Murder suspect last seen in Crediton

Story by Casey Lessard

Police say you should keep your car and house doors locked if you live in Huron or Lambton counties after OPP issued a Canada-wide warrant for a man they believe killed another man in Windsor and dumped his car in Grand Bend. It’s believed 22-year-old Jesse Norman Imeson hitched a ride to Crediton, where police spent the weekend searching. The search was called off, but it’s believed Imeson could still be in the area.

Imeson is described as 6′1″, 200 lbs., with very short - almost shaved - brown hair, brown eyes and numerous tattoos on his arms.

If you see Imeson, don’t approach him as he is considered armed and dangerous; call police immediately at 911, Cell *67 or 1-888-310-1122.

Information courtesy http://www.crimealerts.net

Message about Vietnam war more meaningful than ever

Miss Saigon
By Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Richard Maltby Jr.
Performed by Elena Juatco, Stephen Patterson and company
Directed by David Connolly
Drayton Entertainment Production
Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend
July 19 – August 4, 2007

Live! On Stage
Review by Mary Alderson

Miss Saigon’s timeless message about the inhumanity of war is being presented thoughtfully and spectacularly by Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend. Based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly written in the early 1900’s, Miss Saigon, as the 1970’s update, is even more meaningful today with the United States currently at war in Iraq.
Like Madame Butterfly, the entire story is told in song, with a cast of amazing voices bringing the epic story to life. There are also some similarities to Les Miserables, which is written by the same creative team – it’s a doomed love story, set against a backdrop of war. This is the best dramatic musical to grace Huron Country Playhouse’s stage since Man of La Mancha in 2004.
Chris is a young American GI who falls in love with Kim, a Vietnamese prostitute. They marry in an Eastern ceremony, and then he is forced to leave as Saigon falls. When he can’t find Kim, he assumes that she is dead. Back home, he marries an American, Ellen. Then he learns that he has fathered a child with Kim. Ellen and Chris travel to Bangkok to meet Kim and little Tam, in heart-wrenching circumstances. Obviously, there are no easy answers in this situation created by the horrors of war.
Stephen Patterson is excellent as Chris. He conveys all the emotion of the role with his clear voice. Patterson appeared briefly in The World Goes Round, a musical revue in Playhouse II two years ago. He was a highlight in that show, but left early to move on to a Broadway touring show. Similarly, Stephanie Roth is excellent as Ellen, the American wife. Although her part is not big, her energy and raw emotion in Now That I’ve Seen Her is unforgettable. She was also memorable in The World Goes Round when she brought the house down with her rendition of Maybe This Time from Cabaret.
Lee Siegel plays John, Chris’ friend who informs him that he has a son in Asia. Siegel sings about the forgotten children of Vietnamese mothers and American soldier-fathers, known as ‘bui doi’ or dust of life. His powerful voice, together with the film showing the orphans left no one in the audience with dry eyes. Siegel’s voice will be familiar as Old Deuteronomy, the beautiful tenor in Cats earlier this season.
Elena Juatco plays the challenging role of Kim, the innocent and naïve girl forced into prostitution. Juatco does justice to the many emotional songs and the large, demanding part.
Franc-Anton Harcourt provides the comic relief as the Engineer, a euphemism for pimp. Harcourt has had extensive experience with this part, and plays it well, switching from being a smarmy wheeler-dealer to pandering to the Viet Cong.
Special mention goes to little Jonah Gonzalez-Martinez who plays Kim’s son Tam. He remains stoic and completely in the role in all his scenes.
The American dream number is a delight – all the symbols of the USA are on stage – Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty, right through to Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.
Credit goes to Director/Choreographer David Connolly and music director Charles Cozens for putting this amazing epic together. Jean Claude Olivier’s set and Jeff Johnston Collins’ lighting are flawless. It’s also good to see local talent – Michelle Vanderheyden, formerly of Forest, is costume designer. From the rich Asian silks to the sequinned strippers, and the American Dream extravaganza, Vanderheyden’s work is incredible.
This production of Miss Saigon is an emotionally draining show that leaves the audience exhausted, yet moved and enriched. How fortunate we are to have top quality entertainment in our neighbourhood.
It was a fitting tribute to Ed Mirvish that Miss Saigon opened at HCP the week that Mr. Mirvish passed away. The flamboyant owner of Honest Ed’s store on Bloor Street in Toronto was instrumental in bringing theatre to Toronto and Ontario, making King Street Canada’s theatre district. After refurbishing the Royal Alexandra Theatre Mr. Mirvish built the Princess of Wales Theatre, just to bring Miss Saigon to Canada. The Princess of Wales stage was big enough to land a helicopter and Miss Saigon was a hit! Ed Mirvish would have been pleased with this production of Miss Saigon, even without the helicopter. He will be missed.

