Scarborough Players Present Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

By Paul Love
Guest Reviewer

Pride and Prejudice, which Jane Austen wrote in 1813, carries the distinction of being one of the most beloved novels in English literature. Christopher Baker’s theatrical adaptation is the version of this costume drama currently being performed by the Scarborough Players.

Set in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of the Bennet family, and the desperate quest of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet to marry off their four daughters because their property is restricted such that it can only pass to a male heir. The play revolves around the Bennet’s second-eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who refuses to be drawn in by the artificial notions of society, believing that people should marry for love and not for prestige or money.

Alex Saul delivers a star turn as Elizabeth, moving about the stage like a whirling dervish of energy and enthusiasm, giving us a character who is capable, intelligent, and willing to speak her mind. And when she does speak her mind, it is with an impeccable English accent. In fact, credit should be given to the entire cast for delivering great English accents that enhanced the production rather than distracting from it. Jacob Klick gives an effective performance as Mr. Darcy, the man who finds himself drawn to Elizabeth. Mr. Klick believably captures the mixture of pride and social anxiety that make up this complicated character. His volume was a bit low in some places, making it difficult to understand him, but that is no doubt a by-product of opening weekend jitters. Kayla Kempers does a great job portraying the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, and Saam Kordestani gives a good performance as the object of Jane’s affection, Mr. Bingley. Malorie Mandolidis is an absolute delight as the energetic Mrs. Bennet. Whether she’s loudly extolling the virtues of her daughters or chasing after them, Ms. Mandolidis infuses much humour and warmth into the show. Chip Thompson is perfect as Mr. Bennet, presenting his character as a caring father who is often overwhelmed by his wife’s exuberance, but who loves her all the same, and who wants his daughters to be happy as well as financially secure. Will van der Zyl gives a standout performance as the eccentric Mr. Collins. He smartly plays his character for laughs, which keeps Mr. Collins from being too uncomfortably creepy. Katie Ribout is devilishly good as Mr. Bingley’s sister, Caroline, delivering her character’s harsh words with a wonderfully stone-cold disposition. The expression of utter disdain on her face when she’s forced to dance is highly entertaining.

(L-R): Molly Keenan, Laurel Schell, Chip Thompson (seated), Malorie Mandolidis, Alex Saul, Kayla Kempers, photo by David A. Fitzpatrick

Director Katherine Turner manages to keep the pacing of the show nimble, with character movement that makes sense for the thrust stage, and infuses the dialogue with energy. Taking on the role of Set Designer for a production on a thrust stage is always a challenge—particularly when you are presenting a play that takes place in eight different locations—but Lester Ruiz has handled it like a pro. The upstage archway works perfectly as a backdrop for almost all of the locations, while the few set pieces—mostly chairs and tables, which are wonderfully ornate and perfectly suited to the time period—round out the sense of place and time. Major kudos to Mr. Ruiz or whoever it was that came up with the idea of having the name of each location appear above the set (in fancy script, no less!). This saves the audience members a lot of guesswork and potential confusion. A good costume drama needs good costumes, and Mary Nowlan and her team have done a wonderful job. The costumes are beautifully tailored and period-appropriate, with wonderful pops of colour that add to the positive energy of the whole production. It is clear, too, that Hair Designer Darlene Thomas has put the same kind of care and passion into the detailed hairstyles.

If you are in the mood for a good costume drama, look no further than the Scarborough Village Theatre and Scarborough Players’ production of Pride and Prejudice. The theatre is located at 3600 Kingston Rd. in Scarborough. Remaining performances are March 12, 13, 14, 19, and 20 at 8 pm, with additional matinee performances on March 15 and 21 at 2 pm. Tickets are available by visiting the website. The show is approximately 3 hours, including a 15-minute intermission.

Joe Szek reviews 'Oh, What a Lovely War' at Hart House Theatre

By Joe Szek

John Monahan, Warden of Hart House, wrote in the latest theatre program that the current Hart House Strategic Plan is called “Delight in Discovery”. There were a couple of facts the other night I had either discovered or had re-kindled about my love affair with our ‘Cradle of Canadian Theatre’ on the University of Toronto campus.

I had completely forgotten that the Hart House stage is named after one of Canada’s influential film makers – Norman Jewison. After last night’s curtain call of the current production, ‘Oh, What a Lovely War!” I had re-discovered the theatre itself during the First World War was used as a rifle range for a musketry school under Vincent Massey’s command. I knew there was a military connection, but I couldn’t recall exactly what it was.

READ MORE AT INSIDE LOOKING INSIDE HERE ->

Joe Szek reviews 'Chicago, The Musical' at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre

By Joe Szek

In watching the opening night performance of Northumberland Players’ highly anticipated production of ‘Chicago’, I couldn’t help but make two connections – what it’s like to be a child and an adult on Christmas morning waiting to open gifts.

When you’re a child, the gift is perfect no matter how it may look. I was far more interested on what was inside. As an adult now looking back, something has changed. It’s not the gift that I recall but it’s the love, the contentment, the appreciation and the thanksgiving behind Christmas and the giving of that gift.

READ MORE AT INSIDE LOOKING INSIDE ->

Joe Szek reviews 'Disgraced' by The Papermill Theatre at Todmorden Mills

By Joe Szek

Recently I attended a non-Equity performance of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ where a community theatre proudly displayed the quality work possible when the cast and crew just clicked with each other.

