Students at Parkhill’s North Middlesex District High School are preparing their annual dramatic performance, this year producing the musical Grease: You’re the One that I Want. The play runs May 8, 9 and 10 at 7 p.m. at the high school. “We thought it was something the students would be excited about performing,” says music director Rod Culham. “It has 50s and 60s rock, and that’s always fun to do and yet fairly simple. And the story line is where they are: teenagers in high school. It has love relationships that involve being bad and good.
“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think kids have changed that much since the 50s. There are differences, of course, but there has always been the investigation of good and evil, the excitement of sexual tension, and the element of teasing each other, the questioning of adult authority. The same sorts of things that were relevant then are still relevant today.”
Sandra Smith directs the play, with technical direction by Rick Pardo, costumes by Lindsay Denning and choreography by Andrea Wegg. The production involves a cast of more than 20 students, six instrumentalists, and many adults assisting.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for seniors and students, and are available by calling the school at 519-294-1128.

Real Estate
By Allana Harkin
Performed by Scott Robert Fink, Keira Loughran, Carly Street, Brendan Wall.
Directed by D. Michael Dobbin
Grand Theatre Production
Grand Theatre, London
March 11 to March 29, 2008

Live! On Stage!
By Mary Alderson

Joel is a writer, who has churned out a couple of mystery novels, but now life’s crises are getting in the way, and he’s suffering writer’s block. His wife left him for another man, and his widowed elderly father has moved into a seniors’ residence, so Joel is back living in his parents’ lakeside home. But the bills have piled up and he’s forced to sell the house, which his Dad built for his Mom when they were newlyweds. His flaky real estate agent is determined that this will be her first sale. Then things get worse – his ex-wife shows up with her pretentious boyfriend, and his Dad dies.
And somehow, this is a romantic comedy on stage at London’s Grand Theatre. The plot has all the components for laughter and the writing is fairly clever. The tale has some suspense: we know Joel will end up with a woman – but which? He would love to reconcile with his estranged wife, yet he’s interested in his real estate agent.
The cast of Real Estate is impressive – all have interesting and extensive theatre backgrounds. Yet somehow, they have missed the mark. They haven’t pulled together to create the chemistry for good romantic comedy.
Scott Robert Fink is excellent as Joel. We get comfortable with him right away. In fact, as the audience was coming into the theatre, Joel was on stage, stretching and scratching, looking in the mirror and checking out the food stuck in his teeth. Joel is just on the verge of being labelled a loser, yet we recognize some redeeming features. Fink makes Joel a likeable guy and soon we’re on his side.
But then, along comes Emma, the real estate agent. She, too, is on the edge of loser-dom, and unfortunately, Keira Loughran, in playing the part, isn’t able to save the character. I think the playwright intended that we like Emma – she’s quirky but still we’d enjoy her company. Loughran failed to bring us on side. Loughran has an impressive background at the Stratford Festival; in fact, she was outstanding as Valeria in Coriolanus. But she lacks the facial features and comedic timing to make Emma likeable. The part calls for a Lucille Ball type – slightly too chatty, a little annoying, but we still love her.
Similarly, the casting of Carly Street as ex-wife Estelle is questionable. Again, Street has a remarkable theatre background, having played in the Toronto’s Lord of the Rings. But Street was unable to make us understand why Joel would want her back, after she cheated on him. Even when they kissed, the chemistry wasn’t there.
Brendan Wall plays the pretentious boyfriend Ted. Again, the character’s comedy hasn’t been fully developed. When the city-boy snob carrying his man-purse shows up in the country, there is potential for more laughs. His manner of speaking didn’t sound like a city lawyer-turned-business-tycoon – he dropped his “ing” endings (doin’, comin’), which belied his background.
The set is very good – the lakefront home among the trees is complete. It looks like any elderly couple’s home with the tacky old couch and chair and an array of family portraits on the wall. The front of the cottage lifts up and we are invited inside, not just peeking through the windows.
Director Michael Dobbin did much better in finding the comedy a few years ago with the Black Bonspiel of Wullie McCrimmon, a delightful play about curling which the Grand presented. Real Estate, written by Canadian Allana Harkin, has the potential to be a touching story with plenty of laughs, but it requires a cast with strong comedic timing the ability to create chemistry.
This show was sponsored by the London – St. Thomas Association of Realtors and on opening night the audience was made up real estate agents (I know this, having moved twice in the last seven years and buying & selling a couple of houses. I recognized several of them….). And the real estate agents appeared to be enjoying themselves. The best laugh of the evening was when Emma said that real estate agents also have to be psychologists. Their clients are going though change and stress, and the agent has to know how to deal with it. In the audience, many heads were nodding as the chuckles rippled across.
Real Estate continues at the Grand Theatre in London until 29. Tickets are available at the Grand box office at 672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593.

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.

Saving 25 Years of Marriage

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

Sexy Laundry
By Michele Riml
Performed by Roger Dunn and Lynne Griffin
Directed by Rosemary Dunsmore
Grand Theatre Production
Grand Theatre, London
January 15 to February 2, 2008

In the Grand’s current production, Sexy Laundry, a couple in their 50s spend a weekend at an upscale hotel trying to get romance back into their marriage. In the end, the audience might wonder if they succeeded – although the playwright intended they would. Instead, it seems like they just proved that they are comfortable together. While it may not be romantic, being comfortable is not a bad thing.
It’s the story of Alice (Lynne Griffin) and Henry (Roger Dunn), both fifty-plus, who have been married 25 years. Alice convinces Henry to spend a weekend together at an expensive hotel to rekindle the flame in their marriage. She brings along a copy of “Sex for Dummies” which she picked up at the library. This, of course, has to produce laughs. Alice has marked pages with sticky notes, and Henry is embarrassed about leafing through the book. They try massage, sharing fantasies, and exploring each other’s bodies while blindfolded, but nothing is really working for them.
The story moves along with some tender moments, and some arguments that get nasty. They even threaten divorce, but in the end they finally seem to be comfortable with each other.
Both Griffin and Dunn are good in the roles. Both have extensive acting experience, and have worked together in the past, once as a couple on the TV show ‘Til Death Do Us Part. They also both appeared in the Bob & Doug McKenzie cult classic, Strange Brew.
The pair handles the lines well, and the play offers some very funny moments. In those moments, both actors demonstrate very good comedic timing. And they have the facial expressions to create comedy. Carrying a two character play is a lot of work – copious lines to learn, with never a break from being on stage. But both actors call on their experience to pull it off. Director Rosemary Dunsmore has brought out interesting characters from both Griffin and Dunn.
So if there’s a weakness with Sexy Laundry, it’s in the script. Too much of it doesn’t ring true. If a couple really needs Sex for Dummies, then it is amazing that they’ve lasted 25 years together. Henry, who emphatically says he hates dancing, is then dancing around the stage. Alice’s black leather outfit is just too far over the top. The most difficult to accept are the gender stereotypes – she’s worried about her bulging midriff, he is concerned about climbing the career ladder. And their children, the one thing they truly have in common, are glossed over.
At times the script takes the pair on a roller-coaster ride – they have a affectionate moment, immediately followed by a fight. The emotional changes are too abrupt.
So while there is a good premise, with a first rate cast and periodic moments of laughter, a neater script could have sustained the comedy.
Sexy Laundry continues at the Grand Theatre in London until February 2. Tickets are available at the Grand box office at 672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593.