Miss Saigon continues with eight shows a week until August 4 at Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend. Tickets are available at the Huron Country Playhouse box office at (519) 238-6000 or Drayton Entertainment at 1-888-449-4463.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

Bring your Mom on a Girls’ Night Out

Mom’s The Word
By Linda A. Carson, Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard & Deborah Williams.
Performed by Alex Dallas, Louise Gauthier, Sharon Heldt, Ginette Mohr & Birgitte Solem.
Directed by Robin Nichol
Drayton Entertainment Production
Playhouse II, Grand Bend
July 10 to August 18, 2007

Live! On Stage
Review by Mary Alderson

When six Vancouver women got together with their toddlers and babies in 1993 to write a show about motherhood, they didn’t pull any punches. The women, formerly glamorous professional actors, had become, by their own admission, exhausted, pathetic amateur mothers. So they put together a string of real-life vignettes about the trials of being a mother. And somehow it evolved into a five-character play, based on their anecdotes. (No explanation is given as to why the author named Barbara didn’t become a character in the play.)
Mom’s the Word has been staged across Canada and around the world, and has now spawned Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged – an update on the group as they deal with teenagers. The original version is now being staged at Playhouse II at Huron Country Playhouse near Grand Bend. The cast of five women, all newcomers to Drayton Entertainment, are being directed by one of the authors, Robin Nichol. So we assume that they are presenting the vignettes in a fashion true to their characters’ namesakes (the original authors’) intentions.
Alex Dallas as Deborah is delightful with her slightly British accent and delivery of humour. And yes, she’s the one who has to chase her toddler when he runs from the poolside change room. Louise Gauthier plays Linda, who writes notes to her “dear partner” and stresses about keeping communication open with her husband. Sharon Heldt has the challenge of playing the character Robin, while the real Robin (Robin Nichol) directs the show. She has some great lines among her anecdotes: “When I pass another stroller, we give each other the high sign, like two Harley riders passing on the open road,” she says. Ginette Mohr is Jill, the character that moves away from comedy when she relates the story of her baby being born prematurely. Her poignant portrayal of a new mother’s worry is very well done, and this touching story provides a moving change to the performance. Birgitte Solem as Allison has some very comedic lines, such as when she asks “How am I supposed to resume my sex life, when I’m wearing a nursing bra?”
The challenges of caring for active, smart toddlers are related in various ways in the vignettes. Deborah tells us that she finds it much easier to be a good mom in public. Another character says that she starts out each day as Mary Poppins, but ends up as Cruella DeVille.
They also talk about the feelings of guilt they have, with one mom saying that the family’s favourite thing to do is to spend time all together. But her favourite thing to do is spend some time all by myself. But of course, they aren’t’ feeling too guilty to take advantage of the situation. As Jill says, “Some mornings when I’m really desperate for more sleep, I lie to my husband about how many times I got up with the baby.”
This show offers realistic slices of life, easily recognizable by anyone who has given birth and raised a baby into a toddler. For the most part, the anecdotes are laugh-out-loud funny, but in a few places, I felt things went a little too far. The squirt-gun breasts and a bit of the male-bashing made me uncomfortable – but that’s alright. Everyone else was laughing uproariously, so maybe I was alone. One doesn’t go to live theatre just to be comfortable. So go see it, and decide for yourself.

Mom’s The Word continues with eight shows a week until August 18 at Playhouse II, next to Huron Country Playhouse, near Grand Bend. Tickets are available at the Huron Country Playhouse box office at (519) 238-6000 or Drayton Entertainment at 1-888-449-4463.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

Tap Dancing through the Roaring Twenties

My One and Only
Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
Book by Peter Stone and Timothy. S. Mayer
Performed by Cynthia Dale, Laird McIntosh and Company
Directed and Choreographed by Michael Lichtefeld
Avon Theatre - Stratford Festival
May 12 to October 28, 2007

