PLAYBILL: Shumka keeps it real
The Ukrainian Shumka Dancers have turned down an offer to participate in an all-Shumka parody of West Side Story to tell the tale of Edmonton’s two sides – North Side Story.
We were told Shumka’s core subscribers probably wouldn’t go for it (based on a comic by Chad Huculak).
Just as well. Keep it real.
Shumka does what it has done best for decades: The creative use of traditional athletic Ukrainian dance to tell new stories. The world premiere of Ancestors & Elders – at the Jubilee Auditorium April 27-28 – is a meeting of Ukrainian and Indigenous cultures featuring the Shumkas themselves, plus guest indigenous dancers and other artists.
These two cultures collided for real when many Ukrainians immigrated to Canada in the 19th Century – and indigenous people were already here: “Hopeful settlers” and “First Nations people they encountered in a new land.” It at least appears from recorded history that the meeting was more amicable than, say, with the British or Americans.
The show blurb reads, “Survival, for both Indigenous and Ukrainian immigrant people in Alberta, often meant silence: lost stories and connections between our communities help us all survive tremendous loss and struggle. We use dance to begin to break that silence; to remember those who came before us, the traditions they instilled, and the truths they endured.”
North Side Story will have to wait for another day.
Fly Me to the Moon
Some dark comedy here from Shadow Theatre as a pair of cash-strapped home care workers face a tempting dilemma when one of their wealthy patients dies. Once a fateful decision is made, of course, there’s no turning back Thelma and Louise (not their real names) in what is said to be a hilarious and wild ride. The fact Marie Jones’ play is set in Ireland somehow makes it seem more wild and hilarious.
Annette Loiselle and Elinor Holt star in the show at the Varscona Theatre April 25-May 13.
Footloose
Every time this show comes around people ponder: Which came first, the film starring Kevin Bacon, or the Broadway musical? The answer won’t surprise you, because it’s easily Googled. The 1984 film was made into a musical in 1998 – and it’s been a staple of community theatre ever since.
At the ATB Financial Arts Barns April 23-28, the Scona Theatre Co. presents this tale rich in all the tropes of the genre: Small town bans dancing, rebellious teens flaunt the law, rebellious preacher’s daughter falls in love with a misfit outcast, bullies try to sabotage the relationship, it all comes to a head in a huge dance-off, and we all learn something in the end. You know, that old chestnut.
The Silver Arrow
In a world premiere mix-up of the classic tale, Robin Hood is a woman, the story is by the acclaimed Edmonton playwright Mieko Ouchi, there’s music by the great Canadian songsmith Hawksley Workman, and the performers are doing aerial acrobatics. Also, Citadel Theatre artistic director Daryl Cloran is directing the show himself. It’s hard to see how you can go wrong with this show, suitable for the whole family (age 5 and up) – at the Citadel until May 13.
Infinity
Ryan Parker is one multi-talented fellow. He’s a professional photographer, one of the Edmonton theatre scene’s favourites, and he’s an actor, too – one of three in Theatre Network’s new production Infinity, at the Roxy on Gateway until May 6.
Now what’s this yarn all about? According to the press release, it appears to be a love triangle. Perhaps it is an isosceles triangle, or are we being obtuse? – for it is between a musician, a mathematician, and a theoretical physicist. Every musician knows that music = math. Theoretical physicists also often ponder ideas that cannot be proven – much like religious scholars. How ironic.
Hannah Moscovitch’s new play also deals with a “new theory of time” – and there’s nothing like a good time travel yarn.
Pretty Goblins
Edgy stuff here from Workshop West: Estranged twins reunite under bizarre circumstances in a Beth Graham play. From clues in the press release: “Lizzie’s sudden appearance loosens Laura’s grip on reality, sending the sisters on a journey of tragic discovery”; and the fact they used the creepy twin girls from The Shining in one of their promos, it’s possible one – or both – of the twins are GHOSTS! No spoilers. Oops, too late.
It’s worth plugging the soundtrack guy: Jason Kodie – whose delightfully Acadian accordion stylings have made him Edmonton’s go-to guy when one needs a touch of Francophonian mojo. Accordions can sound evil, too.
The play runs until April 29 at the Backstage Theatre in the ATB Financial Arts Barns.
Company
This Edmonton theatre company calls itself “Foote in the Door” because they are drawn from the alumni of the Citadel Theatre’s Foote Theatre program for young people – since then famous for a wide variety of grown-up productions.
At L’Unitheatre until April 28, they present Stephen Sondheim’s classic tale of a 35-year-old bachelor – in 1970, at a time when 35-year-old bachelors were assumed to be gay. It’s simply called Company – filled with numbers like You Could Drive a Person Crazy, Have I Got a Girl for You, and Marry Me a Little.
All Shook Up
One of the things the Mayfield Dinner Theatre does very well is the dependable “jukebox musical.” This is due mainly to artistic director Van Wilmott – a hardcore music and gear geek, songwriter, performer, arranger and producer who’s been active in Edmonton’s music scene for at least 40 years, many of them working hard at the Mayfield, staging one sensational jukebox musical after another.
Van picked a winner this time in All Shook Up, playing until June 10 – because you can’t go wrong with Elvis Presley. FACT.
The story here – written by Joe Dipietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; and the Tony-winning musical Memphis) – centres around a small town girl in 1955 who meets a guitar-playing stranger who of course turns out to be Elvis. More than 20 of His iconic songs provide the soundtrack for the show, featuring a large cast and the usual gang of crack area musicians.
Undercover
This improvisational crime thriller is not your usual audience-interactive murder mystery – because in the hands of the master actor and improviser Rebecca Northan, it could be anything. Literally. She’s famous in Canada and elsewhere for her Blind Date shows, in which a willing male participant is set up for an interactive faux-romantic encounter. Every show is different, and almost always fascinating, sometimes shocking, to judge by many glowing reviews. This is improv as psychology.
In Undercover, at the Citadel’s “Club” venue until April 29, Northan and her team, including Bruce Horak and Mark Meer, select one audience member to come on stage and help solve a murder. As with Blind Date, the show will begin in the lobby before the curtain, as the cast mingles with the audience to find a worthy shamus. Participation is not mandatory – but remember, once you’re in, you’re in. Such is the golden rule of improv theatre.
