February #YEG Theatre Plans For Me!

After a fairly busy January, I've started mapping out my February theatre plans.  There are a lot of things on so it's making me choose carefully.

Of course, it's time for the Chinook Series (on now).  There are quite a few shows that are on throughout the festival so you should check out the schedule and find something! I'm going to be seeing Ursa Major, for sure. It looks like a beautiful love story and it's written by Meg Dart and directed by Beth Dart, both of Catch the Keys. I've heard that ugly crying might happen so I will be bringing tissues to deal with that!

After all that crying, I will be moving on to a few comedies! First up will be Boeing Boeing at Walterdale.  I saw the show at the Mayfield a few years ago and had a blast.  I'm looking forward to seeing how Walterdale handles this crazy 60's farce about a Paris bachelor who is engaged to 3 different stewardesses on different flight schedules. Trouble happens when a freak storm causes all 3 to be waylaid in Paris at the same time.  Oh, the door slamming!

I'll also be checking out the new Guys in Disguise production, Klondykes at Theatre Network. This time it's Girls in Disguise in a gender-blurring musical about women in the Klondike who skirted the law about actually being there by dressing as men. The cast is a powerhouse trio of Rebecca Ann Merkley, Amanda Neufeld and Mackenzie Reurink so you are pretty much guarenteed the music is going to be off the charts.

I'm very excited to be taking in the Buddies in Bad Times presentation The Gay Heritage Project, at the Citadel. It's just finishing up it's second run in Toronto before it heads out here and the response out East has been extremely positive.  I read the script a year ago and found it to be extremely compelling.  I'm looking forward to an evening that will be both funny and thought-provoking. It's in The Club, so I would encourage people to get their tickets now as seating is a lot more limited than in the larger theatres.

Friends have been talking a lot about Huff at the Rubaboo Festival put on by Alberta Aboriginal Arts. It's right across the street at the Stanley Milner library so I am hoping to squeeze it into my schedule this week.  The festival has other offerings, if Huff doesn't seem to be your cup of tea, but it only runs to February 6th, so act fast!

I'll also be catching the Edmonton Opera's Carmen at the Jubilee Auditorium this month. I'm excited to see an opera where I will recognize the music! They opened this past weekend and I have already had a bit of fun peeking at the photos. I'm also excited because I think I know about 5-6 people in the chorus and it is always wonderful to see talented friends onstage!

Well, this is going to get me to about the middle of the month.  I'll have to do another post when I get the second half of the month figured out! Lots to see and do in Edmonton - don't stay home - See a Show!

We are cleared for take-off! The Mayfield's Boeing Boeing!

Last night I was invited by my good friend Barb to catch the latest show at The Mayfield. I hadn't been to the Mayfield for quite some time, I think Footloose, and I have always enjoyed myself in the past and Barb is great to have a night out with so I was very happy to go. I didn't know much about the show before I went, but Barb informed me it was a farce and I love a good farce so even better! Of course we stuffed ourselves. I didn't eat hardly anything all day since I knew the buffet was coming and we talked of all thing theatre and in particular Titanic (Barb is directing it). After the terrific meal we settled in for the show. It was so much fun! A true door slamming, crazy mix-up farce set in the 60s with three international stewardesses sharing the same fiance. In the spirit of Lend Me a Tenor and Noises Off! this production embraced the wacky, the larger than life characters, the crazy couch jumping and the aforementioned door-slamming. I really enjoyed it. In particular, the cast consists of 6 well-defined comedic characters and 4 of those are women. The three stewardesses: The American (Kate Ryan), The Italian (Belinda Cornish) and the German (Stephanie Wolfe) are all hysterical in their own way. I will say my favorite was Stephanie Wolfe as Gretchen, primarily because she sold the physical comedy so well. I was laughing so hard I swear I was tearing up. This is not to say the others are not funny, but I couldn't get over her rolling on the floor. It killed me. The guys (Dave Horak and Kevin James) are strong and funny too and how can you beat Leona Brausen as the put-upon maid? I do not think you can. She is golden. It was so clean. The set gorgeous and the tri-colour airline uniforms picture perfect. The only thing that I kind of wondered about was why the guys didn't have french accents. They were clearly supposed to be french and the girls all had their requisite accents, so I wondered. It didn't stop me from laughing and finding it hilarious, so perhaps the choice was made for clarity. It was just something I wondered about. Anyhow, in a city dense with serious drama this is a good show for those who like a belly-laugh. It made for a great night out.

*#10 in my 2012 Theatre goal