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.

By Casey Lessard

Drayton Entertainment is sticking to a formula that works for its 2008 season at Huron Country Playhouse, presenting Broadway hits and home-grown originals on its two stages.
The season includes: My Fair Lady, Sorry… I’m Canadian, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum on the main stage, and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at Playhouse II.
“After receiving so many accolades this year, people keep asking us how we can possibly top ourselves,” says artistic director Alex Mustakas. “It’s a very difficult challenge, but one that allows us to reach new heights of creativity. The result is a very diverse mix of productions, but each one will carry our signature stamp of top-quality professional entertainment at an amazingly affordable price. Now, more than ever, people can experience epic Broadway productions and esteemed talent right in their own backyard.”
Between its six venues in Grand Bend, Drayton, Penetanguishene, and St. Jacobs, Drayton sold 225,000 tickets in 2007. Already, the box office has sold 50,000 for 2008.

Here’s a summary of the season from Drayton Entertainment:
The 2008 Season kicks off with the lover-ly musical masterpiece, My Fair Lady. Egotistical professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins, makes a wager that he can transform unrefined Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady – and fool everyone into thinking she really is one, too! But when Higgins’ scheme is too successful, he faces the prospect of losing Eliza forever. Will he admit he’s grown accustomed to her face before it’s too late? My Fair Lady runs June 3rd to June 21st.
Sorry … I’m Canadian is a pageant of political patriotism, starring gifted comedian Neil Aitchison. Join us for an entertaining trek across our vast country, and relive the magic of the Great Canadian Song Book: gems like “O’Siem”, “Alberta Bound”, “Fox On The Run,” “Black Fly,” “Song of the Mira,” “I’se the B’ye,” “Sonny’s Dream,” “Farewell to Nova Scotia” and many, many more. Sorry…I’m Canadian celebrates our distinct heritage and offers a fresh take on what it means to be a proud Canadian through a charming blend of music, humour, and political satire. The production runs June 24th to July 12th.
Drayton Entertainment has scored a major coup with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, as the Broadway sensation will be making its Canadian premiere this summer, July 16th through August 9th. Based on the popular film, the production follows the dastardly deeds of two con men engaged in a mirthful battle of wits. Prepare to have your heart stolen in this hilariously clever take on the ultimate con!
The season ends with A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, August 13th through August 30th. This fun-filled vaudevillian romp traces a day in the life of Pseudolus, the craftiest slave in Rome, as he tries to win the heart of a dim-witted courtesan for his master’s son in exchange for his freedom. Armed with the witty lyrics and toe-tapping tunes of legendary composer Stephen Sondheim, this irreverent production is one of the funniest musicals ever written.
The 2008 Season is proudly sponsored by Lavis Contracting and A Channel.
Playhouse II, Grand Bend
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is a frothy, fun look at the absurdity of love. Explore the entire spectrum of romance and its many forms – from dating to marriage, the agonies and triumphs of dealing with in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car, and pick-up techniques of the geriatric set. The production runs July 16th to August 30th.

Ticket Information
Drayton Entertainment offers flexible subscription packages that enable theatregoers to book tickets to any performance, at any theatre, for any date. When theatregoers buy tickets to four, five, six, or even seven different productions, they could save more than 33% off the regular ticket price. Individual theatre tickets are $37.00 for adults; $20.00 for youth 18 and under, and $30.00 for preview performances.
To receive a complimentary 2008 Theatre Guide, call the Box Office at (519) 238-6000 or 1-888-449-4463 or visit www.huroncountryplayhouse.com.

Anne of Green Gables
Adapted by Donald Harron, from the novel by L.M. Montgomery
Music by Norman Campbell
Performed by Jennifer Toulmin and cast
Directed by Susan Ferley
Musical Direction by Andrew Petrasiunas
Choreography by Kerry Gage
Grand Theatre Production
Grand Theatre, London
November 21 to December 30, 2007

Live! On Stage!
Reviewed by Mary Alderson

Jennifer Toulmin steals the stage in the Grand’s current production of Anne of Green Gables – and well she should! She plays the lead role, Anne, capturing the precocious orphan just the way the character leaps from the pages of the classic Canadian novel.
Toulmin has electric energy as Anne, filling the Grand’s stage with activity. Her voice is Anne’s voice, keeping the gregarious chatter entertaining and endearing. Her four years’ experience playing Anne at the Charlottetown Festival is very apparent, and she makes the show a delight. Toulmin has just the right amount of “perky” without going over the top, and moves forward with Anne’s journey, maturing but not losing her charisma.
The Grand presents the musical version of the delightful novel, first penned by Lucy Maude Montgomery in 1905. It’s a story that has enchanted Canadian girls for generations, its popularity spreading round the world over the years. An aging brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla, want to adopt a boy to help out on the farm, but somehow, Anne, a gifted and very melodramatic orphan arrives at their home, Green Gables. Anne’s spirit gets her into mischief, but also brightens the lives of those around her.
Norman Campbell and Donald Harron turned the engaging story into Canada’s most popular musical in 1963, and it has continued to charm audiences in Charlottetown for 44 years. Anne of Green Gables has graced stages all across Canada, enjoyed a run in New York, appeared around the world, and is extremely popular in Japan.
The Grand’s version does justice to the institution that is Anne. An excellent set, careful attention to the music, and a strong cast are in place. Douglas Chamberlain is a wonderful Matthew, bringing more spirit to the part than is usually seen. Charlotte Moore creates humour with Mrs. Lynde, the town gossip, and Karen Coughlin (last year’s Belle in Beauty and the Beast) is a delightful Miss Stacy, the schoolteacher who is Anne’s kindred spirit.
It’s nice to see Ingersoll’s Anwyn Musico as Prissy Andrews. Anwyn is an alumna of the Grand’s High School Project, and was recently a finalist on CBC-TV’s Triple Sensation. Some local children round out the cast at Avonlea School: Henry Firmston, Seth Maraccio, and Jenna Quinn, all of London, and Kyla Musselman of Stratford.
Credit once again goes to Director Susan Ferley for her attention to detail, and to Andrew Petrasiunas for his excellent musical direction. The audience leaves the theatre singing the catchy tunes, such as “Ice Cream”, “Humble Pie”, “Open the Window” and the spunky “I’ll Show Him”. Or they are moved by “The Words” or “Wonderin’”. Choreographer Kerry Gage animates the cast, calling on her solid Charlottetown experience in the back-to-school ballet and the egg race number at the picnic.
It’s a slice of Canadiana that should be part of everyone’s education. The Avonlea School on the Grand’s stage is the best place to learn Anne’s story.

