Wait Until Dark at the Shaw Festival worth waiting for

 My last show of the season at this year's Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake was well worth the wait...the classic thriller "Wait Until Dark".  

I knew of the play and later the movie of course.  Frederick Knott's play hit broadway in 1966 and met with great success.  The 1967 film that followed was a classic, starring Audrey Hepburn as Susy and Alan Arkin as Harry Roat, Jr.  Oddly enough, I had never seen either the play nor the movie before attending the current production at Shaw; I was most familiar with the movie soundtrack provided by Henry Mancini.  Well I am a musical person after all!

Perhaps not seeing an earlier production of "Wait Until Dark" is not a bad thing, really, as I went in as a virgin, as it were, and let it work its magic on me for the very first time.  And that it did.  

The original by Knott was updated by Jeffrey Hatcher in 2013 and the play was moved from the Greenwich Village of the 60s all the way back to the 40s, and to my eyes it just seems to work better.  We see characters right at home in a 40s-era thriller and not one of them seems out of place.

"Wait Until Dark" involves Susan, a blind woman who lost her vision a few years earlier in an accident and managing to make her way in the world that has totally changed for her.  At this moment in time however, her husband is out of town after the two of them acquired a musical doll for some reason.  But the doll is more than just musical.  There is something valuable inside.

Enter a bunch of thugs who figure it will be easy pickings getting the doll and the enclosed valuables back from Susan while she's alone.  She's blind after all...but...she is far from helpless.  We meet Carlino, posing as a hard-nosed detective, played by Martin Happer.  He is working with Roat, played by Bruce Horak, and returning serviceman Mike, supposedly an old friend of husband Sam, played by Kristopher Bowman.

Susan has no reason to suspect Carlino nor Mike are anything other than what they say they are, but over the course of the play she starts to figure it out and realizes her life is in real danger.  It is then her steely resolve takes over and she has to outsmart them.  This she undertakes with the help of the only true friend she has at the moment, a prostitute and neighbour in the apartment building, Gloria, played by Eponine Lee.

The first act is rather long, building up to the pivotal second act which is played out in darkness but not completely due to theatre lighting.  It is then Susan is no longer the only one with a visual disadvantage and she makes it work for her with her heightened senses due to her lack of eyesight.

Director Sanjay Talwar keeps the tension building throughout and has an excellent cast at his disposal.  As Susan, Sochi Fried is both sweet and trusting until she can't afford to be; her performance is outstanding.  Happer is just seedy enough to fit the bill of a 40s-era hard-nosed detective to a "T".  

Bruce Horak as Roat, in several guises throughout the play, is fascinating to watch, especially when we realize in real life Horak is himself visually impaired.  Yet he navigates the stage with little problem throughout the play.

As Gloria, Eponine Lee is cocky, smart-ass and just enough help for Susan when she needs to be.  This is a finely drawn characterization.  Towards the end of the play we finally meet Susan's husband Sam, played by J.J. Gerber, as he returns home from his trip just in time.

The stage set is spare with a very long staircase indicating this is a basement apartment, but because of the huge space on the Festival stage, a rather large one.  But if I have one real complaint about the set it is the apartment door at the top of the stairs.  It sounds like nothing more than a closet door, when it should sound heftier and look more secure given this is Greenwich Village after all.  But that's a minor quibble.

Sure the play is showing its age a little bit, even with Hatcher's updating in 2013, but with the right cast and direction as we have in this Shaw production, "Wait Until Dark" still packs an emotional punch for today's audiences.  

"Wait Until Dark" runs at the Festival Theatre until October 5th and rates a strong three out of four stars.  For tickets and information go to www.shawfest.com.

Enjoy your week!

August 12th, 2025.

Tons of Money at Shaw Festival...Funny Money?!

 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.

Anything Goes at Shaw Festival a runaway hit this season

 If ever there were a musical any theatre company anywhere in the world could bank on to fill seats and then send the patrons home afterwards in a great mood, Cole Porter's classic "Anything Goes" has to be it.  Ever since the musical first opened on Broadway in 1934 after a brief tryout in Boston, this musical has packed houses the world over, and with good reason.

First and foremost, this is Cole Porter, a master craftsman of both music and lyrics, at the absolute peak of his craft.  One has only to look at the list of songs that are readily identifiable in their own right besides their inclusion in the show:  the title song of course, along with "I Get a Kick Out of You", "You're the Top", "Easy to Love", "Friendship", and "It's De-lovely"all leading the pack and classics all.

After Porter's infamous and tragic fall from a horse at a party, with the horse rolling and crushing his legs, his musical output dwindled over time, but the quality never did.  This pre-fall musical romp ranks amongst his finest stage works.

All that music would be for naught if it were not for an exceptional cast and intelligent, sure direction and choreography, and this current offering at the Shaw Festival in NOTL has it all...in spades.  Shaw stalwart Kimberley Rampersad takes on the dual role of director and choreographer in this production and knows clearly what she wants.  She gets it too, from a cast about as talented as they come, either here in NOTL or anywhere.

Rampersad brings out the best in the cast and presents finely drawn characterizations right across the board, even in areas where in other productions certain characters might well suffer by comparison.  No doubt she had the pick of the litter, as it were when it came to casting this show.  But it helps of course the talent pool is so strong.

Jeff Irving is spectacular in the pivotal role of Billy Crocker, who has not lost his love for his one-time girlfriend, Hope Harcourt, played here with great feeling by Celeste Catena.  Wouldn't you know he finds his way onto the same ship for a voyage with Hope and her very refined mother, Evangeline, who hopes dear Hope will find true love not with part-time young and dashing Crocker but with the wealthy and well-connected Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, who is also on board.

Then there's Michael Therriault as Public Enemy No. 13...Moonface Martin.  A small time gangster, he makes it onto the ship as a minister.  He makes the most of his time on stage, as he almost always does.

Yes there are mistaken identities and some hurt feelings ensue but in the end, Billy gets his girl.  But what of the Lord, played with a lot of style by Allan Louis?  Well he finds he has more than a passing interest in firecracker former evangelist-turned-entertainer Reno Sweeney, played by Mary Antonini, who initially had her eye on Billy as well.  In the end, couples get paired off correctly and Mama Harcourt seems to accept the unexpected turn of events with her usual grace and refinement.

Musically and stylistically, the show hits the mark on almost all counts.  The pit band is sharp, the dancing throughout the show is spot on, especially in the bring-the-house-down finale to the first act, and there is really not much to find fault with here at all.