Live! On Stage
Review by Mary Alderson

My One and Only is an extravaganza with all the glamour and glitter of a big Broadway production, and it’s sitting right on our doorstep at Stratford’s Avon Theatre. While the plot of this faux twenties musical may not be very deep, it’s done up in such a spectacular fashion that the shallow story is easily forgiven.
My One and Only is the pulling together of many of George and Ira Gershwin’s favourite songs and putting them into a new story, but one set in the Roaring Twenties. Producers knew that today’s audience doesn’t want to sit through the original, dated plots, so they had a new story written to make use of the great old tunes. The Broadway hit Crazy for You was put together in a similar fashion.
In My One and Only, Edythe Herbert, famous for swimming the English Channel, has joined The Ladies of the Aquacade, a water ballet/synchronized swimming entertainment troupe. She is being pursued by Captain Billy Buck Chandler, an aviator who hopes to beat Lindbergh in making the first trans-Atlantic flight. Edythe is trying to escape from an overbearing manager, while Billy is helped by Mickey, the female airplane mechanic.
The role of Edythe Herbert is ideal for Cynthia Dale. Dale, a perennial favourite of Stratford’s musical theatre audience, is the ultimate flapper – not only can she tap dance with the best, she can make the kewpie-doll faces to add laughs to the role. And the old Gershwin tunes suit Dale’s beautiful voice perfectly.
Her co-star Laird Mackintosh is wonderful as the tap-dancing aviator (yes, even the play itself makes fun of that combination). As Captain Billy Buck Chandler, Mackintosh goes through a transformation from a Texas hayseed to a polished gentleman, thanks to lessons from Mr. Magix, the smooth dancing Mark Cassius.
Kyle Blair, Julius Sermonia and Ray Hogg are delightful as The New Rhythm Boys. Their feet never stop tapping and their musical interludes add to the comedy. Together with the rest of the company, there is hardly a moment without tap-dancing feet on stage.
There is an amazing underwater ballet in black light with bubbles, where only the neon-trimmed bathing suits of The Ladies of the Aquacade are visible. While it’s similar in appearance to the Famous People Players, real people are swimming about the stage, rather than puppets, in this very interesting number.
In another scene, Dale and Mackintosh are tap dancing in the shallow water on the beach. Remember last year’s tap dance in the showers in South Pacific? That was so cute that they’ve repeated it this year, and it works just as well.
The costumes are fantastic – lots of colour and sparkle, with frequent changes.
The sets are also extravaganzas. Everything is oversized, from the big train the pulls into the station, to the air plane where we see both front & back, and even a giant camel. For the final curtain, we’re treated to an airplane with dancers tapping across the wingspan.
Even that repetitive (but necessary) announcement to turn off cell phones is glitzed up at the beginning of the show. The Ladies of the Aquacade come out in cute costumes and wait, tapping their toes, while audience members turn off phones and pagers. Just like the performance, the announcements are very cute and splashy.

My One and Only continues at the Avon Theatre, Stratford until October 28. For tickets, call the box office at 1-800-567-1600 or check www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

Oklahoma! is the place to be

Oklahoma!
Music by Richard Rodgers, Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Performed by Blythe Wilson, Dan Chameroy, Nora McLellan Jonathan Ellul, Kyle Blair, Lindsay Thomas, David W. Keeley and company.
Director & Choreographer: Donna Feore
Stratford Festival
Festival Theatre
April 10 to November 4, 2007