Anne of Green Gables continues at the Grand Theatre in London until December 30. Tickets are available at the Grand box office at 672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593.

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.

Could You Wait?
Book & Original Lyrics by W. J. Matheson
Original Music by W.J. Matheson, Louise Pitre and Diane Leah
Performed by Louise Pitre and W.J. Matheson
Directed by Miles Potter
Grand Theatre, London
October 23 to November 11, 2007

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

Could You Wait?, a new musical to start the season at London’s Grand Theatre, has been billed as a war story. With Legion members greeting patrons at the Grand’s entrance on opening night, the impression was given that this was a World War II play. But Could You Wait? is a story of love, not war, set in the early 1940’s. Yes, there is a war going on, but it’s almost forgotten as the plot is wrapped up in the romance of Matt and Mary.
When the action begins on stage, we meet Matt and Mary, an elderly couple out on a seniors’ bus trip today. They are revisiting the Royal York hotel, which apparently holds significant memories for them. Mary is thrilled, but Matt says they should have taken the trip to Casino Rama.
Then the clock jumps back in time. Mary and Matt meet at a dance in Halifax. He’s in the Navy and is just heading off to war. He’s a Saskatchewan farm boy, or “plough jockey” and she’s a French Canadian Catholic. The romance develops shyly through the mail, and both express concerns about what their mother would think. Mary moves to Toronto, and Matt, on leave, has to find his way to meet him there, planning to pop the question and ask her to wait for her. The proposal is made in the luxurious Imperial Room at the Royal York.
Mary is played by Broadway star Louise Pitre (the mother in “Mamma Mia” in both the Toronto and New York productions) while Matt his played by her real-life husband Joe (W.J.) Matheson. You may remember them in the Grand’s outstanding production of For the Pleasure of Seeing You Again last February. Matheson wrote this show for Pitre, and the two obviously enjoy working together. They collaborated on some of the songs, together with musical director Diane Leah.
It’s a heart-warming story, and the music is wonderful. Their original works are mixed in with some old favourite war songs, such as “I’ll be Seeing You in All the Old Familiar Places” and “The White Cliffs of Dover”. Both Pitre and Matheson have beautiful voices – whether they’re rendering spellbinding solos, or singing together in harmony, their vocal performances are flawless.
The couple also dance together. There are some romantic waltzes, but a favourite is the lively jive to the great swing song “Steppin’ Out”. Credit goes to another husband and wife team who handled the choreography: Janet Kelley and Glen Kerr.
The story contains a few anachronisms, but Matheson can be forgiven for taking some poetic licence. The elderly Matt comes on stage carrying a Simpsons shopping bag, but says he’d rather be at Casino Rama – I don’t think Simpsons and Casino Rama ever existed together in the same time frame. Lyrics in one song mention Diefenbaker, but I doubt that Dief was making much news during the 1940s. And the song “Steppin’ Out” was not popular until after the Second World War.
But no one said that it was going to be a history lesson – instead it offers us much to learn about romance, love and life.
Could You Wait? continues at the Grand Theatre in London until Remembrance Day, November 11. Tickets are available at the Grand box office at 519-672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593.

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.

Reverend Jonah
Blyth Festival
Until September 1

Southcott Pines resident Paul Ciufo is a financial planner in Exeter by day, playwright by night. His first professional stage production, Reverend Jonah, premiered at the Blyth Festival last weekend to positive reviews.
Ciufo’s story-line: “Reverend Jonah is a brand new minister out of seminary. He shows up at his first church in a fictional small town in Huron County called Gilvray.
“He’s the darling of the church at the outset. Then he encounters a woman who was pushed out of this church 10 years before because she started living with another woman. The United Church generally is in favour of being tolerant and accepting of gays and lesbians so he says, ‘You have to let me make this right and bring you back into the church.’ And that’s when all hell breaks loose.”

As told to Casey Lessard

I knew a minister who came into conflict with the powerful families in his church and who was pushed out. It was really devastating to him. That really prompted me to want to write about conflict in churches.
A lot of people believe the church is supposed to be this loving place and sometimes it’s just a place of just vicious politics and people jockeying for power. All these worldly things and negative things about us as people – there should be no place for that in the church.
I also had a relative who was a minister; I was close to him growing up and he struggled with addiction. He died quite young. I think I’ve always wanted to write about him.
Ministers are often such giving people and spend all their time helping people. Sometimes they can become quite blind to their own problems and their own burdens. It can take a great toll on them.
The title character Jonah is struggling with an addiction and some other burdens and he doesn’t really attend to those things because he’s so focused on what he has to do as a minister.
The stakes are extremely high because the minister’s guidance doesn’t affect the wealth of shareholders in the here and now – it affects the immortal fate of the congregation and their very souls. They have a huge burden. Biblically it’s spelled out that they are held to account like a shepherd for his flock. The minister feels a great responsibility for the congregation on a very high level.
Early in my research I watched this amazing documentary about a woman who was a United Church minister and I very vividly remember her being at her husband’s birthday party and the phone rang. Someone had just suffered a tragedy and needed comforting and she had to leave. It really is all consuming. It’s very tough to escape the demands of it. It’s unpredictable.
Not everyone is of one mind and conflict is inevitable. It shouldn’t happen in a church. Idealistically you’d hope there wouldn’t be that terrible conflict that you often hear about, like how a minister leaves and half the church leaves over an issue that was dividing a congregation.
When people are mistreated in that context, a place that’s supposed to strive to be kind and loving and above things like jealousy and greed, maybe it cuts even deeper.
I know a woman who many years ago had a child out of wedlock and her church would not baptize her child. She has never been back. When she saw a public reading of my play a year ago – it was read out to about 50 people so it wasn’t a production with costumes – she was in absolute tears afterwards. It stirred all that up about how hurtful being rejected by a church can be.
Perhaps we’re idealistic about churches. If you have idealized expectations of a church and they are dashed, maybe that’s what wounds so deeply. Look at people who are harmed by ministers or priests. That person is supposed to be a representative of God. That person is supposed to be nothing but kindness and love and comfort. Your expectations are so great and your hope is so great.
My sister, who lives in Saskatchewan, goes to a church where a homeless man in the church stands and talks to the Member of Parliament who attends the church. That to me is what church is all about. What happens out in the world should all be stripped away because none of that is important to God.

