Final two shows at Shaw Festival round out the season

All good things must come to an end, they say, and for me, unfortunately that also includes the end of another Shaw Festival season. They will keep performing until early November, of course, but as of last weekend I had attended all eleven productions on this season's playbill. Overall, it has been a strong, solid theatre season at Shaw. So, here's the final two reviews for Shaw in 2008...

Belle Moral (Court House Theatre to October 5th) ***
This play by Ann-Marie MacDonald was first mounted at the Shaw Festival in 2005; so it is rather odd they would program it again so soon, especially given the fact it is not all that well known. Having said that, even with many of the original cast members back, the production has aged rather well and seems a little more satisfying than the first time out. The new cast members add a new dimension to the production, and that also makes it a worthwhile visit this season. That fact appears to be missed by the lack of patrons at the performance I attended on a recent Saturday evening: the theatre was barely half-full, and the Court House Theatre is very small. Anyway, those of us who have or will go, will largely enjoy the visit. I found the first act to be hard to get into, largely due to the thick Scottish brogues you can almost cut with a knife. The second act, however, is much better and brings the storyline more into focus for a lot of people. Director Alisa Palmer has done a nice job the second time around capturing the loneliness of the Scottish estate that bears the title of the play; the actors themselves rise to the occasion with generally solid performances. Standouts include Martin Happer as The Jackal and Wee Farleigh; Donna Belleville as Flora MacIsaac and Jeff Meadows as the slightly mad Victor MacIsaac. Most especially, Fiona Byrne is very good as strong willed Pearl MacIsaac, who refuses the hand of Dr. Seamus Reid in marriage and accepts the will of her father that she would inherit the estate providing she does not bear a child. Peter Hutt as Dr. Reid is good, but I wondered if he was really right for the role. Overall, it is a good production, but I would give it an advised three stars; don't make this your only show at Shaw this season.

Follies: In Concert (Festival Theatre to October 4th) ***
Ah, the pleasures of Stephen Sondheim! We are enriched with two Sondheim musicals at Shaw this season: earlier I wrote of A Little Night Music, which is packing them in at the Court House Theatre this season. At the much larger Festival Theatre, meantime, you only have three more chances to catch Follies: In Concert; there are only four performances scheduled for the season, and last Friday was the first of them. The full-scale musical Follies opened on Broadway in 1971, with almost fifty performers in the cast. It ran for over 5oo performances, but has not been restaged since. In 1985, Herbert Ross directed the scaled back In Concert version we see here: it is still large by today's standards, utilizing pretty much every musically-inclined actor in the Shaw Festival ensemble. Some have larger roles, and others have relatively small roles, given their stature within the company. Yet, everyone makes the most of their time on stage and there are several standout performances to savour. Of special interest are small parts with big numbers: Goldie Semple as Carlotta singing I'm Still Here and Gabrielle Jones as Hattie singing Broadway Baby both manage to bring the house down. The four main protagonists are two couples with a linked past, as they have wandered from the marriage vows they took years ago and here remember both the good times and the bad. Melanie Janzen as Phyllis and George Masswohl as Ben eventually reunite at the end, as do Jay Turvey as Buddy and Glynis Ranney as Sally. But the winding route that brings them to that conclusion is what makes up much of the plot line here. Essentially, a reunion of performers from the past brings out affection in many and opens up old wounds in others. The full band on stage is great to see and hear, and they perform without an intermission for almost two hours. There are only three performances left for this season and after that who knows when we'll get another chance to savour this rare vintage Sondheim. If you have the time, take this one in. You won't regret it.

September 3rd, 2008.