Catch Catch Me If You Can says Joe

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, THE MUSICAL
WHITBY COURTHOUSE THEATRE
Produced by Rhonda Martin and Heather Doucette, Vocal Coaching by Neva Deely, Choreography by Baiba Senecal, Direction by Erastus Burley

The film version of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN raked in big bucks in 2002.  With a cast headed by Tom Hanks as FBI agent Carl Hanratty and Leonardo Di Caprio as con man Frank Abagnale Jr, it was obvious the film was box office gold.  When I had heard this musical was in West Coast previews a couple of years later with a scheduled New York opening, I grimaced.  Sometimes, I get tired of hearing about good films that are adapted into live theatre musicals.

I flew to New York about four months after the original New York company opened the production at the Neil Simon Theatre.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed it and was proven wrong.  And yet, would or could any community theatre ever produce this show on account of what I assume would be astronomically high budget costs?

Whether the budget was high for this one or not, there was much to enjoy from this opening, wintry February night at The Whitby Courthouse Theatre.   Director Erastus Burley has a great fondness and affection for this show.   The vibrant and energetic enthusiasm on that stage (credited to Mr. Burley) will most certainly have to be controlled by a regimented stage management team, headed by Heather Doucette, who have the important job of ensuring locales and set pieces are placed in a timely manner.  The projection screen did help to establish a number of places. A few times, there were moments when the pace slowed considerably as furniture pieces were placed.

 The chic look, the in vogue fashion and the sophisticated flair of the 60s were evoked everywhere especially in the rich colours of the costumes.  The Pan Am flight uniforms were only one reminder of just how much work has gone into this production.

Greg Poulin’s lighting design was concise and controlled.  There were a few moments where some cues weren’t picked up as quickly as they should have been.  As performances continue, I’m sure these miscues will be restored.

Burley’s scenic design uses every minute space on the WCT stage.  At times, from my seat in the house, it appears congested as a good deal of the action is played downstage in order to allow the band to play over the performers.  Thank you for allowing me to check post performance so I could verify that, yes, it is deceiving from certain seats in the house.   Every inch of that stage and auditorium is utilized to its maximum effect.

CATCH ME is staged as a musical revue since the 60s televised the shows of such luminaries as Mitch Miller and Dean Martin.  For the most part, the band (led by Nick Denis) underscored nicely the ensemble and solo numbers so these clever lyrics could be heard.  There were a few moments where the band overpowered the singers, but I’m sure this minor quibble in musical balance will be amended as performances continue.  Some of the solo lines by ensemble members sounded off key, so attention will have to be paid in this respect.  Baiba Senecal’s choreography is stylized and entertaining to watch.  Another quibble – some members of the ensemble in the back row were having difficulty keeping in time while members of the front row were rockin’ the moves.  

There are entertaining and delightful performances.  The seventeen-member ensemble (which includes the FBI agents) is youthful, passionate and dynamic in the variety of roles played.  As Brenda Strong, Frank’s soon to be fiancée, Abigail Denardis plays the young ingénue with tremendous sweetness.  Ms. Denardis has a lovely singing voice and her solo “Fly, Fly Away” brought down the house (not to mention brought a few tears to the eyes).

Tom Lynch and Kelley B. Dewey play the young Frank’s parents, Frank Sr. and Paula Abagnale.  His mother has clearly influenced the young Frank’s eye for the ladies as she was a looker. Ms. Dewey plays Paula with subtle sex appeal and vulnerability.  As Frank’s smooth talking father, Tom Lynch is a devilish con artist himself who has a tremendous passion for both looking and feeling good and has passed this trait to his son.  Mr. Lynch commands the stage in his moments with dramatic precision one minute while revealing his sadness and vulnerability in the second act.

Mark Rittinger and Kathy Knight make an adorable Southern couple as Brenda’s parents, Roger and Carol Strong.  Their song “Our Family Tree” is tremendous fun to watch and to hear.

What is truly admirable in this WCT production are the performances of the two leads who complement each other extremely well.  Both gentlemen hold considerable stamina for this show as neither of them leaves the stage for very long.  Brian Hargan plays the tough as nails, Joe Friday(ish) Carl Hanratty with zest and fervor while not being afraid to reveal his fears and inadequacies.  Charlie Davidson brings charm and magnetism as Frank Abagnale, Jr.  Mr. Davidson is clearly physically fit to tackle the demands of this role as he sings and dances with much gusto one minute while breaking many hearts the next.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN continues at the Whitby Courthouse Theatre in the Whitby Centennial Building, 416 Centre Street South.  Remaining performances from February 16 – 18 and 23-25 are sold out, but you might be able to get a possible single seat.  Additionally, check the box office for any returns.  Telephone 905-668-8111 or visit whitbytheatre.org for further information.