Reverend Jonah
By Paul Ciufo
Performed by Darren Keay, Michelle Fisk, et al.
Directed by Marie Beath Badian
Blyth Festival Production
August 8 – September 1, 2007

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

Grand Bend Playwright Paul Ciufo hopes people will consider both sides of the conflict, with his new play that premiered last week at the Blyth Festival. Ciufo, a resident of Grand Bend works as a financial planner in Exeter, and writes and re-writes plays in his spare time. Reverend Jonah is the story of the new young minister who comes to a small town in Huron County to become the pastor at the United Church. Very soon, his youthful ideals are put to the test.
Jonah meets up with Phyllis who was kicked out of the church previously because she is in a lesbian relationship. It’s clear to Jonah that she should be back in the church that she once loved. But how to get there is not clear, and Jonah agonizes over the decisions he must make – to the detriment of his health. To Stacey, a quietly controlling church leader, homosexuality is sinful, and Phyllis does not belong in their midst. Stacey believes the young Jonah is misguided and assumes it’s up to her to maintain the status quo. Ciufo has cleverly woven together a very complicated story to create a worthwhile evening of reflection, grabbing and holding the audience’s attention.
Darren Keay is excellent as Jonah – he goes from youthful optimism to being torn apart, with his principals in conflict with the reality he’s facing. Michelle Fisk is also excellent as Phyllis – she shows us the exterior toughness that Phyllis has been forced to develop, but also reveals the gentle interior in a realistic manner. Randi Helmers is good as Stacey, quiet and demanding at the same time.
Adding depth to the plot are characters Barb (Rebecca Auerbach) as Phyllis’ partner, and Rachel (Ingrid Haas) who is Stacey’s daughter and develops a relationship with Jonah. Hands-on, hardworking church members Di (Elizabeth Thorpe-Hearn) and Fred (Jefferson Mappin) complete the cast. Mappin’s excellent portrayal of Fred also supplies some comic relief as the very intense story unfolds.
Credit goes to director Marie Beath Badian for bringing Ciufo’s characters to life. She has created them realistically – you’d recognize them as your fellow church members or your neighbours.
At the preview performance, some lines were flubbed, but we assume that will be corrected by opening night. The set – made up of sliding stained glass windows representing the church, that also become office walls, a store front or patio doors – moved too slowly and unsteadily at times. We hope that, too, is smoothed out as the show continues.
But overall, it’s a very moving story, addressing a difficult, divisive issue. It will leave theatregoers with much to consider and perhaps even offer a path to tolerance and inclusiveness.
It’s exciting to see a production written by a local playwright brought to life on stage. Credit goes to Blyth Festival for bringing great Canadian talent to the forefront.

Reverend Jonah continues in repertory at the Blyth Festival Theatre, Blyth until September. For tickets, call the box office at 1-877-862-5984 or check www.blythfestival.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 the Community Economic Development Officer with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.

Legends
Huron Country Playhouse
Until September 1

By Casey Lessard

It’s not too often you get to see 1960s music “legend” Tiny Tim on stage at the Huron Country Playhouse, and quite frankly, I’m not too sure how many people would pay to see him. This is one time you should consider doing so.
“I remember watching (Tiny Tim) on the Johnny Carson Show,” says Keith Savage, who pays tribute to the super-strange ukulele-playing singer of “Tip-Toe Through the Tulips” in Legends, running until September 1. “I am old enough to love all this music. I went on YouTube and you see him. He was not extremely pretty. (Laughs) It’s fun to be him. I wanted the bigger nose.”
Savage and his co-stars do such a good job of portraying rock’s icons, it’s easy to suggest you may have a hard time getting a ticket for Legends, on now until September 1.
“It’s a sequel to Twist and Shout, the British Invasion,” says creator and director Alex Mustakas. “That idea I got when I was in New York City once. I got tickets to see the David Letterman Show, which happens in the old Ed Sullivan theatre. I got the idea to create something that’s like a live television taping. We needed to find the right theme. I had an idea for the British Invasion for a long, long time. That was such a hit I thought, ‘How can we follow this up?’”
The answer was a retirement show for Roy Solomon, the television-host character based on Ed Sullivan. All of the legends of rock ‘n’ roll are invited to celebrate Roy’s 20 years in the television business.
“It’s a thin story line,” Mustakas admits, although it’s doubtful anyone in the audience will care. “It’s obviously about the music. That’s what it is. We actually touch on 105 songs. It’s music that I grew up with and love. There isn’t a song in the show that everybody doesn’t know.”
“It’s great music,” says Adele MacKenzie, one of the many cast members born after most of the show’s music was produced. “Anyone growing up through the ages listens to this stuff so I know it all already. Dance is my first love but I get a chance to do some lead vocals as well. Everyone gets featured which is why I really like this show.”
Paying tribute to memorable musicians and their work is very hot in this area, as evidenced by the touring song-and-dance troupe, the Lambton Main Street Players, and Parkhill’s Star Dust dinner theatre, which exclusively features tribute acts.
“It’s a very nostalgic time,” says celebrity impressionist Houston MacPherson, who introduces the legends’ different songs and does some of his own. “I did a lot of work in Vegas for a year-and-a-half, and everything there is nostalgic. All the shows are legend-based. People want to hear those good times. I think that’s primarily their reason. There’s a lot of trouble in the world. Those were happy times.”

See also Mary Alderson’s review of this play.

Legends: A Salute to Musical Pioneers
Conceived, written and directed by Alex Mustakas
Musical Director Bob Foster
Choreographer Gino Berti
Drayton Entertainment Production
Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend
August 8 – September 1, 2007

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

The balcony had better be reinforced at Huron Country Playhouse. With the show Legends: A Salute to Musical Pioneers currently on stage there, the audience is dancing and singing along. And that balcony is bouncing in time with the music.
Remember Twist & Shout: The British Invasion of two years ago? Well, this is the sequel. TV host Roy Solomon (The Ed Sullivan-like character) is retiring after having 1,000 shows on the air. So the audience is treated to clips of all the greats (but we get to see live re-creations) who have graced his stage, plus some have returned to honour Roy.
Huron Country Playhouse is set up to resemble a TV studio, with cameramen at both sides of the theatre. On big screens at both sides of the stage we see commercials or clips from the 50’s and 60’s, interspersed with close-ups of what we’re watching on stage.
Well over 100 songs and medleys are presented: memorable favourites such as Jerry Lee Lewis’ Whole Lotta Shakin’ to Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman, along with medleys of the Beatles and Monkees, and even a Motown set. A cast of 12 very talented singer/dancers bring hit after hit. Joining the 12 are Keith Savage as announcer Sheldon Lubliner, and Houston MacPherson, a celebrity impressionist, who brings us the likes of Jack Nicholson or George Burns, as well as all the old crooners.
Everyone will have a favourite that evokes a memory. The showstopper is Danny Williams singing Bridge Over Troubled Waters with musical director Bob Foster. You may remember Williams from Twist & Shout when he brought the house down with Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade of Pale. He also recreates the Hollies sound with He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, an emotion-filled favourite where Williams’ amazing voice is probably better than the original version. Another favourite is Ange Pagano portraying Janis Joplin with Me and Bobby McGee. The list of hits goes on.
Keith Savage, always popular with the Huron Country Playhouse audience, provides the comedy. In fact, the audience laughs as soon as they see Savage’s buck-toothed smile. As well as being the amusing announcer, Savage has several other roles – a magician (and some tricks are revealed), Tiny Tim tiptoeing through the tulips, and the lead Crypt-Kicker bringing us The Monster Mash.
Legends is an excellent production of good music and good fun. If you’re thinking about going, order your tickets immediately; it will sell out soon.

