Blue Champagne
Conceived & Written by Ken John Grant
Musical Arrangements by Bob Ashley, Ted Shadbolt, Dan Parr
Directed & choreographed by David Connolly
Performed by Michael Killinger, Marianne McCord, Leah Oster, Stephanie Roth, Michael Torontow
Music Performed by Charles T. Cozens & Robert Mills
Drayton Entertainment Production
Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend
June 24 to July 4, 2009

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

For those who remember the 1940s, there’s a nostalgia trip to be taken at Huron Country Playhouse. Blue Champagne, billed as a musical flashback to the 1940s, offers 65 songs from that era.
The production pretends to be a radio show. The songs are categorized into sets such as Swing Medley, Hollywood Medley, Juke Box Medley and even a War Medley. One song flows into the next and then between sets, the audience is treated to commercials and newscasts. Old favourites like “Campbell Soup is Mmm-Mmm Good” and Chesterfield Cigarettes with their promise of smoke dreams are promoted.
Some of the numbers are real crowd pleasers. “The Trolley Song” featuring Leah Oster is a favourite, as is “Comin’ in on a Wing” with Stephanie Roth. Later in the show, the wartime favourite “Lilli Marlene” with Marianne McCord has patrons singing along. Michael Killinger and Michael Torontow round out the cast. In some songs, all five cast members harmonize creating a “Manhattan Transfer” sound, in other numbers they perform solo, in duets or trios and so on. The show demands good voices and high-energy to keep up the fast pace of one song after another, and this cast delivers.
The female cast members have great 1940s hairdos and the costumes seem authentic. The set is an Art Deco stage, with old-fashioned microphones set up, as if it were a radio broadcast before a live audience. At one side of the stage is a radio programming office and on the other side is a living room with a big old radio beside a chair.
One of the characters tap-dances along with the music. When she tires, she takes off her shoes and taps them on the desk, giving radio listeners the sound of tap-dancing, to the laughter of the audience. The old commercials and newscasts could have been great vehicles to bring in more comedy, but they fell short. There is certainly the potential for more laughs that isn’t fully exploited.
It isn’t often that I get to use the phrase “I’m too young” anymore, but on opening night, I actually felt too young to fully appreciate this show. However, for those with a fondness for the sound of the forties, it’s a great night out.

Blue Champagne continues with eight shows a week until July 4 at Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend. Tickets are available at the Huron Country Playhouse box office at (519) 238-6000, Drayton Entertainment at 1-888-449-4463, or check www.draytonentertainment.com

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 employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Book by Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Des McAnuff
Choreographed by Wayne Cilento
Musical direction by Franklin Brasz
Stratford Shakespeare Festival Production
Avon Theatre, Stratford
June 20 to November 1, 2009