The Simcoe Mall, vaulting into the future of Downtown Oshawa

I took a wander around downtown this afternoon. It is rather dismal to be honest but hey its February. There are some bright spots however. I dropped into the old stomping ground, used to be The Vault, it is now The Simcoe Mall and I would recommend it for a stop-in. It has to be the best smelling flea-market I've been in ever and its bright, clean and full of enthusiastic entrepreneurs running their own booths.

I spoke with a chap who identified himself as John, he runs G&G Music Memorabilia. He says he is under no illusions about the location and the social issues the downtown faces but he says there has been an uptick in his business. He has a very fine collection of music and movies in all formats as well as the merchandise, Elvis, KISS, Rolling Stones etc.

It was gratifying to see the building still in use, those of us involved in The Vault put a lot of time, thought and effort into keeping the doors open for the year it ran. A crowd of young folk took it over afterwards and did a fine job with it. They built it up to a point where the folks behind the Simcoe Mall could envision it as a place where they could invest for their the future.

So if you happen to wander downtown, take the time to visit the Mall, say hi and maybe even buy something - best collection of music/concert DVDs I've seen thats for sure.

Our man for all reasons, Joe reviews OLT's A Man For All Seasons

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
OSHAWA LITTLE THEATRE
Producer:  Claire Crossman, Director:  Geoff Coulter

Forty year ago, the Oshawa Little Theatre staged A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS at Eastdale Collegiate, and the company is to be commended for remounting Robert Bolt’s epic drama now in performance at the Russett Avenue building.  Director Geoff Coulter writes what a privilege it is to have faced the challenges in re-staging this multi dimensional period piece of Tudor history while exploring the issues of an informed conscience, supreme authority and silence all rich in text and sub textual meaning.  It might be a good idea for future audiences in the next two weeks to ensure they are aware of the play’s historical context, otherwise it is easy to be completely lost in this sometimes quickly moving plot.

OLT’s production elements, once again, become a feast for the eyes, and I’m sure Stage Manager Ellie Patte and her team had to have tremendous organization backstage to serve up the goods.  Costumes by Alex Amini Costume Design capture magnificently the colours, contours and shapes of the capes, gowns, hats and dresses of the Tudor era.  Geoff Coulter and Steven Fraser’s set design makes use of levels and of entrances and exits within the theatre so our eyes are constantly moving when characters are introduced.  Colin Hughes’s lighting design is effectively taut even when candles and shadows are used to heighten dramatic intensity.  During the first Saturday performance, a few actors did not find their light and were often in shadow when speaking.  I’m sure this will be rectified immediately at the next performance.

With a 15-minute intermission, OLT’s production runs three hours so pacing is of utmost importance to maintain momentum in this heavy dialogue driven play.  Mr. Coulter has clearly been prepared to remain true to the playwright’s words while being faced with the daunting task of engaging a twenty first century audience to care about a loyal subject and learned man, Sir Thomas More (a heart felt performance by OLT president Michael Schneider), principled in beliefs and traditions of the Catholic faith whose church was extremely corrupt.   

Periodically, there were moments at this performance where pacing slowed considerably on account of a number of the actors delivering lines upstage and important plot information was lost.  Many of the audience members around me appeared puzzled as they did not hear what was said.  Again, I’m sure this will be rectified at this week’s performances.   

Chris Furlong is consistently believable and always in the moment as the Common Man.   In knowing the historical context that A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS is a story of kings, cardinals, lords and ladies, it is odd to see a commoner break the fourth wall and speak to us.  But through this Brechtian characterization, we initially trust and like this man until we see that even commoners are also subject to bribery and corruption.

As Cardinal Wolsey, Oshawa city councillor and actor Rick Kerr evokes beautifully the corruption within the Church at this time in the cardinal’s necessary efforts to secure the divorce for King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.  Will van der Zyl as Thomas Cromwell emphasizes even further the rampant corruption as the King’s right hand man (read ‘spy’ into this description as well).  Mr. van der Zyl’s black costumes along with his swarthy physical appearance render him one to fear especially at the conclusion of Act One where he assaults the untrustworthy Richard Rich (a focused performance by Anthony Labriola).  Garret Lee as the Duke of Norfolk convinces us of his desperation and heartbreak when More, his friend, will not administer to the oath of the Act of Succession.  Eryk Burns as the Spanish ambassador Signor Chapuys is sly as he slowly tries to get More to open up about his decision in not supporting the divorce.  

In spite of a twenty-year absence of doing theatre, James Grist’s performance as the King is highly persuasive and yet stealthy.  In one moment, we see a royal who wants to remain jovial and on good terms with his friend, More, while in the next minute we see a King who frighteningly threatens his friend when he clearly tells him, “Your conscience is your own affair, but you are my Chancellor”.