The East Side Players matched par on par this same task of creating highly dramatic and emotional intensity as well with their production of Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize winning 2013 ‘Disgraced’ now onstage at The Papermill Theatre at Todmorden Mills. Director Mario D’Alimonte wrote in his Programme Note that he hoped audiences will find this story entertaining above all.

READ MORE AT INSIDE LOOKING INSIDE ->

Break a leg! Borelians Community Theatre Presents 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' - review by Paul Love

By Paul Love
Guest Reviewer

The plays of Tennessee Williams are as iconic as the man himself. These literary works are so well renowned that they elicit immediate familiarity with even non-theatregoers. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which premiered in 1955, is one of Williams’s most successful plays, garnering four Tony nominations, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This monumental play is currently being staged by the Borelians Community Theatre group in Port Perry.

(L-R): Howard Linscott, Carolyn Goff, Kelly Whitehorse (on balcony), Ruth Smith (chair), Colin Murphy, Marlo Alcock, Vannetta Tustian, photo by Jonathan van Bilsen

Set in the mid-1950s on a plantation in the Mississippi Delta, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof tells the story of the well-to-do Pollitt family, led by cotton tycoon Big Daddy Pollitt (Bill Baker). Despite their wealth, the Pollitts are in turmoil: Big Daddy and his wife, Big Momma (Marlo Alcock), are always at odds with one another; their son Brick (Kelly Whitehorse) has turned to alcohol and become indifferent to his wife, Maggie (Carolyn Goff); Big Daddy and Big Momma’s other son, Gooper (Colin Murphy), and his wife, Mae (Vannetta Tustian), are always plotting and scheming to bilk Big Daddy out of his fortune. The worst of it all is that Big Daddy has terminal cancer, but he doesn’t know it because Gooper, Mae, and Maggie have decided to give Big Daddy false results from a recent medical exam, so as not to spoil his 65th birthday celebration, which is underway as the show opens. Throughout the play we discover that most of the characters are lying to each other about something.

The play begins in Brick and Maggie’s bedroom, with Brick sitting alone, nursing a drink, while struggling to be comfortable with the cast that is a memento of some silly, drunken behaviour the night before. Hearing Maggie approach, Brick races into the bathroom to hide. Maggie enters in a rage, annoyed by the antics of Gooper and Mae’s children. Once Brick reappears, Maggie launches into a high-energy, one-sided conversation about everything and everyone. Ms. Goff gives a mesmerizing performance as Maggie. She moves seamlessly from loud to quiet, intense to melancholic, sultry to coquettish — all while absolutely nailing the southern drawl. It is a character Ms. Goff was born to play. As Brick, Mr. Whitehorse gives a nicely understated performance, showing us a very inward-facing character who is disgusted by the world around him, and who is seeking solace at the bottom of whatever bottle he’s drinking from. Mr. Whitehorse says much with few words, allowing his complex facial expressions and body language speak volumes. Mr. Baker was clearly undaunted at the prospect of tackling the larger-than-life role of Big Daddy. He commands the stage whenever he walks onto it (as Big Daddy should), giving us a character who is so stoic that he could have been carved out of solid mahogany, but who is clearly thoughtful, intelligent, and even forward-thinking in some ways. Mr. Baker’s Big Daddy is a marvel to watch. As the very warm and gregarious Big Momma, Ms. Alcock is very enjoyable to watch. Big Momma is desperate to make sure everyone is happy and cared for, and we really get a strong sense of that in Ms. Alcock’s performance. Mr. Murphy and Ms. Tustian give great performances as the conniving Gooper and Mae. Ms. Tustian particularly shines in the scenes where Mae and Maggie engage in infinitely entertaining verbal sparring. Although they don’t have much time onstage, the rest of the cast — Ruth Smith as the doctor who shares the real medical results, Howard Linscott as the nervous Reverend Tooker, and Olivia Da Costa as Gooper and Mae’s troublemaking daughter, Dixie — all add nice moments to an excellent show.

(L-R): Bill Baker, Kelly Whitehorse, photo by Jonathan van Bilsen

Kudos to Director Kyle Brough for having his characters move about the stage naturally yet purposefully. Particularly mention must be made about the moments where there are groupings of characters in separate conversations, and Mr. Brough directs our attention from one to the other by having the volume of the conversation drop with one group as it rises with another. Shelley Martin’s set instantly calls back to a southern plantation-style home—French doors, curved windows, big balconies, and everything in white. The detailing with the only partially seen bathroom is a great touch. Costume Designer Kim Blanusa has chosen costumes that are perfect for the period but also say a lot about, or enhance, the characters themselves: Big Daddy’s brown palette adds to the deeply rooted, salt-of-the-earth feel of his character; having Gooper and Mae in similar tones to Big Daddy gives a subtle sense of their attempts to curry favour with him; Maggie’s blue dress is perhaps a signal of the skyward-gazing dreamer that she is, and it also adds a contrast to the clothes of Brick’s family, reminding us that she is very different from the family she married into; Brick’s silk pyjamas seem at home on a lethargic man who desperately seeks to be comfortable in his own skin, and the mint green colour is evocative of the mint juleps his family has probably sipped on the veranda throughout his life.

I highly recommend heading to Port Perry to experience this top-notch show performed by the Borelians.

Performances are at the Town Hall Theatre, 302 Queen St., Port Perry. Remaining performances are February 20, 21, and 22, at 8 pm, with an additional 2 pm matinee on February 22. Tickets are available by visiting the website.