Design wise the set is aboard ship, as it were, but I think a little more colour in the depiction of the ship might have added to the uplifting tone of the whole show.  But it's a minor quibble; overall this is one strong show and a guaranteed winner at the Shaw Festival this season.

If you see only one show this season make it this one.  If you see several, please include this one rather than ignore it.  You will not leave the theatre disappointed!

"Anything Goes" runs at the Festival Theatre until October 4th and rates a perfect four out of four stars.  For tickets and information go to www.shawfest.com.

Enjoy your week!

July 16th, 2025.

New Year, New Me! My yearly update...

 It has been awhile since I wrote in this space but you know how it is when you retire...oh it will get done tomorrow!  But I thought I should start writing again, even if just occasionally, and begin the New Year with my annual update on me, as I have done each year since I lost Sophie in 2020.

Each year there are incremental improvements in my mental and emotional health, and I am so very glad about that.  There is no set time for a person to recover from a devastating loss; each person heals at a different pace.  For me it has been perhaps slower than most but this is what works for me.  I know others might be ready to move on much quicker, but for me I needed more time to get over the heartache of my loss and feel optimistic again about the future.

I started to feel significant movement back in 2022 but this year, the start of 2025, I feel I am pretty much back to my old self again.  That in no way minimizes the loss nor does it indicate all is in the past now.  When you lose a spouse, child, parent, even a beloved pet, you can't just go on without working it through your system, and that takes time.  I know some might appear to be fine in no time, but I can assure you inside, the ache in the heart remains and may in fact never go away.

I have resolved this year to live my best life possible as that is what Sophie would want me to do,  Granted, I am sure she would have wanted me to get to that point much sooner but as I say each person recovers at their own pace.  For me five years seems just about right.

I am enjoying life again, smiling more, laughing much more and generally feeling pretty good about the future.  That is the goal in your recovery and I feel I have now arrived at that point.  But don't think for a moment I don't think of Sophie every day, stop dead in my tracks and think of something we shared together when I see something that reminds me of a particular memory.  But that does not mean I cannot live a full, happy and fulfilling life.  I believe I can and I'm proving it each and every day.  I want Sophie to be proud of me and what I have achieved.

Losing a close family member, particularly a spouse or partner, is quite frankly devastating.  For me it has been the hardest thing I have ever had to go through.  I have lost close friends, senior family members including both parents, and of course a myriad of beloved pets.  But nothing comes close to the loss one feels from the loss of a life partner.

I found strength I didn't even know I had and I suspect others, including Sophie, didn't think I had either.  It kept me going, sustained me through my grief and pulled me out the other side with my sanity and dignity intact.  I am ready to live again as I have plenty to live for.

So what does the future hold?  I really don't know.  More travel I hope, although last year and likely again this year I will be limited to shorter trips within my own province of Ontario as I have two pets with special needs and I need to provide the best care I possibly can for both of them as long as they are with me.  They are my last living connection to Sophie and I feel I owe them that as they helped me get to where I am now in my recovery.

I will continue to reimagine my home with my vision while always honouring the vision Sophie brought to our home.  I have no intention to move until I must.  This home holds so many memories for me and I know I am not living in this house alone even now.

I will continue to live as well as I can within the confines of my senior's income of course, but I have no doubt I will make my retirement as grand as it can possibly be. After all I have to do this for both of us now.

Will I love again?  I really don't know at this point.  I started dating off and on back in 2022 and each and every opportunity resulted in heartache and hurt feelings on my part.  I don't regret a single one of my dating experiences, but I am not exaggerating when I say I could write a book at this point and it could very well be listed in the "believe it or not" section of your local library.  Suffice it to say I had no idea dating at this stage of my life could be so difficult and awkward for both parties.

I am still relatively young and blessed with good health, no debt and no other commitments so a new romance is certainly not out of the question.  But you know what?  I am comfortable in my own skin, confident in my ability to live a good life on my own that if it doesn't happen, I am fine with that.  The difference is between wanting someone new in your life and needing someone new.  I am fine on my own thanks, but always open to new experiences.  As I often say, I am ready of my next big adventure.

So there you go.  I am fine and happy to be who and where I am at this point.  I have made some resolutions for the New Year, mostly related go how I move forward this year.  I want to present myself always in the best way possible, so I plan to dress as well as I can while in public and make sure I am in all ways a true gentleman.  But I also plan to have fun, and just yesterday I acquired new eyeglasses that give me a much bolder look.  I want that, and I feel it is just the beginning.

I am ready for my close-up, Mr. De Mille...let's make this next chapter of my life all that it can be.

Happy New Year and have a great weekend!

January 4th, 2025.

Foster Festival chooses not to simply "mail it in"...

 Back in July I was contacted by my old business contact and friend Emily Oriold about their upcoming World Premiere of Norm Foster's play "Whit's End", now onstage until August 4th at the Mandeville Theatre on the grounds of Ridley College.

She wanted to know if I, as a now-retired employee of Canada Post, could scare up an old letter-carrier satchel for the play?  They just needed it as a prop as the central character, Whit, played by Peter Krantz, has just retired as a Canada Post letter carrier.  I pulled some strings (not hard to do with all the good friends and contacts I still have down at the depot) and voila!  I produced a suitably battered satchel for the show.

Emily offered me tickets to the show as thanks and I was happy to take her up on the offer.  I have slowly begun getting back to my pre-pandemic arts participation but sadly, the Foster Festival has not seen me back yet post-pandemic, and I must say I am all the poorer for it.  Might just have to change that in the future...

I knew going in there would be some similarities between me and Peter's character, as I too, delivered the mail for awhile using the exact same satchel as featured in the show.  Seeing it in the trunk of my car again as I picked it up from the depot made me smile and brought back plenty of memories of walking the routes as long as I did.

But the character of Whit is also widowed, as I am now, but unlike me he has found love again in the form of Nikki, played by Melanie Janzen.  Lucky him, although the play deals with the many complications of introducing the new love of your life to the children of your old love of your life, and that fortunately will not be an issue for me.  As Sophie and I met late in life as it was and neither had married previously to meeting, there are no children involved should I ever face that next chapter in my life.

As for Whit, what seems like a pretty simple exercise turns out to be anything but.  He has retired, met a new love, they are moving in together, and moving to a new city and indeed province, and that is a lot for his two grown children to take in when they both visit for "the big announcement".  As is often the case in these situations, Nikki can't believe Whit hasn't even told the kids about her yet, but then, such is the great divide between men and women it seems.  