The members of More’s immediate family are conflicted on the patriarch’s decision to remain silent on matter of the King’s divorce.  Alison Irons delivers a steely and feisty performance as Lady Alice (Thomas’s second wife) who is fearful of losing her place in society on account of More’s silence.  A tender bond of compassion and filial love exists between More and his daughter, Margaret, played sensitively and humanely by Kathryn Fraser.  More’s initially head strong future son in law William Roper, played with passion by Tyler Cox, turns to respect for the father figure who clearly wants to confront head on this war on the Catholic Church.

There are wonderful moments of true ensemble work in this production, butit is Michael Schneider’s resonating performanceas the martyred saint who propels the action of this story forward.  We witness the creation of a real life human who has faults and weaknesses like any commoner.  At the trial scene in this production, we witness a human who moves the audience with high emotion as More knows he has nowhere to turn.  The very silence that he thought would free him is the silence that sends him to his death.

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS continues at the Oshawa Little Theatre, 62 Russett Avenue, February 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17 and 18. Tickets are available at the door before each performance.  Visit www.oshawalittletheatre.com for further information.

DSP presents the Good People of South Boston, Joe takes a look

GOOD PEOPLE by David Lindsay-Abaire

Produced and Directed by Carolyn Wilson
DURHAM SHOESTRING PERFORMERS

I don’t think I’d want to mess with any of these ‘Southies’ in David Lindsay-Abaire’s GOOD PEOPLE.  The title is most certainly an appropriate one for this engaging 2011 script of character development now in performance by The Durham Shoestring Performers at Oshawa’s Arts Resource Centre.  Two music versions of “Good People” by Paul Lamb & Sean McCann with performance by Great Big Sea AND by Jack Johnson weave nicely in between each of the scene changes to keep us aware of ‘where do all the good people go’.

Carolyn Wilson’s set design functions well in this intimate performance space. Hanging boxes, which look as if they are suspended without wires, are turned by the Stage Managers to indicate the various locales.  Rather than having the set pieces dragged out from back stage, most of the furniture is stored neatly and practically at stage left with positioning in place when necessary.  Phil Ireland’s lighting design effectively highlights and delineates the various locales from a back alley behind a dollar store, an apartment kitchen, a church bingo hall, a doctor’s office and an upscale living room.  A nice bit of fun and acknowledgement to the stagehands who help set the various scenes.

In her Director Notes, Ms. Wilson states that Mr. Lindsay-Abaire wanted to write lovingly about his south Boston roots, and he (along with Wilson’s skillful direction) has created memorable ones.  Ms. Wilson has finely molded her solid cast to become very real working class south Bostonians with acid tongues.  All six actors create distinct personalities who are funny, opinionated, fiery and, sometimes, vulgar and who don’t or won’t put up with anyone’s crap to be perfectly honest.

Margie Walsh (a gutsy and courageous performance by Gillian Woodhouse) is fired from her job at the seedy dollar store.  Beneath her tough exterior lies a good yet scared woman who wonders what the future holds for her and her developmentally delayed adult daughter, Joyce, as they live pay cheque to pay cheque.  Ms. Woodhouse convinces us immediately she IS Margie.  We constantly root for her as she stands up for herself, empathize and want to hug her when life throws her a curve, and are horrified especially in the second act when she tries to blame an old boyfriend, doctor Mike Dillon, for something that might have happened years ago.

There are strong performances from the other five cast members of this true ensemble effort.  Newcomers to the DSP stage Gordon Bennett and Laka Ford-Williams play Doctor Mike Dillon and his wife, Kate with credibility.  Mr. Bennett has clearly worked diligently during rehearsals to sustain a continued nervous apprehension in his conversations with Margie since he is trying to blot out this sordid part of his life.  Margie’s unexpected arrival at Mike’s office in the first act and at his home in the second act provides a bona fide power struggle of verbal jousting on many levels for Bennett, Ford-Williams and Woodhouse that becomes highly engaging for the audience to watch.   Our emotions run the gamut for Ms. Ford-Williams as we feel for Kate since she is unaware of the truth of the situation between Mike and Margie.  When the truth is finally revealed to Kate, Ms. Ford-Williams’ performance becomes strong in her silence of how she handles her husband and Margie.    

Rounding out this cast are Margie’s rather obnoxious, catty and profane girlfriends, Jean and Dottie (passionately and gleefully played by Patti Wilson and Laurie Scattergood).   At times, these bitchy women are so mean to Stevie (Kyle Robertson), Margie’s supervisor, who fires her from the dollar store.  Robertson’s performance is genuinely heartfelt that we feel badly why Stevie chooses to endure all of this abuse especially during the Bingo game.  By the end of the play, we learn that Stevie is one of the ‘good people’, and we know where he goes.

