PLAYBOT: Refugees find love in Canada
Canada has always welcomed refugees – and the nation is better for it. The new people just have to get used to the frightful weather.
Before the poor Syrians, there were Jews fleeing persecution in Romania 100 years ago. Some of them settled in Canada – and so here is the tale in a concert-theatre hybrid production called Old Stock, at the Citadel Theatre’s Club venue for a short run May 9-13.
Celebrated Haligonian songsmith Ben Caplan stars in the show he helped create with playwright Hannah Moscovitch. It deals with two refugees’ attempts to find love after getting driven out of their homes with nothing, no money, starved and almost killed from enemies on all sides. Canadian winter seemed a better choice all around. It’s a “Refugee Love Story.”
Young Frankenstein
It’s alive! A large troupe of dedicated amateur actors under the venerable ELOPE Musical Theatre is mounting (heh, heh) the ambitious stage musical Mel Brooks created years after his film became such a comic classic. All the gags are here, from Frau Blucher – “neighhh!” – to the climax, “Ah! Sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found thee!” The story is chockablock with bawdy songs that showcase the talents of a fine ensemble cast – who are not being paid and more or less doing this as a hobby. More like a passion in several cases. To call something “amateur” is not to denigrate it. The word literally means “one who loves” something, and it comes through in this relentlessly entertaining evening. It helps that it’s rooted in such strong original material.
The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein plays at L’Unitheatre at La Cite Francophone until May 12.
Terry and the Dog
This time, it’s the dog that seems to have nine lives. The new play by Collin Doyle – two L’s in Collin – deals with a lonely recovering alcoholic whose dog keeps getting killed and then coming back to life. In the meantime, he talks about his estranged wife and son. Reminds one of A Dog’s Purpose, in which a boy’s dog is reincarnated into the grown man’s dog 40 years later – but you know, dark. Maybe it’s a zombie dog, in which case think Stephen King’s Pet Semetary. Too many references! PlayBot must clear its cache!
Terry and the Dog, a production of Edmonton Actors Theatre, plays May 9-19 at the Backstage Theatre of the ATB Financial Arts Barns.
Last Chance Leduc
Most of us live here in Edmonton for only one reason – the discovery of oil at the fabled Leduc No. 1 oil well on Feb. 13, 1947. We’ve been its thrall ever since. Don’t worry. By the time we run out of oil, or it gets too carbon dioxy, oil will be so expensive that we’ll have switched over to solar already. Twenty-five years from now, our grandkids will exclaim, “Wow, you burned oil? Gross.”
PlayBot digresses. This play by Katherine Koller is set in Leduc in 1947 near that seminal day in history, as it follows a struggling young family. Wes and his best friend toil day and night in a quest for “the big score.” His wife Ev wants to settle down and raise a family. It’s winter, they’re poor, and to make matters worse, there’s some kind of complicated love rectangle going on. We will say no more!
Last Chance Leduc plays May 8-19 at the Backstage Theatre in the ATB Financial Arts Barns.
Fly me to the Moon
Some lighthearted 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 Belfast, Ireland somehow makes it more wild and hilarious.
Annette Loiselle and Elinor Holt star in the show at the Varscona Theatre until May 13.
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.
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.
