Dreams show and learn about his boyfriend, his horrible work conditions and a little about his party drug habit.
There is a Waiting for Godot quality as sequences repeat with variations such as the dynamic Louis Dupuis as the drug dealer delivering the same monologue three times to three different people. The fact that he makes each time fun is a testament to his skill as an actor.
Doug Millar as next door neighbor Margaret Cho and the Greek chorus of co-workers; Michaela Mann, Kirsten Gauthier and Katie Doyle are electric and focused as part of the surreal mix.
Unlike Requiem for A Dream or Trainspotting we never get to experience the joy of being high – only the misery, so it can get a trying but Kevin Flatley still makes this one note aspect appealing and is an engaging and handsome actor.
After awhile the ranting and anger – although funny – starts to wear you out and then the sullen boyfriend played by Nathan Witte has a cathartic and heartfelt moment that seems to signal a change.
But with it’s feet planted in the theatre of the absurd, our hero – like Vladimir and Estragon – is going to find change is hard to come by.
An odd and funny show.
In repertory with
Drag Queens On Trial
Being a professional drag queen is hard, being a professional actor is also hard – but they are not the same thing. However one aspect of being professional for both is being talented and another aspect is being respectful and disciplined. Well, maybe that second one is less so for Drag Artists.
This play written by Sky Gilbert and directed by Jordan Patterson appears a bit dated because it seems to be about respecting people’s right to live their own life under the stigma of AIDS. That makes it sound heavier than it is. It is also suppose to be bitchy and funny and self-referential.
There are sweet and charming people in this cast but breaking out of character to say you don’t know your lines, rolling your eyes and pretending to shoot yourself in frustration – although acceptable in a nightclub when you pay a $5/$10 cover but it is not so cool when people are shelling out $30 for a play.
I directed a show in town so I asked a colleague to review it. I told him to say whatever he wanted. Here is his review for
The Odd Couple (female version) by Frollicking Divas
until March 17th
Saint in the Dark: The Odd Couple by Neil Simon at the Jericho.
by Aedan Saint
As a radio broadcaster/producer for QueerFM, writing reviews isn’t something I do often. When asked to pinch hit for our fantastic QueerFM Arts Xtra Stage & Arts Host, David C. Jones, he explained that writing a review for a play he was *directing* was unseemly. Here’s MY review of “The Odd Couple”. You’ve been warned.
Being an American over 40 years of age, has it’s advantages and disadvantages – both came into sharp relief for me while attending the Frolicking Diva’s Production of “The Odd Couple” at the Jericho Arts Centre Opening Night here in Vancouver.
Having SEEN re-runs of the Neil Simon play turned hit television series as a child, it become part of Americana that I LOVED. Who couldn’t identify with the 1970′s iconic Oscar played by Jack Klugman, Felix brought to life by Tony Randall or one of the crazy cast of characters in their world? The chemistry of the original Broadway actors in 1965, Walter Mathau & Jack Lemmon were the stuff of MANY future movies (including a film version of the Odd Couple in 1968) and many Tony awards during it’s Broadway run. Flash forward to the female version with Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno in 1985. Neil Simon did it once again by changing the gender and context, yet…the story remained relevant to the times!
Seeing this production with all that baggage of prior exposure, I was frankly skeptical. This is after all iconic AMERICAN theatre.
I shouldn’t have worried. The Frolicking Divas production at the Jericho Arts Centre made me laugh, cringe and laugh! Lisa Dery (Olive) and Lori Watt (Florence) produced and ably undertook a very ambition production with a great deal of humor as well as touching on women’s issues which still resonate today. Couple their lead performances with the rapid fire comedic sniping of their friends Mickey, Vera and Sylvie, and the endless Trivial Pursuit games in their 1985 apartment…and you’ve got yourself a great rendition of a 1960′s classic.
The Laughs: Emmelia Gordon’s high energy protrayal of the Brooklyn police officer, complete with really rather passable accent and attitude, FANTASTIC one liners (one or two which needed a laughter pause) by Joni Hayden-Summerton as the ditzy Vera…and of course, Melissa Oei as Sylvie, what a delightful hard-ass! I loved all of them as the dutiful friends…and of course, the boys from Spain upstairs, which I’ll mention in a moment.