Accents of any kind always require work from all professional and non-professional actors.  Kudos to the DSP performers as they have done their homework in trying to sustain the lilt of the New England and Boston area; however, there were moments where it was difficult to hear the projected dialogue while maintaining the cadence and rhythm of the accent.  I’m certain attention will be paid to the New England accent for this week’s performances.

Ben Brantley wrote in his review of the original New York production “the characters [in GOOD PEOPLE] often accuse one another of being too mean or too nice, too hard or too soft. And they’re right on all accounts…as there’s nothing pure about the goodness or badness of the folks who inhabit this play. This makes them among the most fully human residents.”  The DSP cast has created fully human residents of Southie who, by the end of the play, may or may not be good people.  Pay a visit to see them for a most entertaining evening and to chat with them after the performance.

GOOD PEOPLE continues at Oshawa’s Arts Resource Centre, 45 Queen Street (behind Oshawa City Hall) January 25, 26, 27 and 28 at 8:00 pm.  Tickets may be purchased at the door before the curtain.

Come From Away well worth a gander; Joe Szek on the Royal Alex production

COME FROM AWAY

ROYAL ALEXANDRA THEATRE
Book, Music and Lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Directed by Christopher Ashley with Choreography by Kelly Devine

I’m certain each of us can recall where we were during two pivotal historical events that forever altered North American society from the early 1960s to present day.  I was two years of age when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas; however, I can recall exactly where I was and what I was doing that warm September 11, 2001 morning when the Manhattan skyline was decimated as the Twin Towers in New York’s financial district came crashing down and over three thousand lives were lost.  

I was teaching a class at my school when a colleague came into the classroom and announced this news to all of us.  My initial reaction was one of annoyance as I wondered why this individual was interrupting the lesson.  That annoyance turned to confusion on all parts as the students and I were looking at this purveyor of information and trying to decipher what was being told to us.  The classroom went silent as the students looked to me, I looked at them and none of us knew what to say.  Then the array of other emotions followed over the next few hours, but one thing was clear- there was this enormous void of fear and emptiness in knowing that our world had changed not necessarily for the better.  Could any hope or goodness spring from this deep chasm?  The answer to this question is a resounding YES.

The newest musical COME FROM AWAY is now in performance at Toronto’s newly restored Royal Alexandra Theatre.  Irene Sankoff and David Hein have written a brilliant, poignant, sad, moving and, at times, amusing account of that time when 38 planes had been diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on September 11, 2001. 

According to 9/11 American Airlines pilot, Beverley Bass, “The people of Gander were just phenomenal to the more than 6,000 passengers who were waylaid for five days.  Gander citizens treated these passengers like family and brought them into their homes.”  Even as I write this, my eyes well up because I am reminded of what Anne Frank had written in her diary, “In spite of everything, I still believe people are good at heart.”  COME FROM AWAY is not about the sadness of 9/11, but about the goodness that came out of it.  This is a musical masterpiece that finds joy, friendship and compassion in the midst of all this sadness. You Tube it to see highlights of this production. 

At this time, tickets are scarce and premium seats are $275 from what I understand.  If you are going to see COME FROM AWAY, you are fortunate and lucky as you will be entertained but most importantly you are going to be moved on many levels.  The audience was on its feet immediately at the curtain call for these very talented and highly professional twelve performers who play a variety of roles throughout the 110-minute piece sans intermission. 

The set is a simple one of barn board wood along with chairs and tables that can be moved easily throughout each scene.  I noticed many moments where back lighting highlighted the action on stage in the creation of spectacular tableaux.  The ten-piece band rocks the stage with moments you would swear Great Big Sea was in the house.  At times, the music overpowers the singers, but the audience didn’t mind, as it is the joy of all on that stage that captivates our hearts. 

These professional actors have created such dazzling moments on stage, and space does not allow me to address each one.  I’ll only mention two:  The Screeching In party at the local pub is riveting for its choreography and the song itself.   Jenn Colella as pilot Beverley Bass brought all of us to tears in her solo of‘Me and The Sky’, especially in knowing that she made aviation history twenty years earlier as the first female captain for American Airlines.

If you don’t have tickets, tell your significant other and/or friend(s) that it will be time for a trip to the Big Apple to see this one.  This production has toured to other major American cities with rave reviews by audiences there.  And yet I have a concern.

 A few years ago, there was a marvellous production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Stratford Festival with a phenomenal reception by audiences.  Even Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber saw this production and gave it his blessing in its transfer to New York because he thought it would do well.  The New York critics gave it a tepid to lukewarm to maudlin reviews and the show closed quickly. I certainly hope this will not happen to COME FROM AWAY as this story needs to be told.  If anything, our world needs goodness, joy, compassion and hope right now.

COME FROM AWAY plays at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre until February 7 when it then transfers to New York City.  Visit www.mirvish.com for information.