My Theatre Cup Runneth Over... February...

As most of the theatre people in Edmonton know, February is the densest month for shows.  It is impossible to get to everything! A few weeks ago I saw 6 shows in one week.  So many I didn't have time to blog.  So here's a recap with some highlights!

The Threepenny Opera - Studio Theatre, Timm's Centre
I really enjoyed this production. Having played Mrs. Peachum a few years ago, I was very interested in seeing another production.  I quite liked the choices made.  It was a raunchier version than what we did but I felt captured the necessary roughness of the world.  Highlights were Kabriel Lilly as Polly Peachum.  Her voice was wonderful and she played the two sides of Polly perfectly.

Jeffrey - Walterdale Theatre
I wasn't sure what to expect with this show, but I enjoyed it and connected more than I thought I would ("a witty, romp about HIV+"). I felt that director Sarah Van Tassel did a good job with this slightly dated script and the world that set designer Leland Stelck designed for it was fabulous.  Highlights for me were the outrageous Catherine Wenschlag who played all the women's roles.  She made so many fabulous choices and I looked foward to seeing her in every new incarnation. Gerald Mason also had some of the most moving moments as Sterling, who loses his young partner to AIDs. I also very much liked the interaction between him and his partner Darius (played by Simon Müller).

The Laws of Thermodynamics - Workshop West/Theatre Yes
In a bleak February this new work by Cat Walsh about the end of the world was challenging.  It was well-acted and the premise was interesting but I left with more questions than answers. The highlight for me was the fascinating set designed by Nick Blais. I also was intrigued by the physics of this world where things and people disappeared into sand.

Famous Puppet Death Scenes - Theatre Network
The ladies of SHOUT! had a terrific night out at this feast for the eyes.  A terrific little piece from The Old Trout Puppet Workshop.  I liked this so much that I sent my husband and 2 kids to it the next night! It's got that macabre humour that you can deliver more easily with puppets. Hard to pick a highlight because I liked the whole thing, but I think the scene "Why I Hate My Little Brothers" and "Le papillon est mort" were my favorites.  It was also a great evening out with the ladies of SHOUT! We have puppets in our show too, but nobody dies...

Playing With Fire - Citadel Theatre
I had to take my husband to see this show and was totally up for seeing it again.  Was surprised to find myself crying at the end (just a little bit), but it was even better this time.

Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program Showcase - Citadel Theatre
At the end of the Program portion of their work, the participants give a little concert to show what they have been working on.  This was quite lovely.  It was terrific to see the personalities of the actors come out through their singing and I was told afterwards that many of them do not consider themselves singers, but I couldn't really tell. My personal favorite was Justin Goodhand singing Buddy's Lament from Follies, but I was also delighted to hear Jacklyn Francis sing and play guitar. I can't remember the name of the song, but it was funny.

And one more I just saw this weekend... 

Drat the Cat! - Plain Janes, Varscona
This show is actually still running, so you can check it out if you like.  I wasn't too sure about the script as it felt a little dated and hokey.  The cast does a fully committed enthusiastic attack of it and they are a pretty powerhouse group. Highlights of me were definitely Melanie Piatocha as the Cat and Chris Cook as the bumbling acting-police detective who is trying to catch the Cat while simultaneously being in love with her.  Kendra O'Connor is also pretty outstanding as Piatocha's mother. There is some great music and fun musical numbers and this show would be fine for audiences of all ages as it hearkens back to a musical theatre tradition of years gone by.

Playing With Fire - Theatre for the theatre-junkie and non-theatre-person alike!

Last Thursday night, after I got all the people into the theatre I got to stay and watch the show, Playing With Fire: The Theo Fleury Story.  This doesn't always happen.  Sometimes I'm just too brain busy to enjoy watching a show and Thursdays are also my youngest's drama class so if my husband can't pick him up I have to.  But, a bad cold kept the wee one home form class and a relatively smooth ticket distribution meant I could go in and enjoy the show.  And I did.

