Last weekend I spent Saturday at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake catching a couple of shows, both of which tie in with the Salvation Army in different ways, and both of which entertain from different perspectives.
Before I get to my ramblings on both shows, I wanted to mention the fact the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is running a daily bus service between the Niagara College campus and the Community Centre just on the edge of town, near the new library. From there you connect with another bus that takes you to several stops in the heart of the Old Town. I had reason to use the service last weekend when my wife decided she needed the car at the last minute. Rather than argue the point, I have long since subscribed to the simple response "Yes, dear" and make alternative arrangements. This involved having her drop me off at Niagara College on her way out and I caught the 12:15 bus into town. It is only $ 3.00 each way and very efficient, but sadly is grossly underused. If you need a way to get to Niagara-on-the-Lake sometime without your own wheels, this might just be the ticket. I found my neighbour also at one of the evening shows so I was able to hitch a ride home with her, since the bus service ends after 6 pm.
Now on to the shows. In the afternoon I caught the big musical this year at the Festival Theatre, Frank Loesser's classic Guys and Dolls, directed by Tadeausz Bradecki. The show is based, of course, on a story and characters by Damon Runyon, with "Runyonesque" dialogue running throughout the show. It is a portrait of New York City as it once was circa 1950 with floating crap games, gangsters seemingly everywhere and apparently, lots of fun being had by all. Well, maybe not that last part, but that's what we're led to believe. Now, New York City is still big and bustling, but the vibe is different with a lot of the Runyon characters nowhere to be seen from what I have noticed when I have been there.
Anyway, this is one of the better Shaw musicals in recent memory, due in no small part to Bradecki's sure direction and a great cast that works well together. Their music provided by Paul Sportelli and the band in the pit and the choreography of Parker Esse suit the show well, too. The sets and costumes by Peter Hartwell and Sue LePage respectively are great; the sets especially don't overpower the production and everything works with precision on stage.
One thing I did notice missing from the show, being a musical after all, is the presence of Neil Barclay in the cast. I could see him so much in this show, but his considerable talents are used elsewhere this season at Shaw.
The cast we have includes Thom Allison as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, a smaller part than his lead role in last season's musical Ragtime, but he does manage to bring down the house in the second act with Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat. Also stellar work comes from Elodie Gillett as Sarah Brown, the Salvation Army worker roped into a trip to Cuba with gangster Sky Masterson, played by Kyle Blair, in order to win a bet with Nathan Detroit. Of course, she eventually becomes Sky's love interest and that leads to all sorts of complications in the second act.
As Detroit, Shawn Wright is very good, balancing his gangster proclivities with his ongoing love affair with Miss Adelaide, played by Jenny L. Wright. Jenny always finds great comedic value in these roles and her chemistry with Shawn (no relation, by the way) is genuine. The other performance of note I found was Peter Millard as the father-figure to Sarah, Arvide Abernathy; he actually has a not bad singing voice in this production.
Guys and Dolls is not the best musical Shaw has staged but it is right up there with some of the best, and it will no doubt pack them in all season long. The Shaw Festival is so sure of that they have already extended the run until November 3rd. It rates a strong 3 out of 4 stars at the Festival Theatre.
There has been no Shaw play on the larger Festival Theatre stage for a couple of seasons now, and some are lamenting that fact. The sad reality is the festival's namesake doesn't pack them in like he used to, so now we see his plays at the other two smaller theatres and this season, that seems just about right. Major Barbara, one of Shaw's earlier plays, dates from 1905 and has remained one of his most popular. So much so the Shaw Festival has revived it no less than six times now, and I have seen about four of them at Shaw.
Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell directs this production at the Royal George Theatre and she has managed to make this production seem larger than it actually is. Credit also goes to designer Judith Bowden, using every inch of the small Royal George stage for this production.
The problem with Shaw plays of course, no matter when they were written, is the fact they are so wordy you really have to commit yourself to following the dialogue or else you'll miss so much. It is wordy, yes, and long and tiresome at times, but Maxwell and her first-rate cast find a lot of humour in the play that really helps to make the long sit not seem quite so...well long.
The music chosen for the show is original music designed by John Gzowski and it adds another unusual yet strangely appropriate dimension to the show. It is gritty and rather industrial-sounding at times, as befits a play about an ardent capitalist and his munitions-making factory.
As for the casting, I quite like the rather understated approach of Benedict Campbell as patriarch Andrew Undershaft, pitted against the intellectual yet neophyte industrialist Graeme Somerville as Adolphus Cusins, in love with Undershaft's daughter Barbara, played by Nicole Underhay. Barbara is a Major with the Salvation Army and has her beliefs in the organization shaken to the core in the show, ultimately leaving the Army and making a new life for herself and Adolphus.
As Cusins, Somerville is quite good, as is Laurie Paton as Lady Britomart Undershaft, Andrew's wife and stickler for detail. Also worthy of mention in this production are Peter Krantz as Peter Shirley, the down-and-out lost soul who shows up at the Army offices for help, and Jenny L, Wright as Mrs. Baines. But it is Underhay and Campbell, playing the father and daughter long at odds with each other, that really make this production fly.
Major Barbara runs at the Royal George Theatre until October 19th and rates a strong 3 out of 4 stars.
Enjoy the theatre!
July 14th, 2013.
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