The Cringe: The only cringe worthy elements of the show were a few comedic timing issues and the over the top attention seeking Florence portrayal. Although Ms. Watt’s performance was high energy and passive-aggressively brilliant, it made me harken back to listening to similar sounding friends winge on in similar fashion. Unfortunately for me, I’d turned off my cell phone and couldn’t make a strategic escape from listening to Florence’s crazy as I have in similar real life situations!! It was, however, worth sitting through to see the climax of the play and see more of the stellar supporting cast!
The Laughs: The Spanish neighbours…stole the show! The original Pidgeon sisters, have morphed into the suave and debonair Constanzuela brothers for this iteration – and Rafael Pellerin and Jose Os, as Manolo & Jesus, respectively were AMAZING. Accents and English phrase misunderstandings as well as simple physical comedy gags really showed the comedic influences of improv veteran and local comedic talent, David C. Jones’ directing. Physical comedy and rapid fire delivery is difficult. It doesn’t take much to ruin a gag and it’s obvious that Jones’ joyousness and playful comedic touches helped this production immensely. Couple good comedic direction with great actors, and it’s pretty amazing to watch.
Recommendation: Worthy! This production is the epitome of local theatre. From the fantastical 1980′s television audio/visual segues to the dance number intros of the acts with 1980′s hits, to the quirky flavor of Canadians playing New Yorkers (the only disadvantage to being an American reviewing this) – I’ve gotta give it to them – they rocked it.
In other tragically sad news – The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company is no more. It is complicated as to why. Read about it here.
http://vancouverplayhouse.com/_files/pdf/max-reimers-response-to-media-coverage-of-citys-assistance-september-2011.pdf
And there you have it from the West Coast.
David C. Jones
Out TV Ambassador
The Ugly One by Plan B Collective
Until March 4th
When professional actors decide to come together to produce a show without guarantee of being paid – as they do when they are doing a co-op – it is because they think it is a worthy piece and great chance to be showcased. Sometimes they are wrong on one or both counts.
Not this time.
This is a delightfully weirdly ominous show of quirky wit and stylish production values. With hardly any money the director and the designer Roxana Chapela make simple pieces seem high end. The sound design by Jordan Lloyd Watkins is startling and there is fine lighting by Jergus Oprsal. And then there is a great cast to lift this unique play.
The story is about a man named Lette a creator of some new socket device and how he is passed over to present it because he is not fair of face. As everyone says, he is well, ugly. Even his wife – whom he realizes has never looked directly at him.
He decides on plastic surgery and soon he is on the way getting promotions and suitors galore – females and males throw themselves at him.
Without giving away any of the twists I will say this roller coaster picked up speed and took on a lot of fun complications as people compromised anything in order to be popular.
Although Jack Paterson had to rely on a jacket being on or off to delineate between being the boss or the surgeon – his otherwise understated performance made the darkness and the comedy reverberate.
Brian J. Suttin as the younger worker Kalrmann and the German gay son of a rich socialite is open and connected in both his roles and David Beairsto is dumbfounded when outed as ugly and arrogant with earned hubris when surgically altered as Lette.
But the revelation for me was how hugely funny but subtly nuanced Amber Lewis was as the wife and as the socialite. Without upstaging or being showy I found my eyes being drawn to her to see what she was doing at all times. She is a funny actress.
My only real qualm (as always, I know) is that there is no diversity in the casting.
That said, Bravo to director Richard Wolfe – I would love to know your process and I hope you and the cast earn some decent dough for your earnest and unique efforts.
Hunchback by The Vancouver Playhouse & The Cultch
Until March 10th
Stunning, an eye orgy of design and production values by Bretta Gerecke blending Asian influences with Steampunk Goth in the wardrobe and with a set seemingly inspired by Gaudi. The lighting is also beautiful sometime caressing and sometimes oppressing.