Legends continues with eight shows a week until September 1 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.

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.

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.

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!
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
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.

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.

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.

July 18 to August 4
Huron Country Playhouse
(519) 238-6000 for tickets

Story/photo by Casey Lessard

Lovers brought together by the Vietnam war bring a tragic turn to the Huron Country Playhouse’s next production, Miss Saigon. While most of the fare on display this summer has been upbeat entertainment, the tragic love story of Miss Saigon is a must-see, says director and choreographer David Connolly.
“The cast is extraordinary,” Connolly says. “I’ve been working here for 25 years and this cast is the most talented group you could hope to ever have. The lead female is former Canadian Idol finalist Elena Juatko and she’s everything that Kim should be: naïve and strong and smart. And Steve who’s playing her lover, the male lead has been on Broadway as Marius in Les Mis and did a national tour of Little Women, so he has this unbelievable résumé too. The rest of the résumés span every festival. I taught Frank Anton Howard (who plays the Engineer) at Sheridan College years ago. I reconnected with him to find out that he had played this role through out America and won an Ovation award for his Los Angeles portrayal of it. He’s for the first time back in Canada to play the part. The talent here in this theatre for these two and half weeks is collectively as good as it would be in any theatre in North America this summer.”
Based on the opera Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon is the story of the foreigner going to a foreign land and falling in love. In this case, the love story involves an American soldier and Vietnamese girl during the Vietnam War.
“There are really interesting and dark and meaningful themes. It deals with these themes that are so close to home on top of this heart wrenching love story. It’s too thought-provoking for you to not leave having had some kind of catharsis.”
The play, considered an epic musical, deals with serious themes but should appeal to any audience that loves theatre and drama.
“We have actors that are fully committed to telling it in an authentic way. We have to honour the men who fought in that war. We have to honour the children who are orphaned by that war. All these themes are all the way through it. But at the heart of it is a love story. It doesn’t matter where that love story took place whether it’s Vietnam or the South Pacific or England. The fact is that these two people – desperate people in desperate times – fell in love and got ripped apart so everyone can identify with that. Everyone can identify with having a love that, for whatever reason, couldn’t be. Regardless of who you are, you get to identify with the fact that, ‘Oh yeah, I was in love once and it didn’t work out.’ These two lovers should have been together forever but weren’t and I think we’ve all been there.
“I’ve worked with lots of casts and for me this is the one I want to get up and rehearse every morning joyfully with. That’s a testament to the people that put this together and to the support we’re getting from sound, carpentry, lights, costumes. The women have 10 costume changes in the course of this musical, which is kind of unheard of. Everyone has pushed their boundaries to support this size of this show. Come see how they did it.”

Until August 18
Huron Country Playhouse
(519) 238-6000 for tickets
(519) 614-3614 to win tickets

Click here to enter to win tickets!

Story/photo by Casey Lessard

Whether you’ve dropped a baby, faced a diaper-pail tidal wave, shot milk from your breast or left your child on the roof of a moving vehicle, you know being a mom is no day at the beach. If none of those things have happened to you, you should see Mom’s the Word to get a better sense of what it took to raise a kid like you.
An ensemble version of a one-woman show, the play blends monologues by five women (six in the original show) who are new mothers.
“We’d all been working in the theatre in Vancouver,” says director Robin Nichol, who was one of the six women who wrote the play, “and we’d all had babies around the same time and the bottom had dropped out of our careers. We met regularly. We talked a lot. We laughed a lot and whined a lot and laughed a lot but we never wrote anything down. Then finally at the last minute this festival that we were booked into was coming up so we kind of said, ‘You tell that story and you tell that one.’ It just came about in a kind of organic, West Coast kind of way.”
Assuming the show would appeal to new moms only, the group was shocked at the overwhelmingly positive response from a diverse audience. After a successful nine-month run in Vancouver, the play traveled the world and has been translated into a dozen languages over the past ten years.
“It is the easiest part I’ve ever had to play,” says actor Louise Gauthier, who as Linda, demands understanding from her partner. “My child is five so there wasn’t too much digging or research that needed to happen. Now I just have to wait for my husband to come and see the show to see what he thinks (laughs). I hope he doesn’t feel too bashed.”
“You’re trying to figure out how to best tell the story,” says Birgitte Solem, whose character’s son is born premature, “how to get people to laugh and how you make sure people understand what you’re talking about. Robin is so good with getting the best out of everybody.”
As Deborah, Alex Dallas has to bare all for the audience, and we’re not just talking about her emotions.
“The first time I did this show in Thunder Bay,” Dallas says, “they went, ‘By the way, you’re naked.’ I went, ‘Oh. OH!’ It was fine because we worked it out tastefully. Tastefully, Grand Bend. You don’t have to be scared. It’s so funny and it fits in with the concept of the show so well. Anything for comedy! At the bottom line, we’re all just naked human beings that put on clothes and try to deal with jobs and children and marriages and all these things. People love it because they really relate.
“I have a fourteen year old daughter who’s coming up soon and I’m going to persuade her to see it because I told her about the nudity and she said, ‘What? No, I don’t want to see that.’ I think I will persuade her.”
“A lot of people come up to us, namely mothers, and say they felt liberated or ‘I feel like I’m not alone, let me tell you the story about my day from hell,’” says Sharon Heldt, who portrays the role written by the play’s director Robin Nichol. “It’s all supposed to be cuddly and wonderful and it’s not always like that. We all know that. We all gave our parents trouble on the road.”
“I find that children are really brilliant,” says Ginette Mohr, who is not a mom herself. “They say the most amazing things. They have fantastic observations. I learned a lot from actually being with kids. I’m looking forward to that.”
“It’s a hard job,” says Dallas. “Moms out there will know. And we should all get credit for it, I think.”