Well, one of many, actually...

The play has Norm Foster's trademark humour to soften the blow of the more serious nature of the subject matter running as an undercurrent throughout the play, although I have heard Foster's wit in somewhat sharper focus in earlier productions.  But still, he remains a master of showing a mirror up to ourselves and making us laugh at ourselves in the process.

The cast is uniformly strong here, with Krantz as mentioned in the title role of Whit being suitably gruff and a little rough around the edges.  Melanie Janzen as Nikki is all bubbly and the perfect foil for Krantz's gruffness, but she possesses a lot of knowledge that oftentimes seems lost on her new love.

The two kids, David Rowan as Steven and Caroline Toal as Erica, flesh out this foursome with good, solid performances and just the right amount of "concern" for their father and just how his life is about to change.  

The set is simple yet stylish, and director Jamie Williams sets a fine pace for the actors from the get-go.

All in all, an afternoon well-spent with like-minded souls in search of a few laughs on yet another hot summer's day.  Whit's End rates a strong three out of four stars.

The final performance is tomorrow afternoon at 2, so go to www.fosterfestival.com for tickets and more information.

Enjoy your weekend!

August 3rd, 2024.

A farcical feast at the Shaw Festival this season

 As mentioned earlier in my review of the Shaw Festival's "My Fair Lady", the big musical has a big job this season...put bums in the seats in record numbers to erase memories of last season's artistically sound yet financially troubled season.  The shortfall last season meant this season some shows had to be guaranteed winners.

"My Fair Lady" is putting bums in the seats in spades this season, and with good reason.

But offering up a laugh-a-minute supporting role this season is Richard Bean's clever yet nonsensical farce "One Man, Two Guvnors" at the Festival Theatre.  Written in 2011 and based on Carlo Goldoni's "The Servant of Two Masters", this play exemplifies the British art form, if I can call it that, of uproarious farce.  It takes an exceptional cast to pull off something this inane and make it seem worth your time, and thankfully Shaw has assembled an almost ideal cast here.

Director Chris Abraham should buy a lottery ticket considering how well he cast the lead here, hapless and hungry Francis Henshall, played by Peter Fernandes.  In need of money and well, food, Henshall enters into employment as the servant of not one but two well-off British gentlemen (and I use the term gentlemen rather loosely here) and therefore sets off a full afternoon or evening of laughs, pratfalls and mistaken identities.

Fernandes conjures up memories of another Shaw comedic luminary in a riotous British farce, Heath Lamberts in "One For The Pot" years ago.  His abilities in the fine art of physical comedy is unequalled here, as it was a generation ago with Lamberts.

It takes someone of Fernandes' calibre to rescue this romp and make you want to feel a bit of sympathy for his plight while he subjects audience members to verbal and sometimes physical abuse, in the name of low-brow comedy gold.

Supporting Fernandes is an able cast of characters, all of whom have great fun aiding and abetting him in the search for laughs.  A standout in that regard is Matt Alfano as old Alfie, the server and barman at a ritzy restaurant who is at the mercy of a recalcitrant pace-maker and his body appears to be made of rubber.

The two "guvnors" in question, Martin Happer as Stanley Stubbers and Tom Rooney as Charlie Clench, each have their own collection of idiosyncrasies and challenge poor old Henshall at every turn.  Clench also breaks the sartorial rule of not wearing braces with a belt in order to keep his suit pants up.  The anarchy!  Happer as Stubbers is a high-brow twit and plays it to the hilt.

Along with food, Henshall's other focus is on pleasing the lady he wishes to woo, winsome Dolly, played with suitable coquettishness by Kiera Sangster.

The remainder of the cast is uniformly excellent as well and the musical numbers by a skiffle band prior to the show, during and at intermission really add to the flavour of escapism in 1960s Brighton.

Is "One Man, Two Guvnors" worth your time?  So long as you check your logic at the door prior to entering the theatre, yes, it is a riotous romp.  The Shaw Festival delivers on the promise of serving up laughs by the boatload here and it is great fun.

"One Man, Two Guvnors" plays at the Festival Theatre until October 13th and rates a solid three out of four stars.

Enjoy your weekend!

July 26th, 2024.

Walking in the snow in July...in Elora

 I made my annual trek to lovely Elora this past Saturday afternoon, and in spite of a plethora of traffic on the way up there, which appears to be endemic now anywhere in Ontario during the summer of 2024, I had a delightful albeit short visit.

Sophie and I started going to Elora early on in our time together, and in fact I recall my first visit on my own goes back to about 1986 when I recall attending a recital at the Elora Mill Inn during the annual Guelph Spring Festival.  Well, that wonderful music festival is now long gone and the Elora Mill Inn, though still there, has undergone a major overhaul and looks simply grand.

There is simply something about this little corner of Ontario that has always appealed to me...the people especially, the shops, the dining establishments, and of course the scenery.  Take a walk around the Elora Gorge next time you're in the area and you'll know what I mean.

Last year was my first visit back to attend the Elora Festival since Sophie passed away and the onset of COVID, and although emotional for me, I was glad I did it.  It felt good to be back and I felt I had returned to our second home there.

This year I anticipated my return visit early on this spring, and thanks to a kind invitation from the Elora Festival, I attended one of the four Bach-themed concerts on Saturday, dubbed "Bach Day at The Festival".  The concert I chose to attend was J.S. Bach's Long Walk in the Snow, a 1:30 performance at the cosy St. John's Anglican Church in the heart of the town.  This is the home church for the Elora Singers the rest of the year as well.

This concert was more or less a follow-up to last season's performance that featured Bach's music and stories, told with great wit and wisdom by CBC Music host Tom Allen.  Last year appeared to me to be based a bit more on fact; this year it seemed a good dose of "what ifs" and "we can only surmise" peppered the narrative offered by Allen.

No matter.  As always, it was informative, entertaining and well worth our time.  Tom Allen is a master story-teller and to hear him in person rather than on the radio is always a joy.

His supporting cast of musicians were up to the task of entertaining the near capacity audience admirably, with several laughing along with the audience at some of Allen's clever lines.

There was a nice blend of updated and traditional Bach here, covering a formative period in the young composer's life as he was finding his way in the world, both musically and personally.  How much of the story-line is actually true is up to the listener of course, but the journey was an enjoyable one.