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

From the minute the Proteans’ heads pop up between the curtains, you know you are in for a funny show. Physical comedy and farcical situations are the hallmarks of Stratford’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which opened Saturday at the Avon Theatre.
If you are a fan of the kind of comedy found on 1960’s television, then you’ll love this production. From the Three Stooges smacking each other, to Dick Van Dyke tripping over the footstool, or Carol Burnett’s crazy faces to Tim Conway’s deadpan looks – this production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum offers the best in the style of those old favourites.
First produced on Broadway in 1962, this musical comedy has all the elements of a farce – slamming doors, mistaken identities, white lies that turn into big fibs, and men dressing as women. When the Stephen Sondheim score is added, it’s great entertainment.
Bruce Dow is Pseudolus, a Roman Slave who will do anything to gain his freedom. Dow’s wonderful singing voice and comedic skill make him a natural for the part. His expressive face under the Roman bangs of his bowl-shaped haircut causes laughter to ripple through the audience when he simply bats his eyelashes. He plays the part cute and cuddly, a far cry from the frightening Emcee he played in last year’s Cabaret. But like the Emcee, all eyes are on him when Dow is on the stage. Dow plays a very energetic Pseudolus and you know you’re in for fun as soon as he sings the opening number “Comedy Tonight”.
The Proteans, played by Jordan Bell, Stephen Cota and Julius Sermonia, are hilarious from start to finish. The three play a variety of roles – slaves, Roman soldiers, guards, and even eunuchs reminiscent of Saturday Night Live’s Coneheads. These three young men are going to be constantly bruised from all the slapstick. Sermonia was repeatedly tripped and pushed into the orchestra pit, only to climb out and be shoved around again. There are tumbles and pratfalls throughout the show. And if the three of them aren’t funny enough, they have extra dummies of themselves to add to the hilarity.
Stephen Ouimette is excellent as Hysterium, the slave left in charge while the owners are away. Ouimette’s deadpan comedy reminded me of the great Tim Conway. The look on his face as Domina pulls out fistfuls of his hair is priceless.
The young lovers, Hero and Philia, are played wonderfully by Mike Nadajewski and Chilina Kennedy. Both have amazing singing voices and a penchant for comedy. Kennedy’s wide-eyed dumb blonde is perfect, and Nadajewski’s innocence is delightful.
The costumes are colourful with plenty of glitz. The courtesans’ alluring outfits are accentuated by their amazing dance moves.
The set is great fun in itself – the nudes carved on the pillars light up strategically, while the arms move on other carvings, and even the gargoyles sing along.
If you enjoy farcical comedy, Forum offers it at its best. Just be sure to order your tickets early and get seats close enough to the stage to see all the facial expressions – I don’t think it would be as much fun if you couldn’t see the expression these actors put into the show. As the opening number tells us, it’s comedy tonight, and weighty decisions will just have to wait.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum continues at the Avon Theatre, Stratford until November 1. 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 employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

EDIT (Adding events):
Saturday June 20, 2009
1:00 p.m.
Visitor Centre, Pinery Provincial Park

3:30 & 4:30 p.m. – Rum & Spirits program
& Voyageur Canoe trip (Canoe Dock)

Story by Casey Lessard
Photos courtesy Pinery Provincial Park

It has been a big part of family life for area residents and visitors for 50 years, and this weekend the Pinery Park is celebrating that milestone with cake and more at the visitors’ centre.
Friends of Pinery Park is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year; the non-profit is dedicated to education, promotion, preservation and support of the park and its activities. Brenda Kulon, 55, of Bright’s Grove has been coming to the park most of her life, and chairs the committee.
“My first time in Pinery park was as a kid,” Kulon recalls. “I was amazed at the tall pines. In my high school years, we did a lot of camping here. And then as a young adult, I volunteered here counting butterflies and was a photographer for the park during my 30s.”
Over the years, Kulon has noticed major changes in the features and operation of the park, including the move from planting pines to restoring the native habitat, the oak savannah. Some changes were for the better and others not.
“Environmentally, we’re losing a lot of the insect population and species, and we don’t understand why,” she says. “A lot of it is habitat loss, but there has to be another reason. We don’t have the knowledge. As far as staffing, there used to be numerous people working as educators, and now the Pinery is threatened with fewer and fewer of them. The role of volunteers in the park is still very important because your experts are often outside of the park system. You need both. There’s a happy medium.”
Marty Page also remembers early days at the park, enjoying time swimming and having barbecues. His father installed the hydro lines as an employee of Ontario Hydro that first year.
“My dad said that they rather enjoyed working in the Park in the winter, as the trees blocked the cold winds,” Page says. “There were two trucks working everyday. Each truck had a foreman, a driver and four linesmen. There were First Nations people hired from the reservation at Kettle Point, I believe, and their job was to dig the holes for the poles to be set in and they had to be paid cash each day when they were finished.”
Park lovers like Page are critical to the Pinery’s ongoing success, Kulon says.
“Friends was formed by caring people who were dedicated to the preservation of what’s inside Pinery park and to the education and promotion of the park. Friends was designed to be the voices of the Pinery and show people what a beautiful place it is.”
Getting involved by volunteering could mean anything from fundraising, to educating visitors, to helping with promotions.
“We do a lot for the park, and a lot of those things they (the ministry) can’t do on their own,” says Friends manager of operations Jessica Brownlee. “We do a lot of fundraising for park projects. We do the trail guides, educational exhibits, interpretive signs. We built the Savannah bike trail, maintain the website, and run the nature store, which is a fundraiser for the Friends.”
Noting the variety of family experiences possible, Brownlee notes the Pinery’s value in giving people a chance to commune with nature while helping in the preservation of the wildlife, culture and history of the park.
“It is a big place with lots to offer,” she says, mentioning the variety of activities from hiking, biking, swimming, to toboganning, snowshoeing and skating that take place. “It’s really a special place.”

