play review

The Vic by Leanna Brodie
Directed by Sarah Szloboda
A Terminal Theatre production
Jericho Arts Centre
Feb 16 th to 21 st, 2010

Vancouver, BC: This production of The Vic is an ambitious undertaking by the young Terminal Theatre company which staged its first production in the summer of 2009. For this, their third production, they might have been better served had they chosen a less convoluted play.

The Vic features 8 female characters - described as part victim, part victimisers - in four disparate story lines which finally come together - sort of. I found the continuity of this play hard to follow so without having read the script, here is what I gathered from the show. 

The set is dominated by a giant screen on which brief film clips show at different points between the other scenes. This as we discover is the thread that draws the four stories together.

The play opens with women entering the darkened space, each carrying a light, the Spanish singing evoking the "desaparecidos" or "the disappeared" of Latin America. Then we see four local women searching for a missing woman, Cara (April Cameron) whose inner thoughts are revealed through her "diary" shown in the film clips. Cameron's naively wistful, young girl provides the only really sympathetic character in the story.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Book by Jeffrey Lane  Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek
Based on the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels by Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning
Orchestrations by Harold Wheeler;  Vocal music arrangements by Ted Sperling/David Yazbek; Dance music arrangements by Zane Mark

Directed and co-choreographed by Max Reimer
Co-choreographer Nathalie Marrable
Music Director Steve Thomas 

Vancouver, BC. If you have not already got your tickets to see this show pick up the phone or hit the keyboard soon because this is going to be another sellout holiday hit for the Vancouver Playhouse.

Although I usually watch cynically as Vancouver audiences give standing ovations  I have to confess that this time I was on my feet with the rest of them.  

As these photos by David Cooper show, the production was visually  appealing. The songs were entertaining, the lyrics witty, the choreography terrific- and can you call any one performance a standout when all the performances including the ensemble dancing were standouts? Well, yes I guess you can.
 

Andrew Wheeler plays Lawrence Jameson, a  suave, sophisticated, elegant con-man who leads a good life as a "prince" on the French Riviera, by charming rich women out of their money and possessions. Smooth as Michael Caine was in the 1988 film version,  I remember thinking at the time that he would never have been able to con me. But I have to admit that  if I encountered Wheeler's smooth "prince" persona - and if he could dance - I mean real  ballroom not the stage variety - he could probably con me into supporting a war effort in his non-existent kingdom as easily as he did the other women- as long as he would waltz with me!

  Lawrence's ally in his nefarious activies is Andre, the chief of police, played with gusto and a wonderfully bad French accent by David Marr, who really excels in this type of comic role.

A Steady Rain by Keith Huff
Directed by John Crowley
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre,
236 West 45th St., NY
Sept 12 In preview: opening September 29th, 2009

New York, NY.  Two men seated on an otherwise empty stage - the playing space surrounded by black drapes, briefly opened to reveal tall buildings on either side of a dark alley, or briefly   lluminated to create the illusion of a forest. No props, no fancy set, nothing to draw our attention away from the two Chicago beat cops, relating the events of a summer when the rain poured incessantly and  the world as they knew it  came crashing down on them.  

A Steady Rain runs about 90 minutes without intermission, and I was mesmerized for the entire time. The play is still in preview, which started two days ago, but  Daniel Craig (Joey) and Hugh Jackman (Denny)  produced outstanding performances, worthy of Keith Huff's well crafted script.   The play was directed by John Crowley,  whose work I last saw in the 2005 Broadway production of  Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman.

Denny and Joey have been friends since childhood. Now they are  partners, patrolling the streets of Chicago and standing back to back against the enemy on the streets; drug dealers, gangster, pimps.  Sadly for them, times have changed - affirmative action  quota systems govern promotion  - words they grew up with are now considered politically incorrect or racist -  and the "enemy"  against whom they must stand together, includes their captain and the police department bureaucracy.

One of the interesting things about on-line reviews is the capacity for rapid rebuttal of comments and discussion.  I encourage people to comment on any aspect of my posts that they like or dislike. Occasionally they do.

One such anonymous reader of my review on Via Beatrice , disagreed with my take on the music aspect and commented accordingly. Unfortunately a technical glitch seems to be affecting the comments but until I get it fixed I thought his/her points were worth a separate post. 

I did confess that my knowledge of music was at a Music 101 level and my friendly commenter had a suggestion for that too!

Read on:

From Anonynous:

"I have to disagree with you regarding the music. I found it neither "dissonant" nor "uncomfortable".  While it wasn't toe-tapping musical theatre, I actually found the music to be incredibly powerful and memorable. It did indeed push the story forward and allowed us into the characters' heads in a way that we perhaps would not have gotten through any other means.