The musicians were comprised of Dylan Bell on bass, Lori Gemmell, former principal harpist with the now defunct K-W Symphony, Rebekah Wolkstein on violin and Suba Sankaran as lead vocalist,  Suba's voice and stage presence are both wonderful, and it was a joy to hear both her and her musical friends have a bit of fun with music by a master musician.

The final weekend of this year's Elora Festival is set to get underway starting tonight, with all four of the final concerts taking place at the spacious and acoustically-sound Gambrel Barn on the edge of town.  Tonight beginning at 6:30 the Elora Festival Barn Dance will be held, tomorrow night at 8 pm it will be a concert entitled Talbot:  Path of Miracles, Friday night at 7:30 will be Constantinople: A Filetta, and Saturday night at 7:30 the Festival closes with a rousing performance of Carl Orff's ever-popular Carmina Burana.

For more information and tickets, go to www.elorafestival.ca.  It should be a great closing weekend!

Thanks to everyone at the Festival for allowing me the pleasure of returning to the musical fold again this year, and here's to an even more successful 46th season next July.

Have a great weekend!

July 17th, 2024.

The 45th season of the Elora Festival set to get underway

For some, the number 45 now has a bad rap.  Unfortunately it is now forever tied to a certain bombastic U.S. Presidential candidate and as such, I rather feel badly for that pair of digits.  Who could blame them for wanting to downgrade or upgrade their stature if at all possible?!

But take heart, dear 45.  You are also associated with not one, not two, but three arts-related anniversaries of note in Ontario this year, and that is truly cause for celebration.  

Both the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound and Toronto's Elmer Iseler Singers are celebrating their 45th anniversaries this year, as well as my much-loved Elora Festival.  There.  That should put a smile on at least our version of 45's face!

Oddly enough, both the Festival of the Sound and the Elmer Iseler Singers will be joining forces with the Elora Festival for the latter's Closing Gala this season at the spacious Gambrel Barn in the village of Elora on Saturday night, July 20th.  The performance will also feature a host of Canadian classical luminaries such as Russell Braun, Leslie Fagan, Beverley Johnston and the duo piano team of Anagnoson and Kinton.  The forces come together for a suitably bombastic (coincidence?!) performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The 45th season of the Elora Festival kicks off a three-week run at various locations throughout Elora and the surrounding area this coming Friday night, July 5th., also at the Gambrel Barn, with a performance of Haydn's The Creation, an absolute masterpiece for choir and orchestra.  For the opening gala The Elora Singers will be joined by a host of soloists as well as Musicians of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.  It promises to be a wonderful kickoff to the three weeks of music-making in and around Elora.

In between there are performances for most any musical taste, with artists ranging from The King's Singers to Laila Biali.  Performances include everything from a collection of Benjamin Britten's Canticles, Hymns and Folk Songs to music by Faure, Messiaen and of course, J.S. Bach.

One of the Bach concerts will be attended by your humble scribe again this season, and I am grateful for the opportunity once again to attend.  It's at the always-welcoming St. John's Anglican Church in Elora, and is entitled J.S. Bach's Long Walk in the Snow.

CBC Music host Tom Allen leads an afternoon of music, storytelling and history that features such artists as former K-W Symphony Principal harpist Lori Gemmell, vocalist Suba Sankaran, Dylan Bell, and violinist Rebekah Wolkstein.  I attended the Bach recital that featured Tom Allen and friends last season and it was delightful on a Saturday afternoon, so I am happy to return for the encore performance again this season.

The Elora Festival has long been one of my favourite summertime music escapes in Ontario, and this year promises to be no different.  I am looking forward to good food, music and friends all coming together on Saturday afternoon, July 13th at 1:30 pm.

If you're interested in finding out more about the 2024 edition of The Elora Festival, go to their website at www.elorafestival.ca or call the box office at 1-519-846-0331.

For me there is no better way to enjoy a July day in the village of Elora.

Have a great weekend!

June 29th, 2024.

The one show to see at Shaw this season? My Fair Lady!

 The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake needed a blockbuster musical this season to offset their surprise financial setback after last season.  That sounds like an easy fix, but really it isn't.  As the sole musical on the bill this season and running straight through to December this year, this musical choice had to have legs, as it were, and be about as guaranteed a crowd-pleaser as possible.

Lerner & Loewe's classic from 1956, My Fair Lady, fit the bill perfectly.  Much as it did back in 2011 to celebrate the first 50 years of the Festival and was a huge hit back then as well.  Really, this is the sort of musical goldmine Shaw Festival revels in and can do better than most anyone else around.  So I wouldn't say it's a sure bet, but darn close to it.

The musical, coming during the golden age of big Broadway musicals, is showing its age somewhat after all these years, but it is up to the co-directors Tim Carroll and Kimberley Rampersad to elevate and move the musical forward into the 21st century and bring together a cast able to fulfil that dream.

Here on all counts, I would say it is a job well done.

I won't give away the ending for those few who may not really know the story as of yet (it is based, of course, on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion) but for many it remains problematic, especially in the 21st century.  Still, the original musical changed the ending from Shaw's original intent so in either case it presented problems.

The ending of My Fair Lady has always left me with mixed emotions, even after the stellar 2011 production here at Shaw, but we always have to remember the context of when it was written and first staged and base your observations on that historical fact when revisiting the musical now.

Having said all that, the ride to the end is about as joyful, tuneful and full of masterful performances you just can't help but love this show.  The entire cast and crew shine brightly here and they seem to know they have a box-office winner on their hands.

There's no shortage of accolades to hand out with this strong cast, from David Adams' delightfully 'cocky' Alfred P. Doolittle, Eliza's father, to Shaw veteran Sharry Flett's elegant and refined Mrs. Higgins, Henry's mother of course.  She knows the many shortcomings of her son but knows he is a good man in spite of his intractable demeanour much of the time.

But the two central characters, Eliza Doolittle and her elocution teacher Professor Henry Higgins are what make this production extra special.  Kristi Frank's Eliza is strong-willed with a desire to make more of her life than be a mere flower-girl for the rest of her life, and she sees in Higgins a way out of her squalid conditions.  Her voice shines in every number she sings.

Tom Rooney as Henry Higgins is crafty enough to know he hasn't got the pipes necessary for a full singing role here, so as many who have gone before him including the first Higgins, Rex Harrison, who originated the role on Broadway.  They make this a singing/speaking role and it just works.  But when Rooney does in fact sing, he does not disappoint.  His final scene as he longingly sings "I've Grown Accustomed to her Face" will absolutely pull at your heartstrings.  The old guy has a heart after all!

