This has been quite a week for your humble scribe, as I have been on vacation all week, but 'enjoying' my vacation wouldn't quite describe it. I set aside this week to finally paint the front porch on the house, which has been in dire need since last year, when the weather and my health both conspired against me getting the job done. However, this week the weather again worked against me due to the excessive heat and humidity. Today, Friday, was the best day of the week, until it rained. So, I will be going into next week before the job is done, as I get back to work. So that should be fun! The other problem I've encountered this week is my computer once again refusing to operate properly most of the time, even after being in the shop only a month ago. Basically, you try to get onto the internet and it says the computer equivalent of "You want me to do what?" Very frustrating week, indeed. All of which means I am way behind on my work on the computer because it simply isn't doing its job. Where's my typewriter...and where is the USB connection on this darn thing anyway...
So, with all that out of the way, let's head off to Shaw for a couple of exceptional offerings this season. Both run until October 9th: The Women by Clare Boothe Luce at the Festival Theatre and the lunchtime show, Half an Hour by J.M. Barrie at the Royal George Theatre. Let's begin with the Luce play at the Festival Theatre.
Director Alisa Palmer has crafted a clever interpretation of a classic tale by Clare Boothe Luce, the former editor of both Vogue and Vanity Fair who turned playwright during the Depression-era decade of the 1930s. The Women was her second effort, much more successful than her first, even though rumours abounded after the premiere that playwright George S. Kaufman had rewritten the play. He hadn't, but he did do some work on it at some point. The Women premiered in New York in December 1936 to mixed reviews. Audiences loved it: the first production ran for 657 performances, with the costumes changing each season to remain current!
To be honest, the story has become rather dated in the 21st century, but the cast assembled by Palmer for this new Shaw production rivals the 1985 production at the Court House Theatre that Luce herself attended. The sets and costumes evoke a different age, of course, with some clever design ideas: check out the women's gym in the first act - it's hilarious! Designer William Schmuck must have had a ball designing this production!
The all-female cast is very strong, and a testament to the quality of the women in the acting ensemble at Shaw this season. Standouts include Deborah Hay as Sylvia Fowler; Kelli Fox as Nancy Blake; and Jenny L. Wright as Edith Potter. Honourable mentions also go to Wendy Thatcher, Sharry Flett and Moya O'Connell.
Women especially will enjoy this production, but men, too, will learn quite a bit about what goes on in the powder rooms of the nation when the women are alone, far away from prying eyes - and ears. The Women rates a strong three out of four stars, and continues at the Festival Theatre until October 9th.
The lunchtime offering this year is J.M. Barrie's aptly-titled Half an Hour, which takes exactly half an hour to perform. Director Gina Wilkinson keeps things moving here, and the cast makes the most of the short time on stage to present a finely-crafted tale of 'what ifs' and 'if only'. Essentially, the story revolves around the well-to-do Garson family, moving about their mansion near Park Lane in what appears to be a serene existence. However, all is not as it appears. Mrs. Garson, otherwise known as Lady Lillian, played by Diana Donnelly, is trapped in a loveless marriage she cannot bear, so has turned to neighbour Hugh Paton for solace. The inevitable affair ensues, with Paton, played with great skill by Gord Rand, promising to give Lady Lillian the life she so desperately craves if she will leave the comforts of home with the blockhead Mr. Garson, played with suitable bluster by Peter Krantz. However, fate steps in at the last moment and takes Paton away from Lady Lillian, and she has to face her husband and accept the fact she has been foiled in her plan to escape the marriage she so detests.
The rest of the cast is solid in smaller roles, with Norman Browning fun to watch as Mr. Redding; Laurie Paton as his wife, Mrs. Redding; and Peter Millard as the doubting Dr. Brodie. Special mention must go to Michael Ball in the dual role of manservant Withers and simply 'A Gentleman', a role in which he describes the upcoming scenes with a great deal of dry wit.
I usually try to book the lunchtime show to coincide with a 2pm show so I make an afternoon of it at Shaw, and I would recommend you do the same. But even if no other play on the bill this season appeals to you at 2 pm, don't deprive yourself the pleasure of Barrie's short but clever play. It is half an hour you won't regret spending this summer! Half an Hour continues at the Royal George Theatre, with the curtain at 11:30 am, until October 9th. It rates a very strong three out of four stars.
August 6th, 2010.
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