Two Plays about prisons - Armstrong's War and Kiss of the Spiderwoman

Last week I took in Two One Way Tickets to Broadway's Kiss of the Spiderwoman at La Cite.  I was familiar with source material, having seen the movie and the stage play many years ago, but was not familiar with the musical.  There are differences, clearly, as it is a musical but the base of the story is the same.  I liked the music.  It's lush and full, and Greg Caswell, as Molina, gave a layered and subtle performance which is a challenge as I think the tendency might be to go over the top. Caswell and Todd Hauck (Valentin) had a nice chemistry with each other and each did good service to their solos.  It was fascinating to see such a male-heavy show and to cheer inside at how well they all handled it.  I also really liked the set, with it's skateboard-like prison cells.  The movable units gave a great flexibility of blocking and although there were a few moments at the beginning when I wasn't worried about them colliding, they seemed to know exactly what they were doing. 

And then on the weekend, I saw Theatre Network's Armstrong's War in the new Backstage Theatre Space.  It's about a more metaphorical prison, but a prison none-the-less.  I was quite moved by the show about the injured soldier (Jamie Cavanagh) and the wheelchair bound 12-year-old pathfinder (Eva Foote) who has come to read to him.  Both actors were excellent and each in their own way brought me to tears. Having seen Cavanagh onstage a few times over the last year, it was great to see his flexibility in this damaged and guilty character.  Foote is a bit of a miracle onstage, never do you doubt her sincerity of action, she even blushes on cue.  The play itself is an interesting piece that deals with post traumatic stress, injury, and the idea of the value of human life vs. the quality of human life.  There's a lot of reading from books and stories and I think that the actors handled that well - keeping it active - but I worried about all the reading creating a barrier to engagement.  With lesser actors I think that could happen. 

A fine weekend of theatre. 

A Couple of Shows... Feels like a while since I've seen anything!

This past weekend I took in two fun shows after what feels like forever... I think that's because I have been in rehearsal and busy getting other things done, but also the theatre season slows down a bit in Edmonton in June because seasons wind down and a lot of theatre artists start getting ready for Fringe. There are a few festivals on their way between now and Fringe though, so there are a few things to see!

Friday night, I took in the Opening Night of Teatro La Quindicina's Lucy and Mr. Plate.  It's a sequel to a 2001 production called Citizen Plate (which I did not see as I was living elsewhere at the time).  Ned Plate is played by Jeff Haslam and is delightful.  He's a bit tell it like it is, with a plainspokenness that is both charming and small-town Alberta (Mundare - the town of origin).  While on holiday in Hawaii, Ned meets Lucy (played by Jana O'Connor), a free spirit from his youth in Mundare.  As her relationships tumble and turn, Ned steps in as new best friend and confident and helps her through it all .  It's a light and funny show that is never hard to engage with.  Ned Plate's turn of phrase and view of the world is entertaining and Haslam plays him with an authenticity that charms us all. The show has some meta-theatre moments as Haslam plays Ned playing all of Lucy's ill-suited suitors.  It's the kind of play where we, the audience, are just as much a part of the show, where Haslam, as Ned,can make a comment to us about the over-loud Turkish music playing from Gazebo Park across the street and it works and is hilarious. O'Connor is luminous and the perfect counter point in her try-anything attitude to the more reticent Ned Plate. There are no earthquakes or deep reveals in this show, but it is delightfully fun and these are two characters I am glad I got to meet.