Along with a strong cast and direction the choreography by Rampersad is bang on, and Paul Sportelli's musical direction works well with the musical forces at his disposal,  I noted a bit of a sound issue in the early going as I sometimes could not hear all the ensemble voices on stage while the orchestra was in full flight but that might be rectified in future performances.

So, should you go?  Absolutely you should!  This is textbook musical done with much love and respect for the original.  It may not appear quite as splashy as the celebratory 2011 production at Shaw, but it is still one for the ages.

My Fair Lady rates a full 4 out of 4 stars and continues at the Festival Theatre through to December 22nd.  For tickets and more information go to Shawfest.com.

Have a great weekend!

June 21st, 2024.

Shaw Festival season gets underway with fun in the courtroom

 I must admit to having become a big fan of Dame Agatha Christie, the prolific writer who during a lengthy career made mystery whodunnits her calling card not only in England but throughout the world. My late wife Sophie, a big PBS fan, would always have a Poirot episode ready to go on a Saturday night it seems, and that was when the seed was planted for me.

Now that I am on my own I have even invested in a complete DVD set of the Poirot series to keep the tradition going.  Yes, I have indeed been bitten by the bug!

But I have learned over the years, as most have, you cannot take Dame Agatha too seriously, and indeed neither, it seems, did she.

This brings me to my first Shaw Festival show of the current 2024 season, the courtroom thriller Witness For The Prosecution, first published as a short story in 1925.  The stage adaptation debuted in London in 1953 and on Broadway the following year.

I can only hope audiences had their collective tongues in their collective cheeks back then as well, as Dame Agatha really has us on here in a play that simply cannot be played with a straight face.

Director Alistair Newton wisely plays this one with a knowing wink in our direction, as if to say "C'mon, let's have some good old fun..."  His actors respond accordingly with wonderful performances, sometimes campy and oftentimes barely serious.

The story is not so much a whodunnit as a whydunnit.  Most but not all the action takes place in the courtroom at the famed Old Bailey in London and the rest of the time in the prosecutor's chambers.   It is here we are introduced to the accused, Leonard Vole, played by Andrew Lawrie.  It seems he befriended a wealthy older lady and in short order she dies a violent death, but not before leaving everything she has to Vole.  

Did he do it?  That's the job of Prosecutor Mr. Myers, QC., and to Vole's defence comes eminent defence lawyer Sir Wilfrid Roberts, Q.C.  Both spar in the courtroom drama that unfolds in the middle Act, with Graeme Somerville's Myers up against Patrick Galligan's Sir Wilfrid.  These two Shaw veterans each offer up stellar performances as the action unfolds and the advantage seems to go from one camp to the other.

But you can't have a Christie mystery without the intrigue, can you?  Enter Vole's seductive and well-turned-out wife Romaine, played with just the right amount of camp by Marla McLean.  Will she defend her man, or stir the pot further?  Ah, that is the question!

Really, there is not a bad performance in the bunch, and the swift scene changes and clever set design and projections by Karyn McCallum keep this three-hour Christie classic moving and visually appealing.

The movie version from 1957 implored audience members from divulging the ending, a tradition maintained here as well in clever fashion.  No, I would never spill the proverbial beans here, but I would say the ending, however cleverly done, leaves me not so much satisfied as bemused.

You can't go wrong here at any rate:  a three-hour time-waster with fabulous performances providing a fun ride...what's not to like?

Witness For The Prosecution continues at the cozy Royal George Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake until October 13th and rates a very respectable three out of four stars.

Have a great week!

May 28th, 2024.

Celebrating Black History Month this weekend in Niagara

 February is, of course, Black History Month, and here in Niagara there have already been several observances of the month to take in, and there is another this weekend that's always been near and dear to my heart.

Several years ago, Laura Thomas, an old friend and founder of the locally-based choral group Choralis Camerata approached me to narrate a new concert they had designed for this very month.  If I remember correctly it was back around 2012 and I think it was in Niagara Falls at one of the area churches.  I returned to narrate the concert again in 2016 down in Stevensville on what I recall being a bitterly cold Sunday afternoon at the tiny church in the heart of the town.

The performances are always well attended and very entertaining, so when I was approached to narrate the concert again this season I readily agreed, even though I am officially now retired and my personal hosting opportunities are few and far between.  But always happy to be back in the so-called saddle again!

The problem this season was...where was the script?  They didn't have a copy as there had been a change of artistic directors and since it was 8 years since the last time they had done the concert, it didn't seem to be anywhere.  I checked my venerable old computer nearing retirement and found a reference to it having been saved many years ago, but somehow it became lost in the ether during the ensuing time period.

No matter.  I had plenty of time, so armed with a new set list and a set of parameters I knew I wanted to follow from my memories of previous performances, I began my research and rewrote the script from scratch.

Learning about the history of slavery in the United States as well as here in Canada is both enlightening and heartbreaking at the same time.  I find myself so often asking myself "how can we be so heartless towards our fellow man?!"  But history records time and time again that we can be.  I don't want to go into too many of the details here as some are quite frankly gut-wrenching and besides, I would humbly suggest to get the full effect of the history as well as the music that revolved around the period, you might want to come out tomorrow afternoon and attend the concert for yourself.

We held our dress rehearsal last evening at Trillium United Church at 415 Linwell Road in the north end of St. Catharines, a church I often delivered mail to during my days as a Canada Post letter carrier.  

I must say the choir is in fine fettle and primed and ready for action.

The current Artistic Director and conductor, Giancarlo Feltrin is a pleasure to work with and knows the strengths of this choir very well.  Joining the singers will be pianist Aaron Albano and Devon Fornelli will be featured on a variety of percussion instruments.

Interested?  You should be.  The concert, "Listen to the Lambs" is both educational and entertaining, and I guarantee you will be humming some of those old tunes on your way out the door tomorrow afternoon.

For more information, check out the website, www.choraliscamerata.com and to order tickets.  The concert is at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon at Trillium United Church on Linwell Road.  Hope to see you there.

Have a great weekend!

February 24th, 2024.

New Year's reflections and looking forward to 2024

 As I have done the past few years since being on my own, I thought I would give a brief update on where I am at on my road to recovery, so as the year is about to draw to a close, here we go...