Caroline Bruce creates exotic accessories at home in Parkhill

After spending a couple of years working in Jamaica, Caroline Bruce decided home is where her heart was. The 28-year old recently launched Tweak jewelry (http://www.tweakboutiqueonline.com/), her line of unique hand-crafted accessories made from semi-precious stones, metals and woods.

As told to Casey Lessard
Photo by Casey Lessard for Casey365.com

The biggest compliment is when someone sees what I make, falls in love with it, and can’t resist wearing it three days in a row.
I make necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets. I want to be sure I’m making things people couldn’t just go out and buy at the mall. If it doesn’t make sense to be hand making it, I don’t. The collection is pretty narrow, but it’s stronger because more time has been put into the composition and base design of the pieces.
I’ve been making jewelry for about seven years as a hobby. Then I started selling things so I could buy more beads. People liked it and I liked it even more, so it grew from there.
I grew up in Parkhill and went to school in Toronto for human biology. I decided that wasn’t for me, and did a degree in interior design. I spent a couple of years in Jamaica doing interior design and decided I wanted to be back at home with my parents. I couldn’t think of anything that I wanted to do more than turn something that had been a hobby into a business. My bills are reduced, and I don’t have any other commitments, so I thought, go for it.
I had seen before that it was possible to preserve orchids in resin, and I was enamored by it. I bought a few brooches and things, but they were gilded with metals like gold or silver. I thought it would be better to see the entire flower. One day, I found exactly what I was looking for on the internet. I eventually found someone who would do the colours and sizes I wanted. The process is complicated and because orchids aren’t native to Canada, I get them from overseas and they do exactly what I want.

The challenge of starting out
It’s easy to waste your time and not to realize that your time is your money when you’re trying to make a business out of something you’re doing personally. Since I’ve narrowed down my collection, I can be more productive in purchasing my materials, in the design time, in the time to put things together. I don’t create things I don’t like.
It’s not profitable for creative people to make what everyone else is making. You need to set yourself apart. Quality raw materials are a big thing. I’ve learned to find out exactly what the stone is and whether or not it’s been colour enhanced so you can tell the truth about your raw materials. Know as much as you can about it. You also have to learn what your niche is and how to portray your company. You want people to know something about you when they look at your advertising materials.

Advice to other creatives
Take to heart what people are saying about what you’re making. You’re making it and you love it, but other people have to love it, too. It can’t be all in your head. If you’ve given people things, listen to how it’s working for them. Don’t get caught in trends or fashions, and don’t compromise your dream for what you see out there.
Home is the best place to be when you’re starting out. You know everyone, you have family and friends to help you, you can ask advice from people who you know are experts. Businesses are smaller, so the wait time is less. Even running errands takes less time because it’s close. Living with my parents has made this all possible. They’ve helped me in so many ways.
I’ve done private shows, which are put on by myself for friends and family. I find them productive because everyone who comes wants to see your work. I’ve done craft shows and clothing shows, but the sales are proportionally less because people didn’t come specifically to see you.
I’ve realized I have to broaden my base by creating a website (http://www.tweakboutiqueonline.com/) that can showcase the work and where people can buy it. E-commerce is the way to go right now, and is probably the best bet for me.
My dream customer is anyone who loves unique accessories; anyone who’s going to love their piece is a customer I want.
To learn more, visit http://www.tweakboutiqueonline.com/

