The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake has a long history of producing uproarious farces over the years, many of which I have enjoyed mightily. I was eager to return to Shaw this season to catch director Eda Holmes' take on the classic 1922 farce Tons of Money, written by Will Evans and Valentine, otherwise known as Archibald Thomas Pechey.
This is the second time Shaw has produced the farce; the first time was Derek Goldby's 1981 production starring master farceur Heath Lamberts. That was the year I moved to Niagara for the final stage of my radio career so alas, I missed that production.
Lamberts owned farce at Shaw for 12 seasons, including the immensely successful 1985 production of One For the Pot. His comic timing and knack for wringing every last laugh out of most any situation kept the seats filled at the Festival every season he appeared.
Alas, this current iteration of Tons of Money, though laudable on many levels, misses the mark when it comes to uncontrollable laughter, which would never happen with Lamberts leading the cast. I smiled, I enjoyed, but frankly didn't laugh uproariously once. Neither did most in the audience at the performance I attended.
Director Holmes in her Director's Notes references a magnificent 1899 silent film found on YouTube featuring author Will Evans called "The Musical Eccentric". In it, Evans performs acrobatics with nothing but a chair, and it is breathtaking to watch. She appears to take her cue from this silent short in directing this production as it is indeed physically demanding and at times borders on over the top antics by the actors.
It takes a talented cast to pull off a play such as Tons of Money and make it truly hilarious, and the cast here is uniformly first-rate. They give it their all but somehow, there are times the laughs seem hard to come by.
The story centres around failed inventor and debt-ridden aristocrat Aubrey Henry Arlington and his scheming wife Louise. Deeply in debt, they discover Aubrey is in line for a sizeable inheritance but darn it all, even that won't cover all their debts. What to do? Wife Louise devises a scheme to have Aubrey fake his own death, thus wiping out his debts, and then come back as the next in line for the inheritance, cousin Henery from Mexico.
In theory, good plan. In reality, not so much. As the Mexican cousin Aubrey has to face Henery's wife, who now realizes he is not dead and in fact all of a sudden quite wealthy. Hmmm....Louise decides Aubrey must die again and come back this time as a parson. But does that solve their problems? This is a farce after all so I won't give away the ending, but suffice it to say much merriment ensures. Just not uproarious merriment.
As Aubrey Arlington Shaw stalwart funnyman Mike Nadajewski flips, flops and generally cavorts about the stage with wild abandon, much like Will Evans did with the chair in the silent film. He is always fun to watch and his timing is spot on. His wife, Louise, played by Julia Course, is a good foil for his acrobatics all the while showing she is adept at getting a laugh regularly.
The rest of the cast is equally talented, especially Shaw veterans Graeme Somerville as the conniving butler Sprules and Marla McLean as the maid Simpson. Andre Morin makes a memorable turn as the real Henery and Cosette Derome filled in admirably as his wife Jean Everard at the performance I attended.
This is the final season for the venerable Royal George Theatre, as at the end of the year work supposedly will begin on a new, slightly larger and much more accessible theatre in its place if all goes according to plan. But in this cosy space the play is beautifully staged and dressed by Judith Bowden, who designed the sets and costumes.
This will not be the best show at the Shaw Festival this season, nor is it the best farce they have ever presented. But if you have the time and the means to add an extra show to your visit, this one will be a good one to catch. Just be mindful it is a farce that could be just a little bit more.
Tons of Money runs at the Royal George until October 5th and rates a respectable three out of four stars.
For tickets and more information, go to www.shawfest.com.
Enjoy your holiday weekend in Niagara!
August 4th, 2025.
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