| October 2009 |
| The Right Way
|
Tuesdays With Morrieby Ann ThurlowBill McFadden has been, at various times in his storied career, a town crier and a clown. Lost, perhaps, in all these antics is the fact that he is an actor of extraordinary gift and remarkable talent. He got the chance to prove that again in his leading role in Tuesdays with Morrie, the final offering this year at the Victoria Playhouse.
|
| September 2009 |
| Hearty Laughs
|
Lookingby Fraser McCallumSingle while male seeks woman to share life.” So begins Looking, an upbeat romantic comedy from prolific Canadian playwright Norm Foster staged this summer at Victoria Playhouse. Norm Foster’s comedies are known for their whimsy and user-friendliness, and have been staged eight times in Victoria. Looking is a light-hearted tale of ordinary folk on the lookout for love, acceptance and maybe someone who knows all the words to their favourite songs.
|
You Fancy Yourselfby Ann ThurlowThe first thing you notice about You Fancy Yourself is the set. How has the Victoria Playhouse been transformed from a theatre into a ship, carrying six year old Elsa to Scotland? And her mother struggling with the bags and her absent minded, intellectual father—so vividly portrayed!
|
The Fourposterby Peggy MilesThis summer’s production of The Fourposter at the Montgomery Theatre in Cavendish deals with the resilience and contrasting rigidity of marriage. The clever romantic comedy is brought to life by Margaret Smith as Agnes and Kevin Curran as Michael. The play begins as blushing bride Agnes is carried over the threshold by her groom Michael into their bedroom and thus the four poster bed. It’s the year 1890, and over the next two hours the story of their marriage is played out in the setting of their boudoir until 1925 when it’s time for the couple to move on.
|
Anne & Gilbertby Ivy WigmoreLast night as we were going into the Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside, we ran into Campbell Webster, who was lurking outside. “We’re going to see Anne & Gilbert,” I said. (He probably could have worked that one out.) “I think you’ll enjoy it,” he responded. “I hope so!” said I. Webster, co-producer of the show, looked a little nonplussed so my husband helpfully explained that I was on assignment as a reviewer. Aha.
|
|
Lorne of Green Gablesby Sean McQuaidWide-ranging, that’s Lorne Elliott’s comedy in a nutshell. Delivered in a rambling, deceptively casual, seemingly stream-of-consciousness fashion, it hits listeners with a little bit of everything and leaves them laughing. Local, regional and national humour, universal slice-of-life anecdotes, linguistic jokes, cultural observations, musical comedy and tons of sheer silliness – Elliott taps all these comedic wells and more over the course of his standup set, embellished by occasional guitar and ukulele numbers.
|
Stan Rogers—A Matter of Heart
by Fraser McCallumCanadian folk singer Stan Rogers is remembered as one of this country’s best and brightest, a big man with a bigger voice. He was a fine poet and a man of great intellect who tragically left the world too young in 1983. After a seven-year absence from the Confed Centre, the Stan musical review, Stan Rogers—A Matter of Heart, returns this summer in a smaller, more intimate production at The Mack.
|
Disco Cirqueby Heather RobertsThere is a playful aspect to disco. A childlike, puckish element that is innocent, despite the sexuality of the sound and lyrics. One of the most lyrical aspects of the Charlottetown Festival’s new production, Disco Cirque, is the embodiment of this quality in the appearance of a silent mime who leads us into this hypnotic world—in other words a pretty girl in a silver suit with a big smile and bendy back.
|
Private Livesby Jane LedwellOn their honeymoon in France, newlyweds Sybil (Margaret Smith) and Elyot (Graham Percy) start under strain as Sibyl teases out the details of Elyot’s first, disastrous marriage. In the next-door suite, the also-honeymooning Victor (Kevin Curran) and Amanda (Jackie Torrens) cut themselves up over Victor’s jealous curiosity about Amanda’s first marriage—which was equally disastrous because it was, in fact, the same marriage. Elyot and Amanda, the exes on abutting honeymoons, discover the horrible coincidence on the balcony, and the pinched humour between the two sets of newlyweds quickly gives way to the passionate wit and gleeful fighting of the oldlydivorceds, who renew their difficult and over-matched love affair and run off to Paris, pursued by the spurned.
|
Sketch 22 by Ann Thurlow
Sketch 22 on stage (photo: Louise Vessey)
There were years, I’ll admit, when I didn’t find much to laugh at in Sketch 22. I was, I’ll also admit, in a minority. A cheap laugh is still a laugh. And those were, for a couple of years, the troupe’s stock in trade.But this is a different year—and, man, what a different show. The cheap laughs still show up. But the humour now is more grown up, more thoughtful—less Three Stooges and more Monty Python.
|
|