Playhouse presentation of Norm Foster/Leslie Arden collaboration will make you laugh, shout and cheer

The Last Resort
Until July 14
Huron Country Playhouse
(519) 238-6000 for tickets

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

For a guaranteed good night out, book yourself a spot at the Last Resort, playing now at the Huron Country Playhouse. The play is masterfully written by Canadian playwright Norm Foster, and fun music by Canadian composer Leslie Arden.
A group of apparent strangers are staying the night in Saskatchewan’s Last Resort, a hotel in the middle of nowhere that will serve as the perfect hideout for mob informant Nick Galeazzo (Brett McCaig). On the run with FBI agent Angela Miller (Shelley Simester), Nick is paranoid that every other guest in the hotel is out to kill him. Everyone is a suspect, and eventually the murderous mayhem begins. Inspector Closely (Robert Latimer) is the Scottish RCMP attaché who has to sort out the situation.
“It’s so much fun from lights up to lights out,” says Stuart Dowling, who portrays Freda Heitz, the husky female hotelier. “Once you get that reaction and that rapport with an audience it’s just so much fun. Then they start laughing and the laughter builds and builds and then you have to wait for people to be quiet because we have a play to get going.”
“The play is almost making fun of itself,” says McCaig. “Even though everyone is crazy and huge and wacky, it still comes honestly. Even though I’m flailing and twisting myself and contorting myself, you’re still in the moment and you’re being there in an honest way as opposed to just flailing around for no reason.”
The actors are very much in the moment and are impeccable with their comic timing. All of a sudden, a song will emerge out of nowhere, or the cast will begin ballet dancing (one of the funniest scenes, by far, featuring John Devorski as poet Trent Balfour). And to think, the cast has only two weeks to prepare for opening night.
“It is insane,” says Cara Leslie, who has the dual role of Jessica and Julia Youngstead, who are staying at the hotel to hear the reading of their late father’s will. One of them will inherit $32 million; the other, a bracelet. “It really works out to about 10 days if you really look at it like that. I think we have done about seven shows already this week.”
The quick turnaround is one of the reasons Drayton Entertainment takes advantage of actors who have already done the play for their other venues.
“It’s good to come into rehearsal knowing all of your lines and all of your lyrics,” Leslie says, “and it serves you and it just makes things move a lot faster.”
“It’s wonderful to come back to a character that you’ve played before and loved playing,” says Sheldon Davis, referring to “Psycho” Sid Barzini, a carpet salesman who comes to the hotel with his wife Liz (Susan Johnston Collins) for their 24th anniversary. “You get back up to speed. Most of us have done this production before so (director Marc Richard) was able to layer in a few more things. Sid’s really the only guy in The Last Resort who has no agenda. He’s the guy who is just there because his wife has brought him in there and he just wants to have a good time.”
An audience that attends the Huron Country Playhouse looking for a good time will find it. The Last Resort is billed as a Hilarious Musical Whodunit, and when it comes to creating a fun night out, they all “dun it.” This is a really fun play with spot-on performances by a talented ensemble cast. Well deserving of an opening night standing ovation.

around the Bend (players)
Wednesdays – Grand Bend Farmers’ Market; other dates and locations: see website

Interview & photos by Casey Lessard

aroundtheBend(players) are seven University of Windsor theatre students living in Grand Bend for the summer and performing street theatre at venues including Evinc Studios, the Grand Bend Farmers’ Market and the Lakeview Café.

What kind of theatre do you do?
Joshua Browne: We adapt our work to whatever our audience and whatever our space is. We’re performing at the Lakeview in a few weeks – probably some Shakespeare on their patio. We’ve talked about doing a show at the mini-golf place where it has all these little houses that look very Victorian, so we had an idea of doing some Shaw there and having an evening event or even have it happen while people are playing golf. We did clowning at the Farmer’s Market last Wednesday.

Who thinks of the themes and who thinks of the ideas?
Sean Topps: It’s a collaborative effort. We want to create our own work to reflect the community rather than to dictate to the community what we’re going to perform. It’s about all of us having a really open dialogue and a form of communication to collaborate and concoct a piece.

What do you hope to get out of being part of something like that?
Allie Boak: Becoming a self-sufficient actor I think is very important, especially nowadays in theatre and just exploring different types of theatre like site-specific work and working with this excellent group of people.

What do you hope the Grand Bend audience gets out of this?
Stephanie Carpanini: We want people to make up their own story through what they are seeing. Not necessarily always presenting to them your typical kind of conventional theatre and that it doesn’t have to be on a stage. We’re trying to give our age group and younger kids a love for art.
There aren’t a lot of young people anymore that appreciate theatre – I mean there are but nowadays kids just want to go out and party and drink beer – the kids on the streets of Grand Bend last night anyways.

When you look at the work that you guys are doing, what do you hope to address in the work that you are doing with this group?
Carolyn Lawrence: It’s important to challenge the audience. I mean you take these people, like last night, that are drunk and it’s easy to label them as drunks and they aren’t coherent and they wouldn’t understand so let’s give them a couple simple jokes and make them happy but you start to realize that there’s more to it than that. You can’t just label that audience. There were older generations walking by and there were some kids that would walk by.

Based on your experience last night and the practices you guys have been doing what have you learned so far from the experience?
David Baker: The show we did last night was very crazy and sort of raunchy. We did that because we knew the audience that we were going to direct it towards. And then we got all this crazy feedback. For some reason I was a little surprised but then again the audience reflected what we were doing in the same way. Sort of what we were doing on stage was exactly what was going on off stage. They were throwing pizza at us.
Joshua: As much as getting hit with a pizza sucks and heckling is a pain and it hurts, it’s also real. It’s also a real dialogue and we learn from that.

Christine, there was a tough scene where you’re having (simulated) oral sex performed on you. It’s a public place; you’re portraying something that’s very private. There’s sodomy and all this other stuff. What do you expect the reaction to be from the audience? I saw one group of people walk away at that scene.
Christine Carr: It was a comment on the life of Grand Bend, the life of these tourists who come into town. I think people sat there and had a little click in their minds that maybe this is an experience they’ve had and that’s why they walked away, or it’s something they relate with this party scene. As an actor it’s a scary thing to do. It takes a lot of guts and being able to throw yourself out there and go for it. There’s a fine line where it becomes pornography. Yeah, it was scary to go out there. It was risqué. The things that are the scariest are the most worthwhile. It makes it exciting and challenges the audiences. As long as you are true to the story and are specific.

Sean: The piece came out of a dissatisfaction of our culture at our age. Our generation, our pop culture. And the things we think are glossed over or missed in a lot of ways. Our knowing things aren’t quite right here. What we did is very surface and that’s what our culture is. It’s sex-driven and not of the self. That’s why we wanted to show it on stage.

