Midsummer (a play with songs) - A Wild, Hilarious Ride!

I have been so busy this week I haven't had much time to reflect on Midsummer (a play with songs), that I saw at the Roxy this past Thursday.  Starring Clinton Carew of the amazing voice and the smart and beautiful Elena Porter as a mismatched couple who tumble through a crazy weekend in Edinburgh on a Midsummer solstice night, it is a belly-laughing show that whizzes by like a roller coaster.  I went in to it knowing nothing about it, really.  It popped up in my radar only a week or so before and I put it on my list because I love to watch Elena onstage (she's so sharp) and I love to hear Clinton speak (Best Voice on the Edmonton theatre scene - I have said this before - AND in this one he has a Scottish accent and sings!).  Anyhow, It was so much fun.  I'd rather you experience like I did, with nothing to prepare you.  It's one of those 'anything can happen' kind of stories and the two actors attack it with gusto and absolute commitment.  It has one of the funniest sex scenes I have ever seen (second only to the one in last year's Let the Light of Day Through) and I have been recalling the music on and off ever since I heard it (I was making up new verses to the hangover song this morning in the shower).  Check it out - it's totally worth it!

I also saw the invited dress rehearsal for Long Day's Journey Into Night.  So, so good. I can't wait to see it again this Wednesday night.  I am blown away by how strong it was in Dress Rehearsal, but with that cast and that script I probably shouldn't be surprised.  It hit me like Death of a Salesman did a few years ago. You could tell that the cast and artistic team was really serving the masterpiece that it is.   A night off tomorrow for me and then I shall see it again!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fringe 2024 - Friday, August 16th - A Terrific Afternoon of Shows!

Image
I caught three shows yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time! Bright Lights - So funny and so well done! This script is hilarious but it only works because the acting and directing is so excellent! I mean, you have to figure those that attend a group for Alien Abduction "experiencers" are going to provide opportunity for huour but I was laughing so much! Great to see some of our finest local actors in this piece and some in roles you wouldn't expect to hilarious effect! See it! ROB AND CHRIS (BOBBY+TINA)-A NEW MUSICAL - Another excellent show. This one a new musical based on Collin Doyle's Let the Light of Day Through ( perhaps the best new script I have seen ever and I think of it often... ). The musical is the same but different, as it is a musical. But it is excellent. Doyle worked with Matt Graham to adapt the piece and it still has it's humour and heart break, but now with wonderful songs. I would avoid spoilers if you haven't seen the play as I th...
Read more

Sometimes it's hard to be nice... Lessons Learned with Donna Orbits the Moon and Spinsters in #yegtheatre this week...

Image
I caught two thought-provoking (and funny) shows this weekend.  Patricia Darbasie in Donna Orbits the Moon , Brianne Jang BB Collective Photography The first, Donna Orbits the Moon presented by Northern Light Theatre, was a one-woman show with the impressive Patricia Darbasie as Donna, a woman finding herself reacting with intense rage to inconveniences in her life. We are not exactly sure at the beginning why these moments are provoking such anger and violence, but there's something in the way that Donna tells the story that we are totally on her side. Indeed when I read a description online before seeing the show, I immediately connected. Too often we are expected to smile and be accommodating and the desire to say " No! " is often very strong with me. I see you, Donna! But there's something more to Donna's rage. There's a concrete reason she's suppressing and the reveal is deftly revealed in a touching and emotionally moving way (Directed by Trevor Sch...
Read more

Fringe 2024 - Saturday, August 24th - Young Wives and The Bells!

Image
I saw two shows on Saturday. I'm pacing myself this Fringe so I might not hit my usual 30+ total! But despite the slightly overcast weather, it was a nice day - not too hot and my feet could handle the walk to Sugar Swing and back to the main grounds! What a Young Wife Ought to Know - This was a very well done production of Hannah Moscovitch's script. I had not seen the show when it was done in the city in 2018 but was glad to catch it here at the Fringe. It deals with the challenges and trials of a young (a very young) wife in 1920s Ottawa dealing with managing her fertility despite a lack of support both socially and medically. This is pre-birth control pill times; this is back alley abortion and throw yourself down the stairs to end a pregnancy time; this is the time when women frequently dies in childbirth. This is the time when you are looked at with disgust and judged when you ask for help for how to prevent a pregnancy. Anyhow, the show was very well done. The cast of ...
Read more