Overall, the word that describes my mindset this holiday season is 'peace'.  I am at peace with myself and where I am in this world.  It has been a tough road to follow since I lost Sophie in the summer of 2020, especially as COVID continued to rage and is not done with us yet.

My first two Christmases were the worst as I was quite literally, left to grieve alone, as we could not congregate and the remainder of my small family lives quite a distance away.  So that was tough.  But last year was better as the family gathered here in the city for Christmas and although I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people, which I was simply not used to anymore, it was special and I am thankful for that.

This year I found myself on my own again and frankly, I was okay with that.  I felt I could better manage my emotions and the being alone better this year, and I did.  I was, quite simply, at peace.  I have accepted the loss of Sophie and the fact I must move on with my life and chart a new course for myself.

This past September I took a major step in my recovery by taking a tour in England I really wanted to do, and which I know in my heart Sophie wanted me to take for the both of us.  It was difficult at times, being the first international trip on my own in many years, but I was surrounded by good people and all went well, in spite of the fact I came home with COVID for the very first time.

In a sense, I viewed the trip as a signal...a signal to myself and to the world I am back, I am living my life again and I am ready to move on.  It felt good to go and I do not regret the decision one bit.  It was clearly the right move at the right time for me.

Everyone's trajectory when it comes to recovery after a loss is different: some are ready to move on sooner and others, like myself, take longer.  There is no timetable to follow on this, you simply follow your heart. It will tell you when you are ready and mine did, at exactly the right time.

So as I look forward to a New Year full of promise for all of us, what am I hoping for?  More adventures, more fun, and more valuable life experiences perhaps I have not experienced before.  That applies to all aspects of my life now and I am ready for that.

First and foremost, I am putting the failed dating disasters and relationship attempts of the past year or so in the rear view mirror.  They were all valuable life lessons for me and offer insight into just how difficult finding a second great romance can be.

I remain optimistic however, and I am totally open minded as to what form it may take.  I have learned to embrace change and be brave, be optimistic and face what life gives you with clarity and enthusiasm.  If it doesn't happen this year, perhaps next.  It doesn't matter.  I am ready whenever it happens.

In other aspects of my life, I am still reorganizing the house and simplifying my life somewhat, and redefining who and where I am in this world.  Yes, I have become a bit of a dandy now that I am retired and that is not by chance but rather by design.  I am enjoying the fun and sense of adventure (well a little bit anyway!) it brings me.  And in the process a lot of new friends too!

So for 2024 I say:  bring it on.  Let's see what happens.  Show care and concern for those around you and above all else, take care of yourself first.  I do and I feel now I am well taken care of, again, in my life.

Have a wonderful New Year celebration and embrace what the new year has to offer us.  I know I am.

Have a great weekend and Happy New Year!

December 30th, 2023.

It's that time of year again to stand during the Hallelujah Chorus...

 We're now into the Christmas season and yesterday I started listening to Christmas music and decorating the house.  I ignore those who decorate right after Halloween and especially those who leave their Christmas lights up all year...

I'm not a Grinch.  I just feel December is enough, thanks.  I dutifully take the decorations down at Epiphany and that seems just about right.

One of the grand musical traditions at this time of year is to attend a performance of a work actually written for the Easter season.  I'm speaking of course of Handel's celebrated oratorio Messiah.  Handel actually wrote it at a feverish pace in about three weeks and it premiered in Dublin, Ireland in the springtime as a fundraiser.  How it came to be associated with the Christmas season still appears to be a bit of a mystery, but that is what we do now.

There are far too many to list in the southern Ontario area in the month of December, including the biggest of all at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall leading up to Christmas.  So I will just touch on two of my favourites here and hopefully they will whet your appetite for explore more performances elsewhere.

Tonight the Elora Singers under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Vuorinen will present their version of the holiday classic in nearby Fergus at the larger St. Joseph's Catholic Church, rather than their usual winter home at St. John's Anglican Church in Elora.  What I like about this performance is they draw the soloists from the ranks of the choir rather than bringing in special guest soloists for the evening.  Most every singer in the choir could very well be a soloist in their own right, so this will be the night some of them will shine.

If you plan things right you can enjoy a nice afternoon and dinner in Elora at a magical time of year and then head over to nearby Fergus in time for the concert.

Tickets will be tight I'm sure but you can go online to www.elorasingers.ca or call the box office at 1-519-846-0331 to see what's available.

Closer to home, the tradition continues in Niagara with our celebrated Chorus Niagara with conductor Robert Cooper performing the oratorio in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines later in the month.  Usually they perform Messiah on a weekend but this year it will be a mid-week event, scheduled for Wednesday evening, December 13th.  Partridge Hall is their home base and I know the chorus will sound superb as usual.

I have not attended a Chorus Niagara performance of Messiah in many years now, long before they moved downtown to the PAC, so I might have to look into that this year.  But we'd better hurry as limited tickets are available by calling 905-688-0722 or go online to www.firstontariopac.ca.

Whatever performance you attend and wherever you do just remember to stand during the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus, of course...

Have a great weekend!

December 2nd, 2023.

Spamalot at Stratford Festival is lots of fun!

I only made one trip to Stratford this summer to catch a show at the Stratford Festival, and I did it in late September after my trip to England.  For me it was a wise decision; I try to avoid big crowds nowadays since COVID and especially since I caught it upon my return from my trip in September.

When deciding on a show to attend this year I opted for funny above all else.  I promised myself this would be a summer of fun, or as I put it at the beginning the Summer of Mike.  I wanted to put the past heartaches behind me and just have a fun summer by myself.  By all accounts, it was a success!

Monty Python's Spamalot is the brainchild of Python alumnus Eric Idle, who wrote the score with long-time musical collaborator John Du Prez.  Together, they have woven new material mixed with Python classics, such as "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from "Life of Brian'.  It's witty, wacky, nonsensical and brilliant.

Now having said that, I am at a loss to say much about the musical itself, as I must admit I have never been a huge Monty Python fan to begin with.  Oh there have been pockets of their comedy I have enjoyed but most of the time, it just seems too far off the mark for my particular tastes.  That, of course, is intentional, as this is clearly a farce in every sense of the word and in its purest form.  That can be an acquired taste, I admit.

I have nothing but admiration for the cast and crew, their sense of timing and comic acumen.  They are all brilliant.  Still, there were times I just sat there and said to myself, "why?!"  But maybe that's just me.