Joshua: We drink, we party. We are part of this culture as much as anyone. It’s poking fun at stuff, but it’s not meant to put anyone down. We’re not trying to come down from on high; we’re trying to hold up a mirror. Sometimes it’s too accurate and hard to take.

Genre-bender is a murder-mystery, musical and comedy all in one show
The Last Resort
Huron Country Playhouse
June 26 to July 14
Box office: (519) 238-6000
www.huroncountryplayhouse.com

Story and photo by Casey Lessard

Most people would be happy to see a play that is a murder mystery, a musical or a comedy; those are standard theatrical genres. Canadian playwright Norm Foster and composer Leslie Arden decided to combine the three and the result is The Last Resort, now showing at the Huron Country Playhouse.
The Last Resort is set in a resort in Saskatchewan,” director Marc Richard says, “and the idea is that these characters come to the Last Resort: there are two people there for their 25th anniversary, there’s a man who’s on the run from the mob and he’s in the witness protection program, along with the FBI agent who’s with him. There’s a poet coming to find some sanctuary to write. There are twins – one actor plays two characters – twin girls who are there for the reading of their father’s will; one of them is going to inherit $32 million. There’s the woman who is the proprietress of the Last Resort, named Freda Heights – the big joke of the show. She’s looking after everybody.
“At the end of the first act, somebody is murdered and the whole second act is trying to find out who did it. There’s an RCMP officer named Kenneth Closely, who shows up from the RCMP complete with a kilt and a Scottish accent. He tries to figure out who killed the person who died at the end of act one.”
This is Richard’s fourth production of the play, and he says it gets better every time.
“It’s been a work in progress for me,” he says. “From the very first time I read it, I knew that all those elements had to be there. Usually what I do is go through a scene and look at it just for comic timing, the technical timing of it. ‘You’re saying this because, right now you’re culpable and everybody thinks you did it.’ There’s the murder mystery aspect – turning the volume up on that. And obviously the music is all part of it, too. The music is difficult – it’s really beautiful music, jazzy and a bit hard.”
It’s a fast schedule – the cast has two weeks to rehearse for the play.
“The first time I did this play, the actors barely knew what was going on. So it’s great to have people who have done it with you before because we go, yeah, right. We’re just reminded. All the layers are there and you add layers as they start playing. It’s great to have people who are ready to hit the ground running in a two-week rehearsal process, because you don’t have a lot of time. Especially just to learn the material, let alone to add other stuff to it.
“The actors love it. It’s always fun doing a comedy. It’s always fun to try to find the rhythms and what it takes to make the thing really come to life. We’ve had a lot of fun in rehearsals. Six of them in this cast have done it with me before – in Penetanguishene and Drayton two summers ago – and we have two new cast members. They’re walking around with their eyes a bit bugged out right now but they’re fitting in really well. They’ve had a lot to learn but they’re great.”
Richard likes having a chance to make the play better for a new audience.
“We can add so many layers to it,” he says. “In the two weeks we’ve been rehearsing, we’ve been going back and adding new elements to it, digging deeper. It’s a really fun show. It’s lovely to work on a piece where you know you’re just there to make people laugh. People are also going to be interested in the story and the plot. But just sitting there listening to people laugh is a wonderful way to make a living.”
And the atmosphere in Grand Bend’s not bad, either.
“Maybe Grand Bend’s a little more distracting for people in the summertime. People are like, I want to get to the beach. Yes, but we still have to rehearse. But it’s a great place, a great space to work in, a lovely theatre and it is a bit like a vacation when you work here.”

By Ann Robertson, Huron Country Playhouse Guild

It’s time to get your tickets for the Huron Country Playhouse Guild’s popular fundraiser, the Elegant Dinner for Eight. Local dining establishments offer their culinary expertise to the guild, which hosts the dinner at three locations. Transportation is provided between the three homes, and the winner and seven guests will be served a different course at each one. Aunt Gussie’s, Catering by Barbara, F.I.N.E. A Restaurant, The Schoolhouse Restaurant and The Village Greek are offering their support and assistance, as have others in the community, to make the dinner and evening another success.
Only 500 tickets will be sold at $5 each, and are available by contacting members of the guild: Doreen (519-238-5423), Marcia (519-243-3833), Marg (519-238-2582), or Mary (519-238-5640).
The winning ticket will be drawn Saturday, September 1, and the dinner will be held Saturday, September 15. This will most definitely be an evening to remember! The Dinner for Eight is the guild’s major fundraiser of the year and we anticipate that tickets will sell out quickly.

Cats
Huron County Playhouse
to June 23
(519) 238-6000 for tickets

Story and portraits by Casey Lessard

“It’s worth the drive anywhere. So many people don’t know what we have.”
Not everyone is a cat person, but considering the quality of the actors, dancers and production values on display at the Huron Country Playhouse, it’s easy to see why so many, like Bob Hughes of London, are Cats people.
“I’ve seen it three or four times,” Hughes said. “We saw the Broadway production in Toronto. This is Broadway quality – the choreography was brilliant. The set functions so well. It just moves.”
As Hughes alludes, the play is best considered a showcase for two things: the dance sequences and the set.
“This is what you’d see in Toronto for $150,” says Drayton Entertainment artistic director Alex Mustakas, “but you’re seeing it here for $30. Same performers; same production values. You can’t beat it out here in Huron County.
“It’s a lot of steps for them to learn in two weeks. It’s amazing they can put it together.”
For most in the cast, it hasn’t really been two weeks; out of 18 in the show, only six have never performed in Cats before. Demonstrating their clear experience are Michael Donald and Neesa Kenemy as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, troublemakers who cartwheel as a single unit across the stage in what is likely the most impressive dance sequence of the entire musical.
“This is our fourth production together as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer,” Kenemy says. “It’s getting easier but I don’t think you could do it with just two weeks. It takes a lot of training and stamina.”
“The hardest thing is being a cat when you’re not actually doing a number,” Donald says. “You’re in positions that are not natural. It’s easier to do our number than be a cat all the time.”
“It’s very grueling,” says Choreographer Gino Berti, who remounted Gillian Lynne’s original Broadway choreography. “The show is very detailed and very stylized. I was with the cast in Toronto and we had five weeks. These guys had two weeks and looked like they were hit by a truck every night. We are always in awe of the amount of work this cast put into it.”
One of the rookies is Julia Juhas, cast as the prissy Siamese cat Cassandra.
“It was difficult at first, but the whole team was helpful,” Juhas says. “They weren’t just putting pressure on you to get it right right away. It was a good experience. It’s unbelievable the talent in this cast.”
For her role, Juhas had to find a character inside that director Dave Campbell says was a challenge for the actor – the role of a bitch.
“One tip I got is that it’s okay to be awkward at first,” she says. “It’s a lot in the eyes and the body language. It’s definitely fun.”
Creating a character is something Mike Jackson has had plenty of time to do. The actor has played attention-grabbing Rum Tum Tugger in Germany and another time under Campbell’s direction.
Jackson’s character has an excess of personality, spinning his tail as he swivels his hips and tells off a cat who is trying to steal his spotlight.
“I work alone, kitty,” he says.
Whether it’s a attention-seeker, a fat cat, or a snob, everyone in the audience will be reminded of at least one cat they’ve known. Grizabella, for example, looks like the cat that begs for scraps outside your favourite restaurant. An aging party girl, she’s been through the ringer but gets your sympathy when she introduces the play’s most recognizable song, Memory, which is reprised later in the play by other characters.
“I remember the time I knew what happiness was,” Grizabella sings.
As the character most likely to go to the Heaviside Layer, which all the cats are vying to do, her appearances and the song string the vignette story lines together. Innocent and cute, 21-year old Ashley Fenster’s kitten Victoria reaches out to the Grizabella when no one else will.
“Just being very playful and loving every moment,” Fenster says of her motivation. “There are times when the moment is just about me. You know when it’s your chance to shine. But you also don’t want to steal that moment away from anyone else.”
You might be forgiven for thinking Mike Jackson, whose character is sometimes called the Elvis cat, would feel the opposite way.
“It’s totally not like me,” says the actor, who the director says is shy and gentle. “It’s fun to dress up and act up. This is a fun show for dancers because you get to act and use your body. When it’s good, it’s really good.”