Live! On Stage
Review by Mary Alderson

Oklahoma!, this year’s musical at Stratford’s Festival Theatre, brings great energy to the stage. As Rogers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration, Oklahoma! changed the way Broadway musicals were presented and set the benchmark for future productions. A groundbreaking show, Oklahoma! was the first musical to have the songs as integral parts of the plot.
The story of Oklahoma! is based on the play “Green Grow the Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs. Riggs, a cattleman’s son, was born in Oklahoma in 1899. He tells the tales of the early pioneers in Oklahoma when it was still a territory. These settlers believed their lives would improve when Oklahoma was declared a state. The play relates the conflict between the cowboys and the farmers: the cowboys wanted their cattle to be able to roam free, while the farmers wanted to put up fences and work the land. The musical version includes the love story of Curly and Laurey. In addition, it touches on what might be considered a modern problem – stalking, as Jud Fry makes unwanted advances towards Laurey.
With Blythe Wilson as Laurey and Dan Chameroy as Curley, the singing is excellent. Wilson is in her 5th season at Stratford, and will be remembered for her voice as Nancy in last year’s Oliver! Chameroy has been at Stratford for 6 seasons, but last year appeared in High Society at the Shaw Festival.
Wilson also deserves credit for dancing the dream ballet herself. In many productions, a different dancer steps in for the dream sequence, but Wilson, in addition to her fantastic singing voice, shows she is a polished dancer as well.
Providing the comedy is Johnathan Ellul in his Stratford debut, playing Ali Hakim, the Persian Peddler. Ellul was at Victoria Playhouse last summer in Too Many Cooks, and before that, he was in Wang Dang Doodle and Annie at London’s Grand. (You will recognize him as the driver revving his engine in the car commercials on TV.) With his flair for humour, he will no doubt be showing up in more comedies in the future.
Nora McLellan plays a kinder, gentler Aunt Eller. McLellan was a favourite as Mama Rose in the Shaw Festival’s version of Gypsy a few years ago. Londoner Kyle Blair is back for his 7th season at Stratford and is excellent as Will Parker, the cowboy who can sing, dance and twirl a lariat. Lindsay Thomas is hilarious as Ado Annie, the girl who “cain’t say no.” David W. Keeley gives a very good interpretation of Jud Fry – scary but with a human element that evokes some sympathy. Stephanie Graham as Gertie has the most annoying laugh and handles her fight scene well.
The energetic cast does justice to the wonderful score – songs like “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”, “Surrey with the Fringe on Top”, “People will Say We’re in Love”, and of course the theme “Oklahoma” has everyone leaving the theatre singing. “The Farmer and the Cowman” gives the cast a chance to show off some fun choreography – everything from acrobatics to square dance.
The lighting is excellent. From the darkened theatre, the light panels representing the sky slowly go from a dark blue-purple right through to orange and yellow as the sun comes up on a “beautiful morning’”.
Donna Feore as both director and choreographer has given this good cast an opportunity to show their true triple threat talent. With great singing and amazing dance, this production of Oklahoma! shows why the old musical continues to be popular.

Oklahoma! continues at the Festival Theatre, Stratford until November 4. For tickets, call the box office at 1-800-567-1600 or check www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

Perfect Wedding= Perfect British Farce

Perfect Wedding
By Robin Hawdon
Performed by Paul Brown, Colin Doyle, Joanna Douglas, Amber Montrose, Monica Nowak, Perrie Olthuis, Ari Weinberg.
Directed by Michael Lamport
Victoria Playhouse, Petrolia
July 3 – 21, 2007

Live! On Stage
Review by Mary Alderson

Perfect Wedding, currently on stage at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia is the perfect British farce – there are doors being slammed, lies being told and characters posing as other people. Thanks to fast-paced timing by Director Michael Lamport, this is the best farce on Petrolia’s stage since Confessions of a Dirty Blonde, when Lamport played the Robin Williams-like bellhop. Lamport’s experience in comedy has served him well in his direction of this hilarious farce.
On his wedding day, Bill, the groom-to-be, wakes up in the bridal suite to find a woman he doesn’t know naked in bed beside him. With his bride on the way, wanting to use the hotel room to dress in her wedding gown, Bill hides the stranger in the bathroom, hoping she’ll pose at the best man’s girlfriend, or maybe the chambermaid. These ideas might have worked, except that she really is the best man’s girlfriend, and the real chambermaid shows up. The problems are obvious – add to this, Tom, the best man who becomes increasingly high-strung, Rachel, the bride, on the verge of becoming bridezilla, and Daphne, the bride’s mother, who completes to the comedy.
In this production, the best man really is the best man. Ari Weinberg plays Tom brilliantly, with hilarious facial expressions, an endearing British accent, and a gentle humour giving way to near-insanity. This is Weinberg’s debut on the VPP stage, and with an obvious penchant for comedy, he’ll no doubt be seen more in the future.
Another newcomer, Monica Nowak is excellent as Julie the chambermaid. Like Weinberg, her over-the-top facial expressions, along with the vocal changes, make the audience roar with laughter.
Colin Doyle is good as the frustrated groom trying to remember what happened after his bachelor party, and Perrie Olthuis as the bride handles the role well – just snippy enough to be believable as a stressed-out bride, but pleasant enough to warrant sympathy. Joanna Douglas as Judy, the naked female in the bed, is very good as the other woman, also showing comedic talent with her facial expressions. .
Amber Montrose plays the role of Daphne, the bride’s mother. While she boasts quite a list of credits in the program, she hasn’t been seen on local stages before. I will say that it seems to be strange casting, but Artistic Director Robert More assures me that Montrose is right for the role. You’ll have to the see the show and decide for yourself if Montrose is really right. The program lists Paul Brown as an understudy, and unfortunately, he apparently didn’t grace the stage on opening night. Brown is a master of the farce, and was hilarious in previous VPP productions Confessions of a Dirty Blonde and Too Many Cooks, as well as many British farces at Huron Country Playhouse.
If you enjoy farces, you’ll like this one. Go see it, and maybe you’ll be fortunate enough to catch Paul Brown on stage.