I actually found that this play, more strongly than many I have seen in a while, reminded me of the power of live theatre. This operetta forces one to suspend disbelief as characters change through nothing more than a shift in posture and voice, we do "go" to Rome through an arched platform and a video projection, and, of course, there's the whole breaking into song thing.

I really love reading your reviews and hesitate to contradict what you say (I most often agree with your picks and pans), but I couldn't let this one go by without comment.  If it's not too forward, perhaps you ought to look into music 201? "

I love it - Music 201 here I come

The Road to Canterbury by Sebastien Archibald
Directed by Chelsea Haberlin
Queen Elizabeth Park - at the Bloedel Conservatory
Itsazoo Productions
Nightly at 7 pm August 5 to 21, 2009; no show Sunday. Sat 2 pm matinee,

Vancouver, BC: Mercifully when I did my Survey Course in English Literature, I was only required to read three relatively short poems by Geoffrey Chaucer - Middle English does not make for an easy read - so I confess that what little I know about The Canterbury Tales comes from reading summaries in contemporary English, the lazy student's friends - Spark Notes and Cliff Notes. But ignorance of the original Chaucer material did not at all diminish my enjoyment of this romp through Queen Elizabeth Park. As author Sebastian Archibald points out in his playwright's notes, he has chosen to use Chaucer's techniques of satire and social commentary, to adapt - very loosely - five of the tales into somewhat more "modern" versions. So not to worry - Middle English is not required here.

Much as Chaucer conjured  up a group of strangers, joining together for a pilgrimage to the tomb of  the saint Thomas Becket (archbishop of  Canterbury who was assassinated in his cathedral for his defiance of the king)  so our tour guide Host (Peter Carlone) gathers up his group of travellers to take them on a walk through the Gardens. Partly escorted,  partly chivied along by a paranoid, tattooed, gun-toting Mercenary  (Jason Moldowan) we follow the host down the path to a spot where he draws tickets for a tale-telling contest. The five winners of the contest  are the Mercenary, the pot-smoking supercilious Bohemian (Amitai Mormorstein), the gin-swilling much married Dowager (Ella Simon), the demure, wide-eyed Teacher (Katie Takefman) and the snake-oil selling Preacher (Colby Wilson). 

Richard II by William Shakespeare
Directed by Christopher Weddell
Studio Stage at Vanier Park
Bard on the Beach
till September 18, 2009

Vancouver, BC:
Vancouver's Bard on the Beach Company has undertaken as a "noble goal" to stage Shakespeare's entire dramatic canon by the 25th anniversary of the company, five years hence. As part of this ambitious objective, Bard will be presenting a cycle of Shakespeare's History Plays through the 2009 to 2011 seasons as discussed in my How They See It  Chat  with Bard Artistic Director, Christopher Gaze.This year's staging of Richard II starts this series of plays. While most people have some familiarity with the more frequently produced story of Shakespeare's  twisted, malevolent, murdering Richard III, I suspect that, like I until recently, they don't know too much about where Richard II fits into the whole English kings / Wars of the Roses saga.

Here is a bit of the pre-history.
King Edward III had five sons who survived to adulthood.  The oldest , Edward the Black Prince was the father of Richard. When the Black Prince died, Richard became the heir apparent and a year later, on the death of  Edward III, the 10 year old  Richard succeeded his grandfather as King of England. The country was governed by councils until Richard was old enough to rule. Two of Richard's uncles, John of Gaunt, a man of influence and power, and Edmund, Duke of York, and their sons also play important parts in Shakespeare's version of events. The murder of a third uncle, the Duke of Gloucester is the trigger that initiates the events in  Richrd II.

When the play begins King Richard II (Haig Sutherland) has a problem.  His cousin Henry Bolingbroke (John Murphy) has accused Sir Thomas Mowbray (Craig Erickson) of murdering Riichard's uncle the Duke of Gloucester. Rumour has it that Richard had secretly ordered the murder. The king decides that Bolingbroke and Gloucester may duel it out, but before the fight begins, Richard exiles Bolingbroke for ten years and banishes Mowbray for life. Bolingbroke leaves, and shortly thereafter his father, John of  Gaunt (Duncan Fraser), dies. The King needs money to suppress a rebellion in Ireland so he disinherits Bolingbroke, grabs the estate and takes off to Ireland, leaving his uncle, Duke of York (David Marr) in charge. Bolingbroke comes back to England to demand his inheritance be restored. The populace support Bolingbroke and not Richard. The king's pals, Sir John Bushy (Craig Erickson)  and Sir  Henry Green (Ashley O'Connell) wont defend him. Having screwed up royally, so to speak, in Ireland, Richard arrives back in England with no army and no support.  He cedes his crown to Bolingbroke who becomes King Henry IV.  Bolingbroke expresses concern about his son, Henry,  who is running wild in bad company - setting the storyline up for Henry IV parts 1 and 2. Richard goes to prison to reflect on his life and folly but is murdered there by Exton (Craig Erickson)..  The new king  is "horrified" when told of the murder, exiles Exton, and decides to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to atone.  