I wasn't sure if it would be my thing.  Although I grew up in a very hockey family I was always the odd one out, preferring the arts to the ice. I was worried it would send me into flashbacks of my childhood spent running around at ice arenas while my brothers played when I'd rather have been somewhere else. But I needn't have feared.  The show was clearly about hockey, but it was more than that.  The story itself is truly engaging.   is Fleury on that synthetic ice surface - charismatic and in-your-face.  A friend of mine called it a master-class in acting and I think that is true.  You never 'see' the actor, only Fleury.  You can tell Smyth knows this story inside and out, as though he lived it himself. The direction and design is also terrific.  This is no solitary actor on a bare stage with a chair - he's skating the whole show, whipping pucks in the nets, fighting and reliving his moments with true action. The soundtrack is rock and roll and wonderfully appropriate for this life. At times you feel you are sitting at the bar listening to the bravado of the superstar, at other times you are witness to the raw vulnerability of the young hockey player in the more horrible of circumstances.  It's surprisingly uplifting considering all he goes through, but at the end you see that it's really a story of survival against the odds, and that makes you happy.
Fleury's journey with it's ups and down reaches both incredible highs and low. It doesn't hide his flaws, it's honest and bare.  Shaun Smyth is a big part of what makes it so compelling.  He

For the hockey fan, I can only imagine it's even more.  For the theatre fan it's more than enough. If you can get to this show, you should go see it. It runs until February 15th.

A Wild Bus Ride, An Evening of Sondheim, and A Very Sexy Audition... Just another #yegtheatre weekend!

If you look at the weekend I just have, you can get a pretty good idea of the variety of theatre opportunities that Edmonton gets to experience all the time.  It's why I like living here. 

Friday night, Gibson and I took in Promise Productions' Birdie on the Wrong Bus, about the perfectionist Birdie who, after a first with her sister, hops on the wrong bus and takes a wild ride around the city.  Over the course of the ride she meets a variety of people who tell her about the city and she sees parts of the city she never knew existed.  Gibson and I had a terrific conversation on the way home about all the places Birdie went and we made plans to go check out the ones that we hadn't seen before. Gibson's favorite character was Birdie's Philllip-Phillips-obsessed older sister played by Lana Michelle Hughes and his favorite part was the sing-a-long section. He was concerned that at some points no one was driving the bus, but relaxed when I said we just had to use our imagination. It was overall a great night out for the two of us and while it would have been a little young for Oliver, it was perfect for Gibson. 

Saturday night, we took in a phenomenal night of Sondheim as performed by Kate Ryan, Susan Gilmour and Liz Han in It Takes Two.  I had bought these tickets way back in September and was glad to finally see the show!  It was simply wonderful.  Sondheim is one of my favorites and he's tricky, but these ladies were up to the challenge.  A friend of mine called it a masterclass in interpreting a song. Not only did they have fine voice, but it was funny and sad and they crafted an evening that made you feel that you got your money's worth, but still left you wanting more! It was in The Club at the Citadel and it felt perfectly placed there.  I hope that they might be able to remount this cabaret as it was a real treat and I think that any musical theatre lover would be in heaven! 

And then last night, it was off to see Venus in Fur at the Citadel. I had been to the dress rehearsal, but I was looking forward to seeing it again and to bringing Mark along. AM also joined us for the night.  I remain totally in love with the script and this production.  What I love is how the humour allows you to see the audition situation and the shifts in power back and forth from director to actor without pushing you into a place of outrage. You can think about those things - afterward - but the play doesn't let the power politics get in the way of seeing the show. Alana Hawley as Vanda is brilliant and Jamie Cavanagh the perfect foil for her.  I love how it twists and turns on a dime and the changes to the ending from dress to performance were spot-on.  It's funny how something didn't seem wrong before, but the new choices seem so much more right!  You can still catch Venus in Fur until February 8th and I highly recommend! 

Anyhow, what a weekend.  Ahead for me is another theatre filled week with the opening of Playing With Fire: The Theo Fleury Story, teaching an Audition Workshop, and catching some of the Canoe Festival! What a great city we live in!