Perfect Wedding continues with eight shows a week at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia until July 21. Call the box office at 1-800-717-7694 or (519) 882-1221 for tickets.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

A Moving Story Brilliantly Bought to Life

To Kill a Mockingbird
Based upon the novel by Harper Lee, dramatized by Christopher Sergel
Performed by Peter Donaldson, Abigail Winter-Culliford et al.
Directed by Susan H. Schulman
Avon Theatre - Stratford Festival
April 30 to October 27, 2007

Live! On Stage
Review by Mary Alderson

When Harper Lee wrote her only novel in 1960, she and her editor didn’t think it would amount to much. But To Kill a Mockingbird became a huge best seller, and if life imitates art, then it was likely very influential in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s.
But Nelle Harper Lee simply wrote what she knew – the story of life in the 1930’s in the fictional town of Maycomb, which is much like her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. The tale is told by Scout, the 10-year-old tomboy, just like Lee herself. It covers the escapades and growth of Scout, her friend Dill, who is based on Lee’s real-life friend Truman Capote, and her brother Jem. The children are into usual childhood mischief, when they are suddenly forced to grow up quickly, learning about rape and injustice. Their father, lawyer Atticus Finch, is defending a young black man charged with raping a white girl. And although Atticus clearly presents Tom Robinson’s innocence, the jury finds him guilty, because that’s what must happen in that time of racial bigotry and hatred.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, currently on stage at Stratford’s Avon Theatre, Abigail Winter-Culliford plays the part of Scout exceptionally well. She captures both the innocence of the child and the insightful maturity at the same time, as Lee intended. She twitches and climbs trees and beats up boys, but then has a very adult-like conversation with her father, whom she calls Atticus, not Daddy or Papa. Winter-Culliford’s acting skills are well beyond her 10 years, and she particularly shines in the scene where she confronts the lynch mob.
Peter Donaldson is good as an understated Atticus Finch. He plays the role with quiet confidence, making Atticus a man very sure of himself and his values. Spencer Walker does well in the role of Dill – he could very well be a nerdy little Truman Capote, with his tiny bowtie, buttoned-up shirt and starched collar. Thomas Murray, as Jem, is also good.
The story is told by narrator Jean-Louise, the adult Scout, who has abandoned her nickname. Michelle Giroux walks quietly about the stage, stepping in to relate Scout’s story with a southern drawl, and looking somewhat like Harper Lee.
The neighbourhood is also well-cast: Patricia Collins as Miss Maudie is a gracious southern belle, in contrast to Joyce Campion’s Mrs. Dubose, a nasty old morphine addict. Barbara Barnes-Hopkins is excellent as Calpurnia, the Finches’ black servant who is charged with raising the children after their mother’s death.
The second act moves to the trial. Dayna Tekatch is outstanding as Mayella Ewall, the poor white trash who claims to have been raped, moving from a pitiful mess to intense anger. Dion Johnstone is excellent as Tom Robinson, the accused black man.
The set illustrates the dirty thirties – the homes are worn, dull and run-down, with Spanish moss barely swaying in the trees overhead. One gets the feeling of the heat of Deep South summer, the despair of the depression and the racial oppression, as the story unfolds. The feeling of oppression is further intensified when the black cast sing Negro Spirituals. The set includes a “bottle tree”, a tradition among the black townspeople at that time — the bottles were to capture evil spirits. In this case, however, evil prevailed – even though Miss Maudie points out that progress is slowly being made.
Director Susan Schulman deserves great credit for brilliantly bringing to life Harper Lee’s story, and remaining true to it. It’s a daunting task when most of the audience has read the book or seen the movie. Yet Harper Lee’s message about human rights comes through clearly in this gut-wrenching play, and the audience becomes completely enmeshed in the story. In the courtroom scene, the audience members are treated as if they were the jury. We become caught up in this compelling production, and wish we could change the outcome.