The all white cast is stellar – the show demands precise physicality and they all have to sing with a huge range doing some vocal gymnastic in this highly stylized show.
Click on the link above to see pictures form the show. You will catch your breath.
This adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame is inspired. The source material about love and deformity has been adapted numerous times and even given a happier ending by Disney (they live!). Writer/Director/Composer Jonathan Christenson sets it in the heighten surreal world complete with mask like facial work and movement inspired by the plodding and deliberate style of Kabuki or Noh Theatre.
Unfortunately at the opening we are captured but as the characters all are introduced our interest starts to wane.
By the end of act one my companion and I were both curious as to why we were not emotional engaged with such a heart-breaking story.
Although I could never pull of such a grand piece of art – so therefore who am I to criticize but, well, that’s the job.
I think what happened is so much work was put into how to lift and stylize that what was forgotten was why key moments were in the original story. Why does the priest who took the deformed Quasimodo in as an orphan babe get upset when as a young hunchback man he goes to a festival and gets crowned King of Fools? I suspect it was to show his love and care for the boy. How does Quasimodo’s killing of the priest rapscallion brother affect the priest? I suspect it was to push the priest deeper over the edge.
In this adaptation these and many incidences just… happen. The priest is so mad and twisted from the get-go so there is little journey. As the cast of characters, from soldiers to silly fiancés to gypsy kings parade across the stage they are just markers to get us to the next song or set piece.
In act two there are some beautiful and touching scenes and I cannot stress how beautiful the show is and how powerful the cast is. (I was also giddy excited to see Andrew Cohen who I directed in a musical 8 years ago or so, he was great!).
So much to admire, I just wish act one had not been so long and uninvolving.
There is a new gay theatre company in town called Ghost Light Projects and they are presenting original works by transplanted Torontonians, The Pitch by Jordan Patterson and Mother May I by artistic director Randie Parliament. Looking forward to checking out their double stuffed package!
Check out their site http://www.ghostlightprojects.com/ !
Enjoy live arts and stuff a fiver in the artists pants – they need it.
Joyously
David C. Jones
Middle Aged Fag
Intimate Apparel by The Arts Club Theatre
Until March 10th
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage transports us back to 1905 New York City with warmly told tale about Ester who makes money making ornate and beautiful corsets for the women of 5th Avenue and the prostitutes of the Tenderloin red-light district. She saves up her money in a quilt that will one day buy her a beauty parlor for colored women.
Ester’s world is a small circle of acquaintances; Mrs. Dickson (Leslie Ewen) the opinionated landlady where she rents a room. Mrs. Van Burnen (Anna Cummer) a chatty women of society, Mayme (Marsha Regis) a piano playing prostitute and Mr. Marks (Jonathan Young) the orthodox Jewish merchant who sells Ester fabric so she can make her corsets.
Ester’s world is shaken though when a Barbadian (Darren Herbert) who is working in Panama strikes up a pen pal relationship. At first her friends are cautious about the correspondence, as is she but then she starts to sway back and forth when she talks and giggle as each new letter arrives.
As the distance in the relationship gets much, much shorter quiet passions and secrets under the surface start to reveal themselves like the tantalizing corsets created by Ester (designed by Alison Green).
This is a quiet and deep show as directed John Cooper – as things unspool there is no fireworks and big emotional implosions – this tale of societal and religious oppression and how to negotiate it is steady and heartbreaking.
Each of the actors gives a richly layered performance that is deeply human. They are all trapped and making the best of bad situation. There are no overt villains or heroes everyone is quietly flawed. The diverse cast are all stellar.
Marci T. House makes Ester an inspiring heroine. Righteous and hopeful, steadfastly resolute and cautiously optimistic she is so quiet you need to look for clues, how she touches a sample of cloth or subtly smiles at a word. She broke my heart and humbled me with her resolve and strength.
The production design by Pam Johnson, Itai Erdal and Doug Blafour (set, lights and sound) is evocative and as nuanced as the performances.
A lovely soft spoken show of longing and low but desired expectations , Intimate Apparel is a subtle struggle as part of Black History Month.