The Grand Bend Horticultural Society hopes this year’s Festival of Homes, Gardens and Arts sells out like last year’s event did. On board for the June 27 event are nine homes and gardens, 23 artists and 2 nurseries. Passports for the tour are $15, with locations disclosed that day. The passport includes treats such as homemade cookies and lemonade, and samples from local restaurants, Parmalat Cheese in London, and Brantford’s The Cider Keg. M&M Meat Shops is a major sponsor, and is donating proceeds from a lunch barbecue to the event.
Entertainment will be provided by UWO’s New Horizon Band, with Paul Seagrave performing at the Putherbough home in St. Joseph during the afternoon.
To reserve your passport, call 519-236-7884.

Grand Bend Canada Day 2009 festivities
Wednesday, July 1 – Main Beach
4:30 p.m. – Ken Dinel’s The Band In You students present rock music
5 p.m. – Ruth’s Hat, Lance Bedard, Brian Dale, Vintage Moments
10 p.m. - fireworks

Zurich native Lance Bedard is on a roll after launching his debut solo CD, Restless, this spring; he’s already working on the second.
“I just went back in the studio last week,” Bedard says, “and I’m waiting on a reply for another (recording) grant so I can release a CD in the next year and a half.”
Bedard’s debut was recorded in Goderich at Dig Productions, where Rob McKercher blended Bedard’s sound with guests Nick Haberer, Marcel Gelinas and Mike Klaassen.
“You write a song, but you hear everything else,” he says, describing the value of collaborating with other artists. “You hear it in your head, but you can’t do it all at once. So when you finally get a chance to build a song from a small four chord progression to a full band production, that gets you fired up to make more music.”
Success at local gigs gave him the push he needed to record the songs he started writing more than five years ago. Early experiences with the Pillowheads and Point of Impact gave him his first exposure to putting together a studio album, but this time, he took the process much more seriously.
“To put this out on my own was something I always wanted to do and to get it out to everyone was the greatest feeling in the world. It’s probably my biggest accomplishment since I entered the music industry. To get everyone’s positive feedback made it all the better.”
Now the push is on to sell, sell, sell. He recently hired a manager to promote his work.
“This guy could take me to the next level. If I hadn’t made the CD, I wouldn’t have this opportunity.”
So it’s back in the studio for round two.
“Hearing the way the music is played and changing is an addicting process. You go there every day and you’re excited about making music. Just hearing yourself and some of the things you can do, it’s like raising a child.”
To hear samples from Lance Bedard’s Restless, visit http://www.myspace.com/lanceromance01

Grand Bend Canada Day 2009 festivities
Wednesday, July 1 – Main Beach
4:30 p.m. – Ken Dinel’s The Band In You students present rock music
5 p.m. – Ruth’s Hat, Lance Bedard, Brian Dale, Vintage Moments
10 p.m. - fireworks

Long-time Grand Bend performer Brian Dale has finally gotten around to putting together a CD for his fans, and he can’t wait to get it in their hands. There’s a catch, though; a manufacturing delay means it will be two weeks after the July 1 launch party (as part of Grand Bend’s Canada Day celebrations) before he can deliver the product.
“I could have done it a long time ago and pushed it and rushed it,” Dale says. “I didn’t want to force it.”
After all, after 15 years performing, you can wait two extra weeks for your first CD, right?
“I’ve been putting it off for close to 10 years,” Dale says. “It always seemed like whenever I got the time and money to do it, I would go on vacation and spend all of my time and money.
“I came home for Christmas from Costa Rica and was planning on going back. I went up to this little studio in Goderich that Lance Bedard was recording at, and he introduced me to the engineer. I finally decided I needed to get this done. ”
Although he won’t have the CD, tentatively titled peace/love/waves/song as a tribute to his email signoff, ready by the Canada Day event, he will be distributing free preview copies of a single from the album at the event. The CD will have 11 tracks, all originals written over the last 15 years. Some are old favourites for fans, while others are new songs to most.
“The songs were always written and performed acoustically. I always had a picture in my head of what the songs would sound like and I had never put it together with a group. Once I started recording, the songs matured, even more than we were expecting.”
“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re really, really happy with the way it’s turned out.”
Just what fans want to hear.
Brian Dale’s CD peace/love/waves/song will be available for $15 at Archies and local bars where he performs, and through online retailers. To learn more, visit his facebook fan page.