To Kill a Mockingbird continues at the Avon Theatre, Stratford until October 27. For tickets, call the box office at 1-800-567-1600 or check www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

Baby Boomers will love We Will Rock You

We Will Rock You
Music by Queen, Book by Ben Elton
Performed by Toronto Cast
Directed by Ben Elton
Produced by David & Ed Mirvish & Kimsa Group
Canon Theatre, Toronto

Live! On Stage
Review by Mary Alderson

We Will Rock You, or as it’s more commonly known, the Queen musical, will thrill anyone who grew up in the seventies and eighties. To hear the late great Freddie Mercury’s songs performed by a talented cast with strong, solid voices backed by a band complete with the right guitar riffs, is an exciting adventure.
The plot is also good fun – but don’t go expecting serious drama. It’s a little over the top with corny jokes and cheesy laughs. Nevertheless, there’s an element of Orwell’s 1984, along with some Biblical allegory.
The story is set 300 years in the future. The world is run by a company called Globalsoft. (Is this so far-fetched? At work, if Windows isn’t operating and the computers are down, nothing gets done, and when we arrive home, the first thing we do is check in with Outlook – who’s running our lives now?) The plot also condemns commercialism – the planet is now known as the Mall. Only music created by Globalsoft is allowed, and there are just vague rumours about an era called rock ‘n’ roll. When a group of rebels (young Bohemians) go looking for musical instruments, they seek a bright star to lead them in their quest. By the way, they don’t find any instruments of mass destruction, but they do come across a museum piece called a video tape (or vy-day-oh-tap-ay, as they pronounce it.) Pop music is satirized delightfully, and there is much Canadian humour included – with jabs at Degrassi and Celine Dion, as well as mentions of others such as Bare Naked Ladies.
Erica Peck as Scaramouche leads the cast with her amazing voice and sassy attitude. Peck was only in the second year of the 3-year musical theatre program at Sheridan College, when she auditioned for We Will Rock You and surprised everyone by landing the lead role. Peck can belt the rock tunes louder and longer than anyone else, her powerful voice performing eight times a week and never missing a show. She gives her all to Somebody to Love and I Want To Break Free. Her energy and enthusiasm is evident even in matinee performances. She also delivers the lines with a perfect sarcasm.
Equally as powerful is Yvan Pedneault as Galileo Figaro. His slight Quebecois accent is engaging, and the audience roars when Scaramouche accuses him of trying to “play the French card.” Pedneault’s voice has the range of Freddie Mercury’s and handles the Queen classics well. But on some performances, an understudy or swing has to step in for him, considering the demand of the Queen songs, such as We Are The Champions.
Susie McNeil as Oz, Sterling Jarvis as Britney and Alana Bridgewater as the Killer Queen all belt out the Queen repertoire with strong voices, giving us favourites such as I Want It All or Crazy Little Thing Called Love. An excellent ensemble of singer-dancers playing various roles completes the cast.
Not only does We Will Rock You quiz your knowledge of Queen songs with 25 numbers in the show, there are also dozens of references to lyrics of various rock artists to keep you on your toes. Baby Boomers should rise to the test and enjoy the nostalgia trip.
A piece of advice – like a rock concert, you have to stay ‘til the very end to enjoy the encore. Some folks left early and missed out – the cast had saved the best for last! Which brings me to one of my pet peeves – annoying people who try to push past me to get out, when I am still applauding the actors on stage. Come on, are you really in that much of a hurry to get to the parking lot? (Same thing goes for hockey games when so-called fans abandon their team to be first out of the arena. I love it when the hometown team ties it up with only five seconds left on the clock!)
The music in We Will Rock You is the very best of Queen, and it would make Freddie Mercury proud. Sure, the plot is a little schmaltzy, but as one theatre-goer said, “It’s the best schmaltz ever.”

