Unicorns and Tigers... A Zoological Start to the Theatre Season!

The Pink Unicorn by Elise Forier Edie - Northern Light Theatre
Directed by Trevor Schmidt and starring Patricia Zentilli

Brianne Jang BB Collective Photography

I saw this play 10 years ago at Northern Light Theatre and loved it. It has come back to me several times a year when things would happen in the world, or when I would encounter magical children as a teacher, or when I would read a certain book (This is How It's Always Is by Laurie Frankel). It's that kind of play. This production was just as good as the show I saw so long ago and hits as hard (or harder) because the rhetoric has gotten worse in recent years, so it feels even more necessary. As Trisha Lee, Zentilli leans into the flaws of her character and that searching that every parent does to make the right choice. She is luminous and questing and we feel for her as she struggles to do the right thing in a world she is completely unprepared for. At the core of the story is love. Love for a child no matter who they are, and trying to find the ways to show that love and support them even if it feels foreign and strange. It is a true testament to unconditional love of a parent for their child. It is also about Trisha recognizing her own relationship with judging people and working to overcome that. Once again, you recognize the small-town close-mindedness and the wacky misfit characters that populate it, as well as those that cannot bend to show love and acceptance because of being so invested in their judgment and their need to be "right". 

I loved the journey that director Schmidt took us on. It's pacing is fast, but slows for thought and reflection. Trisha moves more in this production and this pulls us is. I also really loved Schmidt's set design, so I wanted to give that a shout out. It's a humongous papercraft window box of a small town Texas field, set off by pink swirls. Simply beautiful and giving a frame to this touching story of mother and child. Whether you saw this before or not, I highly recommend. 

Tickets are $37.00 with Pay-What-You-Can and 2-For-1 performances and can be purchased here.  

The Life of Pi - The Citadel Theatre 
Based on the novel by Yann Martel; Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti
Directed by Haysam Kadri

Photo Credit: Nanc Price

I've been really looking forward to seeing The Life of Pi at the Citadel Theatre. It is one of my favourite books and so many friends who saw it earlier in the run told me it was marvelous. It also has puppets that were created by a former student so I was especially invested! It did not disappoint. The creation of the world is magical - puppets tend to up the theatricality and magic of a show! But the colours or the world and the manipulation of all the animals is very well-done and you are simply immersed in Pi Patel's journey. From the zoo in  Pondicherry, to the tempest tossed cargo ship, to the lonely but crowded lifeboat, this production has managed to capture the feel and mood of those presented in the book. I re-read the book in the three days leading up to seeing the show so it was all present in my mind. I didn't mind the changes and I think leaving off the extra layer of story being told to the novelist was a strong choice for the play (we did not need another layer) instead bringing the hospital in Mexico in at the beginning and having Pi relate the story in a book-ended manner. I loved that I could hear actual lines that I had just read, but delivered in a way that was alive, honest and present. 

The cast as a whole is very committed to serving this story. No one has much down time as many of them switch from puppeteer to character and back. The flow is incredible. The anchor to it all is Davinder Malhi as Pi and he is simply wonderful. You feel his joy and despair as well as his anger and need to survive. It is resilience demonstrated masterfully onstage. His nemesis, Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger he shares the lifeboat with, is a worthy scene partner to Pi. The puppet is gorgeous and wild and manipulated with strength and artistry by Braydon Dowler-Coltman and Troy Feldman. Kudos to them for making him come alive, and to Puppet Director Dayna Tietzen for all the puppet work. I really want some of those stunning flying fish just so I can make them flutter. 

It was one of the best shows I have seen at the Citadel in recent years. I highly recommend! 

Tickets for The Life of Pi are $40.00 - $147.00 and can be purchase here.  It looks like several nights have limited availability which can make ticket prices increase, so buying earlier rather than later is recommened. 

The Pink Unicorn - Love Comes First in Parenthood

The Pink Unicorn by Elise Forier Edie

Directed by Trevor Schmidt

Starring Louise Lambert

Northern Light Theatre

PCL Studio, ATB Financial Arts Barns

Runs to February 28 - for tix

Last night, I was delighted to take in opening night of Northern Light Theatre's The Pink Unicorn. It's a show that has been on my radar for a little while. Northern Light's season this year is exploring gender identity and all it's complexities which is a topic I find fascinating and so relevant in our modern age. The Pink Unicorn, though, is a parent's story and I have often thought about who my children were growing into being and how I would deal with them as they emerged into their own selves separate from my expectations of who they should be. It also starred the wonderful Louise Lambert who has such a vibrant and electric stage presence that you are shocked at how tiny she is when you meet her offstage.  She was the Nurse in the Citadel's Romeo and Juliet last season and the hilarious Dolly in the Citadel's One Man Two Guvnors earlier this season. 

In many ways this piece seems very timely, particularly in light of the recent political discussions regarding GSAs in our public schools, but it is the personal story of Trisha, a young single mother of a gender queer identified daughter that resonated with me. Trisha is not a radical.  If anything she is part of the mainstream, conventional Texas community.  She has always done what is correct and right and from her pink cardigan and floral skirt to her perfectly coiffed hair she is the image and spirit of a proper southern lady.  And like most of us, with our teenage children, she is confused by her daughter Jolene as Jolene has grown into someone that Trisha did not expect.  Trisha, however, loves Jolene unconditionally, so she pushes aside her confusion and lack of understanding and does what needs to be done.  It's a wonderful testament to the love of a parent for a child. At the heart of it is the idea that even though we do not understand our children, we still love them and that is what matters. Trisha's love for Jolene pushes her into situations that she never imagined herself, but she serves coffee and cinnamon rolls and smiles despite her apprehension and we wish that we could all have her grace if we were in the same situation. 

The show is hysterically funny. In the beautiful white picket backyard with it's pinterest inspired quilted backdrop (Set Designer - Trevor Schmidt),  Lambert channels the entire cast of characters of small town Texas from the pompous school principal, to Trisha's over-bearing mother, to the members of the Lesbian Underground Railroad, to tell us the story of what happened.  We are part of the town as she whispers to us conspiratorially, "I know", as we giggle and laugh at her descriptions. She is honest about her own prejudices and confusion about what is going on and what her daughter is telling her.  "Nothing in my life had prepared me for gender queer." But she is prepared because at the core of it she loves her daughter and that is what is most important, and at the core of it she knows that what is happening is wrong, and at the core of it she knows that to 'smack it out of her' as her mother suggests is not an option nor should it be.

This is a play for every parent and child.  If my son were a couple years older I would take him. In fact, I think everyone with a child 15+ should think about taking them to it. It's for the parent who couldn't understand their child as they grew and the child who didn't realize what their parent was going through.  And I don't just mean parents of gay or gender queer children, it's for every parent because your children are going to be who they are and you can't control that, but you can accept them regardless of what they turn out to be. 

I highly recommend.