Alternative View
By Lance Crossley

(Part one of a four-part series examining the monetary system.)

“Until the control of the issue of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as its most conspicuous and sacred responsibility, all talk of the sovereignty of Parliament and of democracy is idle and futile.”
- William Lyon Mackenzie King, 1935

Running for his fourth term as Prime Minister, Mackenzie King said this amid the rubble of the depression because he saw that money creation was the bitter root of a fundamentally unjust economic system. Today, you cannot find one politician in Canada connecting the economic crisis to our money system.
Most people don’t realize that private banks create virtually all of today’s money supply. For example, when you take out a mortgage of $250,000, the bank is not lending you cash sitting in its vault – it creates it on the spot by typing digits into a computer. (Editor’s note: while the United States requires reserves of 10 per cent for any loan, Canada has no such rule.) The money didn’t exist before you were approved for the loan. When you pay back the principal it becomes what they call “dead money”. It cancels out the loan and it no longer exists in the system. The bank makes its money by charging you interest. Only you have to toil in the real world by producing goods or services in order to pay the interest. Earning tangible wealth takes time. Meanwhile, the accumulating interest can easily double the cost of your initial purchase. It is a sweet deal if you’re a banker: produce nothing of tangible value but get real wealth in return.
But banks only create the principal, not the interest. This creates a chronic shortage in the money supply because businesses and workers are competing to extract interest payments from a money supply that never created it in the first place – the proverbial “rat race”. The money supply is continually being diverted into the coffers of the bankers. Bankruptcies are actually inevitable in such a system; it’s something bankers know full well. That’s why they arrange to seize your property should you default on your payments.
Usury – charging interest on money for profit – is nothing new. Throughout the ages it has been condemned by many of the world’s major religions. The only record of Jesus acting violently was when he threw the moneychangers out of the temple. Jesus was enraged and accused them of turning a house of prayer into a “den of thieves”. The backstory is that people who came to worship had to pay a temple tax, and although there were many different kinds of currency used in everyday commerce, temples would only accept a certain kind of coin called the shekel. The moneychangers soon vacuumed up most of the shekels in circulation and proceeded to lend it at interest to the faithful. Jesus saw that the moneychangers were fixing the fight, and that the system was manufacturing losers.
The moneychangers were the bankers of their time. The question today is: Who is going to challenge the moneychangers of our time?

Advice from Mom
By Rita Lessard

For the first week in June, I had the pleasure of babysitting my granddaughter Katie, age seven, and my grandson Christopher, who will be 17 on June 26. My main charge was the seven year old, but I was responsible to keep an eye on Christopher also.
Before my daughter-in-law left, she told me to keep a look out for activities that could arise with the appearance of Christopher’s girlfriend; it was a big job, but I figured I was up to the challenge.
The first night I met the girlfriend was quite uneventful as they watched TV under the seven-year-old’s supervision. I wasn’t really concerned as my grandson assured me that the girl wasn’t his girlfriend, but rather a friend who happened to be a girl. I think the sweet little girl thought differently, considering the way she clung to him like a coat two sizes too small. Girls are probably more romantic and slightly clingier. Christopher’s a sweet and handsome guy so he will probably have quite a few “friends” before he settles down. He’s only 17 so he’s got a while to go. I hope he doesn’t break too many hearts along the way.