We Will Rock You continues at Toronto’s Canon Theatre. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-461-3333. There is a 30% discount (for example, the high end $94 seats are $65) for some performances, if you use the discount code summer07.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

Local talent deserves our support all year

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

It should not be a surprise that our community has a lot of talented people. Some of them are profiled in these pages each week, and I don’t imagine we’ll ever run out of people deserving of our attention. We have lots of local musicians, actors, dancers, artists and otherwise creative people in our midst.
The real question is: are we wasting the opportunity to keep these talented people here all year by celebrating our arts community three months of the year? Are we doing enough during those three months to develop artists while they’re here so they come back?
Grand Bend businesses are experienced in the art of grabbing opportunities when time is of the essence. Let’s use those skills to give the arts community a school for the arts, theatre programming for kids, teens and young adults, and legislation supporting buskers and street artists.
Artists within this community would welcome official support for such programs, but our addiction to making hay while the sun shines means the long-term health of the community will struggle unless more people learn there is money in the arts. Haliburton is a great example of an arts-rooted community that relies heavily on summer visitors. Take a drive down any road and you will find thriving artists’ studios and shops. A fine arts college campus opened a few years ago, and their community theatre is heavily supported. Their volunteer community radio station has the most listeners in the county.
Tourists come here for entertainment and to get away from their workday worries. Art, in its many forms, is part of the solution. Sunbathing and partying are entertaining, but only in measured doses. The area’s demographic is changing, and if we want to remain relevant, it’s time to shift our focus to a more viable community vision with the arts ranking as a high civic priority.

Main Street never sounded this good

Grand Bend native joins ensemble cast for “best summer job ever”

Lambton Main Street Players
Funded by the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation
Various venues and times across Lambton county until August 25
Grand Bend: Farmers’ Market July 18 and 25, 10:30 to 11 a.m.
On the beach – August 3, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Huron Country Playhouse – August 11, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

The Lambton Main Street Players were formed by Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation’s community economic development officer Mary Alderson, who saw a similar group called Vibe last year in Muskoka. A funding organization called ArtsVest had money for Lambton county arts initiatives, and Alderson applied. Twenty-three young people auditioned and six were chosen to perform throughout Lambton county this summer. Grand Bend native Christine Vandenberk is among the six.

As told to Casey Lessard

This is my summer job. It’s probably the best summer job I’m going to ever have. It’s pretty awesome.
We are a song and dance group that does mostly 50’s and 60’s music. It’s really high energy and enthusiastic. The group consists of kids between 15 and 20, all from Lambton County.
I became interested in theatre when I was about 12, ushering at the Huron Country Playhouse. We got to see shows for free because we had to sit in the back. I probably saw about 30 or 40 shows over the course of four years. That was really where it all started for me because I wasn’t really into it in grade school but as soon as high school hit I went and auditioned for the school show. I got in and it was really great. Some of our music, the Ellie Greenwich music, is from that musical that I did in Grade 9. Ever since it’s just been my thing.
I remember going to an audition in February. There were two sets of auditions. Lindsay and I were in the same audition as well as Doug Price, our director, he was in there. I was like, ‘Oh, this guy is really good.’ We were chosen and we got together and practiced for a few weeks. It was about eight hours of practicing a day so it was very intense but it went really well. It’s been a very enjoyable experience.
When we first started, we did a show in a restaurant. It was raining that day and we only had three people show up. The second show was not well advertised so we only had five people but ever since we’ve had a least 20 people or more. We did a few shows at the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia and for our first one we probably had about 150 people. It went really well.
I can’t wait (to perform on the beach and at the Playhouse) because I’m from Grand Bend and there’s a lot of people I know in Grand Bend. I think it will be really fun.
I think that this is definitely a big leap of faith kind of career. I’ve heard from the other guys that go to the school already that they teach you a lot about that. It’s all self-promotion and self-advertisement and really getting out there and giving out your résumé. It’s also a lot about the people that you know. This job is really good for that.
I know a lot of people in Lambton county so you get to go out and show the people that you know what you love to do. It’s really awesome for me. You get to get out there and all those people from Lambton county get to see you. And you never know who could be watching. It’s all really good publicity for the people involved.
I would say that our show is most definitely a family show. Everybody from kids to grandparents can come out. It won’t make anyone uncomfortable. It’s really a lot of fun. We get the audience involved and it’s just fun for everybody to watch. Everybody knows the music.

The Lambton Main Street Players are co-directed by Thomas Alderson (grandson of the late Bill and Hazel Blewett of Grand Bend) and Doug Price.
“We wanted to create a show that would appeal to everybody,” says Price. “We wanted popular music. We wanted songs that everybody would know. Everybody knows the words. Everybody can sing along. It’s all feel good music.”
“The response has been overwhelming,” Mary Alderson says. “I’m getting phone calls and e-mails everyday saying, ‘Can we get them into our town?’ It’s been a wonderful experience and the kids have just been fantastic.”

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