In a nutshell, Spamalot is a comic send-up of the classic Camelot tale, with King Arthur in search at first for candidates to become Knights of the Round Table, and together they are sent looking for the Holy Grail.  Along the way they encounter an evil bunny rabbit and a bunch of sarcastic French soldiers who toss stuffed cattle from the castle ramparts.

They also encounter the enchanting Lady of the Lake, performed with great zest by Kimberly-Ann Truong.  She thrills the assembled multitude in the dark and expensive forest as well as the audience with both her voice and her stage presence.  Yet in much of the second act, where is she?!  That's when she bursts upon the scene again with the fun number "Whatever Happened to My Part"?, otherwise known as "The Diva's Lament".

All of this nonsense seems to at times be lost on King Arthur himself, played by Jonathan Goad, although he knows a good Lady of the Lake when he sees one...

From top to bottom the rest of the cast is all exceptional as well and even though the set design looks rather low-rent, it is intentional and it all works admirably well.  Director Lezlie Wade and Music Director Laura Burton mine the musical for every ounce of fun, as does Choreographer Jesse Robb.

I would not recommend only seeing Spamalot this year if you can get to more show than one, but if like me you just do the one trip, you will not be disappointed.  But perhaps, like me, you might scratch your head from time to time if you're not a die-hard Monty Python fan, as most in the audience clearly were the day I attended recently.

Spamalot rates a strong 3 out of 4 stars and continues at the Avon Theatre downtown until November 18th.  For tickets and information go to www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Have a great weekend!

October 21st, 2023.

Hello again London, it was good to see you again...

 I returned late last Sunday night from a week-long visit to the U.K., my first visit back since Sophie and I made our Trip of a Lifetime together in August of 2018.  After living through a pandemic and loss of Sophie three years ago, I decided it was time to revisit one of my favourite parts of the world, so that's what I will be writing about here this week.

As great as the trip was and as careful as I tried to be, I did get caught by the COVID bug upon my return, and I continue to spend my days quietly at home as I recover.  My symptoms have not been huge, but certainly of great concern to me and not to be taken lightly.  But I am working through it and although it did not please me, I do not regret for a moment taking the plunge and going on this trip.

Initially I planned to wait until next year to do any international travel, but when our local PBS station, WNED in Buffalo, started advertising a tour of England back in the spring, I was torn.  The tour was through Transcendent Travel based out of New York City, and they were the operators of the tour Sophie and I took in 2018 and it was exceptional.  So I had no qualms about that aspect of it, even though they are not inexpensive.

I was concerned due to COVID primarily, but also because I knew for me this would be my first trip alone internationally since the loss, so for me this would be hard one and rather emotional.  It was, but I knew in my heart I had to do this.

Upon reflection back in the spring I thought it over and realized Sophie, if she were still alive, would be all over this tour just as she was the last time.  And I felt I had to do it for her as much as for me.  Really, she would have wanted me to do this.  But more than that, it was going to be a major stepping stone for me on my road to recovery.  I needed to prove to myself, and everyone else, I was ready for this next big step.

So plans were laid out, the trip was paid for in advance and then the anticipation...and the butterflies...grew.  I admit to being nervous and anxious more than once in the months leading up to the trip but I managed to keep those emotions in check as I went out making sure everything was organized before I left the house.

Everyone I discussed this with, including my friends, financial advisor and even my doctor, encouraged me to do it and felt the time was right after three years of difficulty.  I just had to convince myself...

The tour, entitled "All Creatures: a Television Focused Tour of England" began and ended in London.  I flew out of Toronto on the Saturday night of Labour Day Weekend, arriving in London around noon Sunday their time.  Tired but undaunted, I took the Heathrow Express train into central London as I searched out my hotel, The Clermont next to Victoria Station.

As is the case with all hotels on Transcendent tours, they are all exceptional and usually five-star rated.  I arrived a day early in order to rest a bit before the tour gathered and got underway on Monday afternoon.  Walking on Sunday evening and again Monday morning through London prior to the tour, I noted traffic is still about as awful as I remember it being in the past, but I noted also you see far more high-end cars on the roads than anything else:  lots of big BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and of course, Rolls Royces and Bentleys.

It turns out those folks are the only ones who can afford to drive into central London now.  The city of about 8-million is so busy now a few years ago a daily levy was imposed on those drivers who still choose to drive into the city, assuming they can even find a place to park, which is no easy task.  So now, all drivers entering central London pay a fee of 25 pounds per DAY to enter, and if your vehicle is not EV or otherwise assisted by hybrid power, you pay a further surcharge of 12 pounds a day.  With the going exchange rate on the British pound, that would amount to over 60 dollars each and every day you make the drive, over and above parking charges and of course, petrol.  Gas prices when I was there was set at about 1.51 or so a litre.  But that's also pounds, so roughly $3 a litre to gas up your thirsty vehicle in order to sit in bumper to bumper traffic.  Yikes!

When you move out of central London you notice due to space limitations and the cost, most people who drive cars own tiny little vehicles, and many of them are not available here.  Also, many more there are EV than here in North America.  Even many of the city buses, even the iconic double-deckers, are all-electric now too.  It's the way of the future, folks, whether you like it or not...

Incidentally, cycling lanes are everywhere and everyone is on bikes in London as you can imagine.  You have to be on your guard of course, as the traffic is on the opposite side of the road than what we are used to here, and drivers over there are very much aware of that fact.  But to their credit, everyone, drivers and pedestrians included, are unfailingly polite and helpful giving directions or gently reminding you to 'look left'.  Many thanked us for coming.  Imagine that!  Try getting that in say, Toronto perhaps?!

The tour took us to Cambridge, York and back again to London before departing on Sunday morning, with plenty of stops every day for sightseeing and walking tours.  I won't go into all the details here, as I have been posting lots of pictures to my Facebook page every day this week, with more to come.

But suffice it to say the food, accommodations and tour attractions were all first class and made every one of us feel very special indeed.  Everyone else on the tour was a PBS supporter as you would expect, so there were lots of stops relating to favourite PBS shows, such as "Call the Midwife", "Grantchester" and most importantly, "All Creatures Great & Small".  That was the part of the tour I most looked forward to and I know Sophie would have as well.

Touring the Yorkshire Dales is simply breathtaking but getting a good picture is difficult as there are not many places to stop on those narrow country roads the English are famous four.  We did make a few stops but really, the pictures I did get don't do the Dales justice.  You simply have to see it to believe it for yourself.