Maybe times have changed. I remember when I was young and available that if a guy held your hand, he was yours. I recall going out with this very handsome guy a couple of times and then I ditched him. My mother almost broke out in a rash when she found out, she said, “For heaven’s sake, Rita, why did you ditch that lovely guy, Bob? He seemed so respectable.”
My reply was, “Of course he is mom, he’s thrifty, doesn’t drink or smoke, has a very steady job, a very lovely wife and three well-behaved children.” Call me crazy. Such a catch.
With another fellow I met, I told him I wasn’t looking to get involved with any one particular guy at the time.
“Lucky for you, Rita,” he said, “I’m not exactly known for being particular.” Another rash for mom. Lucky Tom came along and solved the problem for both of us.
I was talking to a young person the other day who told me she had two boyfriends. I thought that was irregular, but she explained to me that her first boyfriend complained that she wasn’t affectionate enough so she picked up a second one. I guess that’s alright because, as my grandson says, they’re just friends who happen to be girls or boys.
A while ago, I asked a friend why she married her husband despite the fact that they didn’t seem to have too much in common. She agreed, but noted that opposites attract. “I was pregnant,” she said, “and he wasn’t.”

Humour fix
Here’s a joke my friend Frank told me:
A doctor and his wife were having a big argument at breakfast. “You aren’t so good in bed either,” he shouted, and stormed off to work. By mid-morning, he decided he had better make amends and phoned home. After many rings, his wife picked up the phone.
“What took you so long to answer the phone?”
“I was in bed,” she said.
“What were you doing in bed this late?”
To which she answered, “Getting a second opinion.”

Some people say marriage is nature’s way of keeping people from fighting with strangers. Quite true. Good luck to all the people who are getting married this year.

Happy birthday to Christopher (17 on June 26), Will (4 on June 26), Connie (June 30), Olivia (16 on July 1).

Keeping the Peace
By Tom Lessard, C.D.

“Hey, Tom! Have you ever been to Tillsonburg?” No. But I’ve been to Jerusalem.
It happened while I was stationed with the UNEF in the Gaza Strip. Somehow my name came up on a list of possibilities of taking a tour of the Holy Land. (I think someone organized a push to get rid of me for a while, and when push comes to shove, you shove.) I accepted the opportunity.
We boarded an Egyptian aircraft at El Arish, which is an airport in the Mediterranean Sea not far from Rafah (in the Gaza Strip), where we were stationed. Except for black robed Bedouin women, we had seen no other females. Because we were foreign military and the war had recently ended, women were not allowed to show themselves in public while we were around.
Boarding the airplane, it was a pleasant surprise to see attractive, well endowed, smartly dressed young ladies offering us pillows and refreshments. What a shock to the system after months away from life’s delights.
Due to the turmoil between Egypt and Israel, the fact that we were aboard an Egyptian aircraft meant we were not allowed to fly over Israeli territory. Instead, we had to fly south across the Sinai desert, up along the Persian Gulf across part of Jordan and into Jerusalem. We were put up in a hotel between the old and new parts of the city. Yes, it had a bar.
The next day, our tour guide took us to see the mosque called the “Dome of the Rock”, the Holy Sepulchur, the street best known as the Way of the Cross where Jesus carried his cross to Calvary. We also toured Bethlehem and the Wailing Wall.
The next day, we hopped on a bus to see the River Jordan, where John the Baptist baptized Christ. From there, we headed to Jericho and the Dead Sea. After picking up some souvenirs and tasting the local wine, we donned our swimsuits and dove in. It’s true that you can’t sink in the Dead Sea! It’s 1300 feet below sea level and there is no outlet for the water, so it evaporates and leaves the salt. I found out by experiment that I could lie down in the water with a tray beside me holding a newspaper and none of us sinking.
I would heartily recommend that trip. I’m sure a lot of changes have been made over the last 52 years, but most have to be for the better.

You know it’s going to be a bad day when your twin forgets your birthday. Happy birthday to Will, Christopher, Connie and Olivia.
Hurry back to health Diane!