Huron Country Playhouse
Wed. May 30 to Sat. June 23
(519) 238-6000 for tickets

Story and photo by Casey Lessard

If director Dave Campbell has nine lives, he has spent four of his bringing Cats to the stage. His fourth go at the musical, based on poems by T.S. Eliot, opens at the Huron Country Playhouse today (May 30) and Campbell thinks he’s finally got it right.
“I’ve finally found the right mix of people and I’ve finally got the right amount of set,” he says. “I originally did it in Orillia on a budget of nothing. Alex Mustakas came out and saw it and realized the potential. I don’t think it’s the kind of show anybody would have decided to just do. They would have said there’s no way you can do this in regional theatre. Not with the resources you have.”
Taking advantage of the facilities the Playhouse has to offer, Campbell is also leaning on the tremendous talent working to produce the show.
“You can only really do this show with incredible performers,” he says, “which for me is great. I have to have the best people that are available: they have to be able to sing, they have to be able to dance, they have to be able to act.”
Playing a strong supporting role is the set, a role Playhouse audiences always appreciate.
“We’ve been very lucky that we have a set designer, Tim Webb, who is extremely creative. He works with what little we have to create these incredible out of scale things because everything has to appear either 3:1 or 7:1 to make people look small like cats.”
Cats was turned into a musical in the early 80s, and is based on vignettes from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and other poems by Eliot, which were designed for a child audience.
“Back in the 80s, when they stitched this show together from his poems,” Campbell says, “one of the problems is that they realized they did not have an ongoing story. So they dug through all the T.S. Eliot work until finally his wife came up with one piece that he hadn’t finished. It turned out this was the story of an adult cat. As they looked at it they realized it was a sad story. When they asked his widow, she said he never really wanted to finish it because all the other ones were suitable for kids but this one wasn’t because it was the story of an old cat. She was sick and she was tired and it was an unfinished poem as well.
“So they took this story of Grizabella and they wove it through all these little vignettes, so what you have is the story of a cat who’s left the tribe, went out and lived the high life, gone to parties, she’s basically had it all while these people stayed at home, raised kids, toed the line.
“Once a year, the cats get together in the junkyard to find out from their leader Old Deuteronomy who is going to move on to the next level called the Heaviside Layer, which you can interpret as anything. There are huge parties and celebrations. And this night is the night Grizabella decides to come back. They’re not particularly happy that she’s come back and ruined their party.”
The production brings other experienced Cats to the Playhouse.
“I’m really lucky,” he says. “I have quite a few people who did the original production in Toronto. For example, the woman who is playing Grizabella, the old cat, played Sillabub, a kitten in Toronto. So it’s sort of like art imitates life. Mike Jackson who has played several roles in Cats in Germany, as well as being on the national tour of Chicago, is here playing the role of Rum Tum Tugger.”
Backing up the 18 cast members are another 18 or so crewmembers who build and make the show run smoothly.
“We have a crew that is really devoted to doing great work. Even though they have limited resources, they go as far as they can to do exactly what you want. You can’t buy that passion or excitement.”

The Caddyshack, Grand Cove Estates
Fri. June 8 and Sat. June 9 – 7:30 p.m.
(519) 238-5043 for tickets ($7.50)

Story and photo by Casey Lessard

The scene: you open the freezer to discover the bodies of four nuns, and you don’t call the police. Why? Because you put them in there after burying 48 others. Sound macabre? It’s actually the setting of a musical comedy being performed at Grand Cove Estates June 8 and 9. The bodies are in the freezer because the convent in Hoboken has run out of cash from burying the sisters – and buying a VCR.
Priorities, right? Now, the remaining sisters need to raise money to bury the four sitting in the freezer, and that’s where the fun begins.
“We were looking for something special,” says director Jerry Andrews. “We have a lot of talent in ladies. Getting guys to come out on stage is very difficult. So I thought we needed a show that had ladies in a lot of the parts. I’ve seen Nunsense before, and I thought, what a wonderful chance to do it here.”
“Jerry’s wonderful,” says Claire Castle. “He gets me to do things I would never do. I’ve been everything from a stripper to Mother Superior now. That’s running the gamut.”
Andrews is known for pushing performers, but only in a positive way. He backs up his pressure with 30 years of community theatre.
“It’s been such a wonderful experience,” says musical director Sylvia Rees. “The level of what we are doing, Jerry keeps raising the bar, so there’s a challenge there.”
“I’ve done so many musicals,” Andrews says, “I thought, we need to do a book show (where we have to pay royalties). We’ve done a lot of cabaret style shows. This is our first entry into a book show. This one gave more opportunities for people. Stretching them a little. A lot of dialogue.”
It’s tough work, but the payoff is greater.
“People surprise themselves when they’ve never done this before and they make a success of it,” says Rees. “That’s a thrill to watch happen.”
“This has all been a very big surprise for me,” Castle agrees, “because I’ve never done things like this before. I’ve found out that I’m a ham at heart. I really, really like it. I used to be very shy and I’m doing things I never knew I could and would do. Everybody here is so willing to accept you. They back you 100% all the time.”
With a cast and crew consisting entirely of Grand Cove residents, Andrews says he loves to see the feedback actors, especially less experienced ones, get.
“There’s no duplicate for applause. I can’t get it as a director. It’s the artist on stage that gets the applause. Seeing it happen is what makes it for us.”