PLAYBOT: Women in theatre!
A quick analysis of other PlayBots in both local and foreign domains reveals a surprising fact: In recent times there have been as many good roles for women as there have been for men. Lots of plays with strong female characters, lots of productions written, directed and produced by women. A correction has occurred!
Yet it seems there’s still a ways to go towards true equality – especially when we factor in the trans people. Whole new dimension for live theatre right there.
Hence the need for events like the SkirtsAfire festival, opening this week in Edmonton.
In addition to the musical kick-off Friday, March 8 at the Winspear Centre with rising Quebec star Cœur de pirate to celebrate International Women’s Day, there are three main stage theatrical productions at the Alberta Avenue Community League’s Cabaret Theatre.
The first and most appetizing is Deep Fried Curried Perogies – and won’t somebody actually make this, please! (They have! Here’s the recipe) On stage here, actor Michelle Todd (above) shares her culturally-diverse backstory, and the experiences of her parents: Mom from the Philippines, dad from Jamaica, as they settled amongst Ukrainians in Edmonton to raise a family. Sounds like a great premise for a Canadian sit-com, if there isn’t one in the works already.
Then we have some performance art with Statue, a “silent narrative” where two people attempt to clothe a living naked statue. The piece is said to grapple with gender issues.
Finally, there is Poly Queer Love Ballad, which to name is to know as a musical mash up of poetry and music, written by Sara Vickruck and Anais West. Once again: Gender issues.
It would be nice to say there is “much, much more,” this being a festival and all, but that’s it! Sounds like plenty already. These festivals have too many damned events as it is.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Why are there so many spelling bee stories? Is it that adults enjoy watching children suffer trying to spell words the grownups can’t? Spell this: Jalipinukranibritinadian (see above).
Here’s a dependable old chestnut from the Concordia University theatre program: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, March 8-17 at the Al and Trish Huehn Theatre (7128 Ada Blvd.). It deals with six kids competing for the title of the play, complete with what are said to be hilarious and touching back-stories.
La Boheme
You could argue that the decadent, hard-living, unprotected sex-having “bohemian” culture of the late 1970s led directly to the tragic circumstances depicted in the musical Rent – which is set 10 years later and loosely based on the Puccini opera La Boheme, which was written 100 years earlier.
In a further time twist, we return this week to a seedy pool hall in 1979 New York City for a production of the actual opera from which Rent was inspired – “where disco and drag queens, painters, punk rockers and poets converged.”
Mercury Opera’s La Boheme plays Feb. 27-March 9 at the notorious Chez Pierre Cabaret. This is the joint where once was witnessed its colourful owner personally emceeing a mud-wrestling contest, “One, two, three, mud wrestle!” Pierre shouted in broken English at scantily-clad women in a kiddie pool filled with mud, whereupon they commenced to mud wrestle. Good times.
This is the latest show from the equally notorious Mercury Opera, which likes to mess with opera minds while producing authentic operas stacked with international talent. It’s not the first time they’ve staged a show at Chez Pierre. Last year on almost this exact date the company did La Traviata, another tragic romance from the 19th Century. The intimate atmosphere worked brilliantly. Imagine having an opera singer standing five feet away from you – while doing a death scene.
This time around, Chez Pierre serves as the setting for several East Village locations of the time, including the famous Pyramid Club. Within, the opera company will present La Boheme pretty much as it was: A tragic romance from the 19th Century. In a cast of eight accompanied by a live chamber orchestra, the show stars Canadian tenor Adam Fisher as Rodolfo, and soprano Michaela Chiste as Mimi.
Fun fact: Giacomo Puccini and his partners actually borrowed the story from the 1840s, when young bohemians – then as now, as ever – were everywhere. Audience members are encouraged to dress the part.
Matilda: The Musical
Just when we need right now: A wholesome family musical with a strong female lead who stands up to authority. In this case, the precocious main character overcomes a gauntlet of thoroughly revolting adults, and eventually all the good people live happily ever after. That the kid has magic powers turns out to be a big help.
With music by the insanely-talented Australian artist Tim Minchin, and based on Roald Dahl’s best-selling novel, this show has won pretty much every award a musical can win, and plays until March 17 at the Citadel Theatre.
Lend Me a Tenor
You’ve heard of the Three Tenors, The Canadian Tenors and an act more frightening than the Nine Ring-Wraiths of Mordor Plus One: The Ten Tenors?
The current Mayfield Dinner Theatre show deals with a tenor missing in action. Playing until March 31, Lend Me a Tenor is a dependable Broadway farce, and old-fashioned door slammer, about a world-famous tenor who keels over on the very night of the big show. An attempt is made to fool the audience with a last-minute replacement, which has hilarious consequences – especially when the real tenor wakes up.