On Saturday night I caught Two One Way Tickets To Broadway's La Cage Aux Folles at La Cite.  La Cage Aux Folles is the musical that inspired the movie The Birdcage that starred Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it focuses on a gay couple: Georges, (Morgan Smith) the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin (Ron Long), his romantic partner and star attraction, and the farcical adventures that ensue when George's son, Jean-Michel (Andrew Boyd), brings home his fiancee's ultra-conservative parents to meet them. At the core of the play is really the relationship between Albin and Georges who, at a time when it was not legal nor publicly accepted, really have a true marriage.  Long and Smith do a really nice job with this relationship in both book and musical scenes. Long's rendition of I Am What I Am is particularly strong, as is their duet Song on the Sand. However, there are elements of the script that feel a bit dated, and I wish the time had been played up a bit more to really highlight the attitudes of the time period more as I think things that shocked in the 80's don't necessarily shock anymore, at least not to the same degree... or maybe I know too many drag performers...  I have seen The Birdcage more than once, so the big finale wasn't as surprising as I wanted it to be.  I think for someone not familiar with the plot twists it might be more compelling.  The people in the row in front of me were much more surprised so I think they didn't know what was going to happen.  This is a piece that works best with no spoilers. There is some wonderful singing and choreography and this company attacks it with gusto, but for me, this show is all about Albin and Georges.

The past few weeks...

I have been working on Proof at Walterdale.  We are a hair's width from Opening so that will mean my schedule will open up and I will be able to post in a more timely manner. I did manage to squeeze in a few shows over the last little while... better late than never!

A couple of weekends back I managed to get to Two One Way Tickets to Broadway's Forbidden Broadway at La Cite.  It was a fun night of parody of Broadway musicals.  I think it really worked for people who know musicals.  I am not sure how it would play for people who don't know the shows and performers being mocked.  It was pretty quick and the four performers all sang well and went for it.  My favourite moments were an outrageous Carol Channing performed by Kyle Thulien and almost every time Kristin Johnston was onstage. She has an electric stage presence and is a quadruple threat as you can clearly add comedian to the list of singer, dancer and actor.

Last weekend I grabbed the last available ticket for the Saturday Night performance of NLT Bitches and Money 1878 at the PCL Theatre. This was a surprising departure from last season's shows.  It was a non chronological steam-punk caper of sorts.  Very well directed, acted and designed with an intriguing script that left you with a few more questions than answers.  It was fun, but I do admit I wanted a little bit more, but I think that was the script more than anything.  I liked the play with chronology and the absolute commitment to the choices.  It was also a nice surprise in that I have seen two of the three actors before (Ben Gorodetsky and Andrea Jorawsky) but never quite in this way and it made me appreciate the depths of their talents more.  The third actor (Laura Gillespie) was new to me and a delightful discovery.  Nice to see three young and skilled performers bringing it with such an interesting piece.

Tonight I took a drive out to Spruce Grove to see Marion Bridge at Horizon Stage.  I'm a sucker for a Daniel MacIvor play!  Indeed, if I weren't directing Proof, I would have been auditioning for this show. I did get to take part in a small way by contributing to the sound design as the evil Kara Ryan in the audio from the TV Soap that the sisters watch off stage.  As it was, they certainly didn't need me as the trio onstage were totally up for the job.  Director Anne Marie Szucs kept it simple and let the script do the work. This was a wise choice in the severe thrust of Horizon Stage. It's a hard space to block in but I think they did a nice job considering the constraints. I really liked the interplay of the three sisters, eldest-alcoholic-rough-around-the-edges Agnes (Erin Forwick-Whalley), middle-never-a-problem-ever-patient Theresa (Julie Sinclair) and youngest-strange-homebody Louise (Sarah Van Tassel).  The three worked well together and felt believable as sisters. They managed to raise them above the potential stereo-types of the characters and make them real. I love the script but had forgotten how funny it was.  This production used the humour to lift it up above the events that could otherwise seem very sad.  It was a lovely night out and totally worth the icy drive!

Checking in with the Girls at Full Monty...

Yesterday was a grumpy day for me.  Some emails turned a lovely day into a really annoying one.  I mastered the delete button and tried to keep it at bay, but the 'issue' was literally something that would have been solved in less than 5 minutes by anyone in the building (that's how long it took me to do it after I drove across the city). Anyhow, now I am getting myself worked up again. It's a lump in the oatmeal... I'll survive!