I Love You Because by Intimate Theatre Productions
Until February 25th
A new theatre company has been birthed in Vancouver. Intimate Theatre Production’s mandate is to do shows with small casts.
Their first show features lyrics by Ryan Cunningham, set to music by Joshua Salzman, who started writing it back when they were in the musical theatre program at New York University. It is based on Jane Austin’s Pride & Prejudice.
The show is slickly produced with multi-media elements and Kerry O’Donovan (Musical Director) plays a wicked piano. Director Shel Piercy keeps like bright and romantic and the choreographers Shelley Stewart Hunt, assisted by Julie Tomaino create some fun moves and witty visuals for the diverse cast.
Speaking as the cast – there are moments of genuine brilliance and clearly they are all very talented.
With a story so predictable – two ladies decide to find rebound guys – who are wildly different from them – to fool around with but end up falling in love with them – you need a lot of innovation as well as deep honesty to make the telling of the story compelling. Not to mention speed. But to be fair there is not a lot of tension in this script.
Will Austin choose chose Marci over his ex-girlfriend Catherine. Well since Catherine is played an invisible person I guessed ‘yes’. Will the fastidious Diana choose the rapscallion slacker Jeff (brother of Austin) – again the answer is obviously, yes.
Erin Palm (Marci) and Harper Smith (Diana) are strong singers and open performers – they could stand to make bolder choices though. Sayer Roberts (Austin) is strikingly handsome with a rich voice and a boyish charm. Victor Hunter as Jeff is another great singer but he starts to overplay the comedy to the point in Act Two I was worried he would combust.
Sheryl Anne McMillan and Aaron Lau play a variety of service people with vim and verve but their characters do not really impact the story although they are very appreciated for adding life.
In the end the 20-somethings with limited life experience and desire to make an impression wrote this script – like the recently produced Glory Days – and the results are trite but show promise. I was left with the desire – as a middle age fag – to go the New York University and say to the teachers – ‘stop telling them to write what they know.’.
If you want to see diamonds in the rough in the writing or the performers then don’t miss “I Love You Because” they are good people and deserve your support.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Fighting Chance Productions
Until March 3rd
So frustrating – I find reviewing Fighting Chance Productions tricky because I have to recognize the intentions of the company and weigh that with my opinion for the potential audience. It breaks my heart because there is so much love and commitment in all of their shows and they are clearly doing something right.
They have full casts, dozens of supporters and hundreds (thousands (?) of fans).
Writer and composer Rupert Holmes based this show on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens, it is likely the only Panto to win a Tony Award for Best Musical (in 1985).
The mystery unfolds as close to the original source material with the aid of a narrator and when it gets to the part where there are no more words (due to Mr. Dickens untimely death) the audience is asked to vote on three things 1) Who is the disguised detective who is investigating the disappearance of the title character? 2) Who killed Edwin Drood? And 3) which two characters can have a romantic entanglement / happy ending? (It is set up so there cannot be a same-sex coupling, drat).
Since the show is a ‘sort of’ panto that means there are no human truths to connect to – no heartfelt emotions – it is a heighted silly acting and jokes. To make that sustain a three-hour show you need to be very clever in the acting choices and since it is a musical you need to hear the wit and pitch perfect vocals in the song.
Some of the diverse cast are stellar and cracked me up: Chris Lam as Bazzard is expressive and physically adroit, James Walker makes a charming and laugh inducing drunk, Jessie Steka is lanky and uniquely over the top and Alex McMorran knows how to use timing with bombastic character choices.
Vashti Fairbairn directs the band and they do a good job. The issue is the sound mix. My companion and I could not hear the lyrics at all.
So it’s silly, sometimes very funny with bouncy music.
But it is when I look at the actors in the chorus, (particularly the straight boys) and they are beaming and dancing in time and acting with verve in the group scenes my (perhaps bitter) heart melts. It is there I see community, there is fun and it is there I see the value of art and the good things Fighting Chance is doing.
David C. Jones
Middle Age Fag
West Coast Ambassador