Teatro Live! Closes their Season with a very funny production of The Odd Couple!

Marc J Chalifoux Photography 

Summer is really such a great time for theatre for me! I love it when you leave the theatre and it's still a little light out. Even better when the show is a comedy, like Teatro Live's production of The Odd Couple, which I took in on Friday night. If you are around my age (and even younger since there was a reboot in recent history) you are no doubt familiar with Oscar Madison and Felix Unger (played in this production by Alexander Ariate and Andrew MacDonald-Smith), the mismatched roommates from Neil Simon's play. The two are physical foils, which ups the ante on their character's personality conflicts, and this production puts their physicality to good use, particularly with MacDonald-Smith's height and long legs making seemingly inhuman movements around the furniture and Ariate's flopping on couches. The physical humour alone makes this show tremendously entertaining!

Marc J Chalifoux Photography 

But it's the scenes with the accidental roommate's poker buddies and the Pigeon Sisters that had me the most entertained. Not surprising when you consider the group of assembles artists - all of whom could (and most have) anchor a Teatro show themselves! The poker buddies (Garrett Ross, Matt Busby, Bernardo Pacheco, and Oscar Derkx) give more depth to the recognition of the disparity of personalities between Oscar and Felix, and their banter is very fun to watch and listen to - particularly the contrast between the old (Oscar's toxic waste level of cleanliness) and the new (Felix's immaculate and antiseptic environment). From their reactions, you understand that neither extreme is particularly healthy. 

Marc J Chalifoux Photography 

The Pigeon Sisters, Cecily (Kristin Johnston) and Gwendolyn (Jenny McKillop), add for another level of tension between Oscar and Felix. Oscar is looking for a wingman, but Felix's impending divorce is too new to make him a suitable one. Johnston and McKillop are hysterical as the British girls from upstairs with backcombed hair and synced responses. I was very glad to see them return in the third act! 

There's a lot to laugh about and for those who were fans of the movie and the TV shows, I think it's well worth the nostalgic trip to the theatre. It's a nice reflection on friendship and compromise, but above all makes for a laughter-filled night of theatre on a summer evening! 

The Odd Couple runs until July 27, 2025 at the Varscona Theatre. Tickets range from $25-42 and there are also special event nights, like Pay-What-You-Can on Tuesdays. Tickets can be purchased here. 

MOB at WWPT - When words online do more damage than sticks and stones...

 Last night I took in MOB presented by Workshop West (WWPT). When first announced, I was going because the phenomenal Kristin Johnston was in it but I couldn't tell much about the show from the promotional material. A chance conversation a few weeks ago with another theatre artist about the show's subject matter made me even more interested. The show deals with the fallout after a woman is relentlessly harassed online by anonymous trolls that spew the vilest of the vile at her and she has no legal way to shut them down. Her solution is both an escape from her ruined life and attempt to seek some sort of redress. 

It's a tough watch, but really, really good. You have to have the stomach for it. The online warning (While keeping you and our actors safe, this show contains coarse language, sexual themes, nudity, violence, emotionally charged scenarios, and may deal with subjects which are personally challenging to you. We use strobe effects and water-based theatrical fog throughout) is completely true, and depending on someone's personal connection to the situations revealed, it may affect people with a range of reactions. The performances from the cast of three (Johnston as Sophie, Graham Mothersill as Martin, and Davina Stewart as Louise) are all excellent and complex. A terrific Set, created by designer Beyata Hackborn, works so well with the lighting (Alison Yanota) and those combined with the Sound design by Darrin Hagen. The mood and tone created by how those elements work together is outstanding. It's a wild ride with a an ending that is both awful and satisfying (and then makes you feel a bit awful for enjoying it). This is a show to definitely see this season and particularly if you, like myself, spend a lot of your time online. It's the cautionary tale of today. 

I think I connected so strongly to this show because I have been exposed to a certain amount of online vitriol in my former job as Marketing Manager for a local theatre (cancel a lecture for a national right-wing speaker with no justification and see what kind of online response that provokes - as the person reading and dealing with the online feedback on that, I went home and woke up with an upset stomach for weeks). As a individual, I have expressed what I thought were small, unimportant opinions on things and had rudeness and mocking from online acquaintances written at me. Many of those people wouldn't think they were doing anything wrong. I'm sure I have posted rude things myself when angry or upset. I try not to, but it's quite likely I have. The online world sometimes feels unreal, but the impact of our words there is very, very real... 

MOB plays at the Gateway Theatre until November 12th. Tickets range from $32-$53. You can purchase tickets here.

Fun at the Citadel with 9 to 5!

 Last night, instead of watching the hockey game, we went to the Citadel Theatre to see 9 to 5! (It's okay, the Oilers won and are currently up 3-1 in the series so my going to the theatre did not affect that in any way.) I'd deliberately booked my tickets late in the run because of my show which had just closed on the weekend, but I wasn't going to miss this one! 

It was a fun show - very silly and reminiscent of the movie, as it should be - replete with the questionable clothing choices of the late seventies, wigs aplenty, and of course the iconic title song! It's a fun night out and you have until May 29th to catch it. Stand-outs for me include Juan Chioran as the despicable Mr. Hart. I hope we see him back out West for more shows at the Citadel because he is just so good! It would be nice to see him play a more likeable character, but his portrayal of the sexist and egotistical CEO was so much fun to watch! I also loved Kristin Johnston as the uptight and infatuated office spy, Roz. Her number Heart to Hart was a stand-out in the show - it was literally laugh-out-loud! The three leads, Sharon Crandell (Violet), Julia McClellan (Doralee) and Patricia Zentilli (Judy) are also well cast and anchor the show with terrific team-work and fine voices. 