Anyhow, after that I attended a fabulous meeting of the Fringe Artist's Relations Committee.  I am excited for this year's festival and the team has some great energy and ideas that I think will be great for both artists and audiences!  Best new thing - a Fringe iphone App! Look it up - Edm Fringe.  A lot of the information is forthcoming as schedules are not finalized, but you can already tell how awesome this is going to be in application! Play in a Day is also returning - yay! I really liked the energy in the room as we talked of awards, and closing ceremonies and artist accessibility for feedback.  Also in the works are workshops and forums and all sorts of good things!

The day was rounded out by a date with the lovely ladies, Anne Marie Szucs and Sally Hunt, to see The Full Monty. It was great to hang out and visit with AM and Sally.  AM was at the Tony Award Ceremonies in NY so we got to hear about that (how incredibly exciting!) and the shows that she saw. Sally and I haven't seen each other since Spelling Bee closed so it was great to see her and talk about potential future projects.  I still miss the Bees! The three of us had fun - chair dancing during the scene changes and figuring out when to cover our eyes so we didn't see any of the 'bits'. Show highlights? I absolutely loved my friend Francie Goodwin-Davies as the chain smoking Jeanette.  I swear, with Francie in that role, you could base a whole show on that character.  She was hysterical and literally stole the show for me.  I was also blown away by Orville Charles Cameron as Horse.  Not only did he have amazing vocals, but an incredible stage presence.  His number, Big Black Man, was outstanding.  The third highlight for me was David Johnston as the awkward Malcolm singing You Walk With Me at his mother's funeral.  I have worked with David before and know that he has no trouble going big, but it was this beautiful, tender and quiet song that really impressed me.  It is not easy to take it down and have it pay-off as an actor in a musical, but he did, and it is simply lovely.

Fitting in a Show before Final Dress...

I caught TOWTTB's production of Avenue Q tonight at La Cite.  We had a tba rehearsal scheduled for Nine that I was delighted not to need and managed to get a ticket so I could see the puerile puppet musical.  I was not too familiar with the show beforehand, but had a sense of what was in store.  It was a very well directed and well produced show.  The cast had clearly done their puppet homework as I don't believe many of them were puppeteers before they started rehearsing.  Nicole English and Corben Kushneryk seemed to be seamless in their puppet handling and voicing. Very impressive.  My favorite songs were The Internet is for Porn and The More you Ruv Someone.  The show's gimmick is the puppet thing, however, so musically there is a bit of a repetitive sound (they are parodying Sesame Street, so it make sense).  It's full of funny lyrics and quite rude (in an entertaining way) and the audience was frequently in stitches. All the performers are strong singers and good storytellers so it's well worth seeing. There's only one show left and I think it's pretty much Sold Out, but you never know, sometimes there are a handful of tickets at the door.

* This marks #25 in my theatre goal for the 2012

To Get You Warmed Up...

There are a couple of musicals on in town (or son to be on) that you can catch while you wait for Nine at Walterdale.

The first is Two One Way Tickets to Broadway's Avenue Q.  It's the puerile puppets that aren't quite what you saw on Sesame Street.  Several Walterdale alumni are involved including Nicole English, Lauren Kneteman, Martin Galba, Linette Smith, Brad Melrose (who is also lighting Nine), Travis Metzger, and M.J. Kreisel.  I will be seeing the show later in the run as my tech week has me pretty busy right now, but the show runs to June 30th. From what I hear it's hilarious but one should not be expecting clean humour (someone told me the funniest song is called 'The Internet is for Porn').

The other show is ELOPE's Kiss Me Kate which opens this weekend. There are many Walterdale alumni in this one too - Elizabeth Marsh, Gary Carter, and Kathleen McDonald to name a few.  I am catching it this weekend.  It's the musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew and features the songs 'Too Darn Hot' and 'Brush Up on Your Shakespeare'.  It also runs until June 30th.

You can let these warm you up before you come to see Nine in July!