All's Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare
Directed by Rachel Ditor
Douglas Campbell Studio Stage at Vanier Park
Bard on the Beach
till September 19, 2009

Vancouver, BC:  All's Well that Ends Well is all about Helena, a young woman, in love with a man who is above her social class and can't see beyond her lower status to appreciate her many virtues. With a plot that incorporates common theatrical  devices of disguised identities, token rings,  and  a buffoonish braggart who gets his come-uppance,  Lois Anderson's vibrant portrayal of  the intelligent, resourceful, though lovesick Helena provides the  tensile strength that holds the play together. With every emotion, from adoration to pain, expressed with subtlety through eyes and  voice, she brings an innate dignity to Helena that makes it clear why she is adored by everyone except the foolish Bertram.

Palace of the End by Judith Thompson
Directed by David Bloom, Katrina Dunn, Mindy Parfitt
PAL Theatre, Cardero Street
Touchstone Theatre with Felix Culpa and Horsehoes & Hand Grenades Theatre
May 21 to June 6, 2009

Vancouver, BC: This production of  Palace of the End is a simply stunning theatrical experience. Thompson has crafted three powerful monologues based on three real people each with a connection  to contemporary Iraq and  all three monologues are superbly performed. Although based on news stories and research,  as Thompson remarks in the playwright's notes  - "the persona ...of each speaker has been created by me."  And of course the words they speak spring from her imagination. Yet for me the authentic voices of  these three characters ring out  in a compelling and utterly believable way.

My Pyramids portrays Lynndie England, the young American soldier who justly or not, became the media symbol of the soldiers charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. Thompson imagines her on office duty, awaiting trial, after fellow reservist Charles Graner the man who impregnated her, (later to marry  another fellow soldier),  has been jailed for his part in the abuse.

What a week! With no evening dance classes this week I was able to take full advantage of the treasure trove of theatre on in Vancouver at the moment. Starting with True Story last Sunday afternoon, I saw 36 Views at Jericho on Tuesday, Les Misérables at the Stanley on Wednesday,  Antigone Unbound upstairs at the Russian Hall on Thursday,  Palace of the End at PAL on Friday and finally caught Top Girls at the Playhouse on Saturday. 

On Sunday, I rested. Sort of.   Actually I wrote and wrote and wrote, and tried to get a lot of exercise. Had fun with my ladies' dance-fit to wild Latin music in the gym. We are almost at the point of getting little routines together for samba, mambo and chachacha! Spandex and Mamma Mia here we come.

Accompanying this feast for the mind, was a range of dining experiences including r.tl (regional tasting lounge),  West Restaurant,  Kentizen (in the Tinseltown complex),  Lux at the Caprice and Honjin Sushi.

Mind sated, tummy full and wallet empty, I am looking forward to a quieter week this week and time to catch up on my non-review writing.

Antigone Unbound based on Sophocles Antigone
Devised and performed by Lesley Ewen, Billy Marchenski, and Tanya Marquardt
and directed by Stephen Hill
Leaky Heaven Studio above the Russian Hall
Leaky Heaven Circus
May 13 to 24, 2009

Vancouver, BC:  One never knows quite what to expect in a production by this interesting group of artists, and this time was no exception. Climbing up the stairs to the performance space, I enter a small somewhat claustrophobic room. A narrow platform next to the walls runs round the room leaving a central square pit in which swivel office chairs are haphazardly crammed.   We take two seats at the back of the room just in front of the stage manager's table and watch as the place fills up rapidly.  It is warm and stuffy but there is a buzz in the air.  

I am intrigued to see what they will do with Sophocles'  tragic heroine. The back legend goes like this: Antigone, her sister Ismene, and her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, are the children of the unknowingly incestous marriage of Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta.  When the truth is disovered  Oedipus blinds himself after Jocasta kills herself.  As heirs to the throne the two brothers agree to alternate as ruler. The older Eteocles however declines to let Polyneices take his turn and Polyneices promptly heads off to Argos, marries the King's daughter and returns with an army to take Thebes by storm. Both brothers die in battle, and Creon, Jocasta's brother, takes over as king of Thebes. He decrees that Eteocles should be buried with full honours, but that the body of Polyneices,  whom he considers a traitor, must be left to rot unburied, thus denying him entrance to the land of the dead.