Now, I will admit it's not my favourite musical on the page, but this production is well done and should entertain most audience goers. It's quick and bright and played well for laughs. I can't actually remember a single tune outside the title song, but when I heard them last night they were funny and lovely and I liked them. 

9 to 5 runs until May 29 in the Maclab Theatre
Tickets range from $68-$123
Purchase them Here

Photo Credit: Nanc Price
Featuring: Sharon Crandell, Patricia Zentilli and Julia McClellan 

Since we haven't been able to travel much... Why not go to Destination Wedding? At the Fringe!

 

Hey Everyone! After not being able to go last summer (but still buying the t-shirt for the Fringe that Never Was), I was at the Fringe once again yesterday! I arrived a little early to meet up with my Fringe-going partner Anne Marie, and grab a Green Onion Cake (no Fringe is complete without at least one). I was very happy that the gated entry was changed to Pay-What-You-Will as I do not think I could have justified the cost otherwise as I was really just in it for the green onion cakes. I am and have always been an Innie (Indoor shows) when it comes to the Fringe, but I do understand the challenges of trying to run the Festival and wanting to compensate those outdoor artists without the increased physical contact of passing the hat. 

Anyhow, about the SHOW! I chose Destination Wedding presented by Whizgiggling Productions, directed by Trevor Schmidt and featuring Michelle Todd, Cheryl Jameson and Kristin Johnson. It was a fun show, with each of the actors playing two roles (a primary and secondary one). I chose this show because it looked fun and because of the track record of the company and the performers involved and I was not disappointed. The script is slick and witty, and the three main characters are definitely well-defined and relatable, and although they are very different from each other, it was not hard to imagine them as long-time friends. It's more than just a gathering of women over cocktails in an exotic resort, however, as there is a murder/suspicious death. Our job as audience members is to sort through the layered clues to perhaps make a decision about who did what. We don't however, get all the answers. There's an Online Poll you can do after the show to register your guess for the murderer. 

Overall, the show was fun and bitchy - with the patterns of friends who know each other well and who have entertained and irritated each other for years - and although I wanted more answers, I'm totally cool with not knowing everything. It was a great choice for my return to the Fringe!

Tickets are going fast for this one - the performance we went to was Sold Out and many of the performances left have limited availability. You can get your tickets here. 

Also - for those wondering about Covid Safety. The spacing was great in the venue and the line-up. Masks are required inside (except for that one table of ladies who obviously felt it wasn't required for them). There's sanitizer and masks if you forget yours. Even the line-up outside was well spaced. It was nice to see the show, laugh along with others in that special unity of an audience, and not worry about being safe. 

More October #yegtheatre adventures - Lenin's Embalmers (Studio Theatre) and Origin of the Species (Northern Light Theatre)

When I was in university, one of my part-time jobs was working front of house and bar-tending at the University of Alberta Studio Theatre shows. As a result, I think I saw pretty much every show there from my second year on. I have always loved the atmosphere and aesthetic of the Studio Theatre shows. The plays chosen are always smart and sharp (and unpredictable) and the design concepts are always complete and specific and imaginative. This is certainly the case for Lenin's Embalmers, currently onstage at the Timms. First of all, I was pleased to see not only a Canadian playwright, but an Edmonton playwright being produced. Vern Thiessen is not only the playwright, but he's also onstage as Lenin in this production, and that gives a little more meta to the whole thing (Lenin observes the world after his death; playwright observes his play from within after he's written it). Directed by MFA Candidate Alexander Donovan, the show is darkly funny and intelligent. The cast is excellent, embracing the stylistic choices effortlessly and managing to convey the danger of Soviet Russia while still creating a very fun show. I particularly enjoyed Chris Pereira as the science driven embalmer Vlad, and Doug Mertz in a menacing but buffoonish performance as Stalin. There're a lot of great things to this show. It's also one of those that kept me in the world while I watched it, but sent me to wikipedia when I got home to look up more about Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky and all of that. I was also weirdly reminded of Eva Peron because of the whole embalming thing, but that's another story...

Lenin's Embalmers runs until October 20th at the Timms Centre for the Arts with shows at 7:30 p.m. Show is dark on Sunday, bit there's a Monday night performance and a Thursday matinee.  Click here for tickets.

This afternoon I took in Origin of the Species presented by Northern Light Theatre. I got there early (because I am always early) and lucked out catching the Director's Circle pre-show chat. Director Trevor Schmidt talked about several of his choices in costumes and casting and in play selection. There were also questions from the group and it made for a nice introduction to the work before seeing the play. I really enjoyed the piece. It tells the story of archaeologist Molly (Holly Turner), who finds a pre-historic woman (Kristin Johnston) on a dig, and decides to bring her home to educate her. It's very funny, with a lot of the humour coming from the elastic faced Johnston, who plays wonderfully with the idea of her character discovering the modern world from the perspective of her past. Johnston's ability to play makes her fiercer and sadder moments believable. Turner's take on Molly is an interesting journey, as she begins with the gentle arrogance of the 'one who thinks she knows best' but grows to understand that eventually as the student learns they must be released to the world, and there's a lot of wistfulness and a touch of sadness in that goodbye. The show made me think of the idea that all the cultural rules of the world are made-up, and that it's not always easy to definitively say which are best or right. As we live in a world with many conflicting cultures, it is often only courtesy and a willingness to be open that allows for civility and exchange of ideas.

Origin of the Species runs to October 27th at the Studio Theatre at the ATB Financial Arts Barns with shows at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Click here for tickets.