A highlight for me was visiting the James Herriot museum in Thirsk, which is the original home and veterinary clinic for the fabled writer and vet so many years ago.  We were also fortunate enough to have a visit and chat with Harriot's daughter Rose, now a retired medical doctor and still looking good at 76 years of age.

Shopping?  Oh I did manage some of that too.  Lots of food-related items I found along the way and my usual haberdashery finds too.  Socks, a navy blue bowler hat and an exquisite handcrafted brass and wood walking stick from the Yorkshire Dales that just simply took my breath away.  It will always be with me and a constant reminder of a special day in a special place for me...and for Sophie.

So, now back to the routine here at home and continuing my recovery from COVID.  I loved the trip but in all honesty, it is good to be home again.  And the cats missed me!

What more could you ask?!

Have a great weekend!

September 16th, 2023.

Shaw Festival production of Blithe Spirit is spirited fun

I can't remember the 19th-century couple's names I read about quite some time ago but the story has stayed with me.  The wife dies at a relatively early age but just before she goes, she warns her husband he had better find a new wife within the first year of her passing or she will come back to haunt him.  Apparently a true story!

I thought about that story while making my selections for reviewing at this season's Shaw Festival, and how it resonated somewhat with me in my own personal situation.  Mind you, it's been three years now so the one year limit has long since expired.

That said, Elvira in Noel Coward's play "Blithe Spirit" has also expired, and indeed has come back to haunt her husband, Charles.  In this case, wife number one seems not too impressed with wife number two.

This may not be Sir Noel's strongest play, but his work has received plenty of exposure at the Shaw Festival going as far back as 1984's storied production of Private Lives with Fiona Reid and former Shaw Artistic Director, Christopher Newton.  That production still ranks as one of my favourite evenings at Shaw over the years.

The Festival knows how to serve up a Coward play and this time is no exception:  it's stylish, witty and is blessed with a very strong cast.  Even though the plot is rather thin when spread over three hours, it mattered little to the audience at the performance I attended.

Written during the Second World War when humour was hard to come by, "Blithe Spirit" premiered in London in 1941 and proved to be just the tonic a weary public needed, even though Coward took a rather lighthearted look at the subject of death.  He basically says "What if your spouse were to come back and continue to annoy you"?!  What indeed...

The story opens with newly-remarried Charles Condomine and second wife Ruth relaxing in their spacious and stylish country house.  We learn friends are coming over and with them, Charles has invited a local medium to join them over the course of the evening to conduct a seance.  Ruth is understandably uncomfortable with Charles suggestion the medium, Madame Arcati, try to reach out to his first wife, Elvira.

Its all a big joke and much frivolity ensues until the joke is on Charles and Elvira actually appears.  Not to anyone else in the room but to him.  And she sticks around, too.  Charles now has two wives to contend with and Elvira and Charles pick up where they left off with their witty bickering.  And Ruth?  She can't see Elvira but does her best to accommodate the unwelcome spirit into their home.

As mentioned the cast is uniformly strong here, with Damien Atkins' Charles a good foil for the returning spirit of Elvira, played by Julia Course.  Donna Soares' Ruth is nicely drawn, but one has to wonder what the attraction was for Charles after we are introduced to Elvira.  

The visiting guests that evening are Dr. Bradman and his wife, played by David Adams and Jenny L. Wright.  Though good, the two roles are only incidental to the overall story, really.  It's Deborah Hay as Madame Arcati who gets the most laughs with her exceptional portrayal of a more-than-eccentric English medium, offering up such clever lines as "Time is the reef upon which all our frail mystic ships are wrecked."

The set is done almost entirely in different shades of green and even Elvira is green from head to toe, even including her makeup.  Not sure why green was chosen but it is effective.  Many of the costumes are reflective of the well-to-do characters we meet, with both Charles and Dr. Bradmon looking exceptionally glitzy.  It's one of the few times I can remember the men's costumes being more dazzling than the women's.

Sets and costumes are by James Lavoie, incidentally, and the atmospheric lighting is by Kevin Lamotte.  The play is directed by Mike Payette.

Blithe Spirit is perhaps not the strongest show at Shaw this season but it is a very enjoyable ride, and rates a very good three out of four stars.  It plays at the Festival Theatre until October 8th.

For tickets and more information go to www.shawfest.com.

Have a great weekend!

August 24th, 2023.

Three Years...a recovery update

 It has been awhile since I updated you on my progress as I continue my recovery from the loss of Sophie in 2020, so three years in earlier this month, I felt it was time to get this done.

Overall, things have gone well and really for the most part, according to plan.  I was told early and often everyone is different and each person sets a different timetable that works for them. as I have done.  I knew recovery would not be quick, nor painless, and perhaps for me the journey has taken longer than expected.

It was certainly complicated by the pandemic as I was totally alone for the better part of two years save for an occasional visit when conditions allowed.  Even two Christmases were spent totally on my own, which was hard.

On the third anniversary of Sophie's passing earlier this month, I didn't quite know what to expect.  But what happened rather surprised me:  I was largely at peace with myself and where I was at this stage of the journey.  It was less emotional than previous years by a wide margin and I took that as a positive sign.  I felt finally my heart was coming to terms with the loss and I am indeed starting to move on.

But last week, I was surprised again.  On the anniversary of the visitation, which was exactly a week after she passed, I felt much more emotional and reflective and that quite frankly caught me off guard.  Was I relapsing?  I really don't think so; perhaps it was just my heart catching up to my head, in a way.  It was not too bad but the ache in my heart was still palpable.

I have since come to the conclusion that ache will likely always be there.  No matter what happens in my life in the coming months and years, as much as I focus on moving forward with my life, I will continue to honour and reflect on the past.  I am not sure if that is always the case, but I sense due to the quickness of Sophie's illness and how relatively young she was at the time, it may never be fully resolved in my heart.

That's perhaps not a bad thing either.  I have always believed you learn from your mistakes and when the opportunity comes up to try again, you are older, wiser, richer in compassion and understanding, and willing to try even harder to achieve what I have come to refer to as my "happily ever after."  The ache that remains in my heart to this very day serves as a reminder how richly blessed I was for almost 20 years with Sophie and how wonderful life can be again should love find me once more.

And to be honest, I want that.  I will honour the past but I refuse to live in it.  What we had was beautiful; there is no reason in the world the next time cannot be just as beautiful if not more so.  All that stands in the way is a reluctance to move forward with your life and grab the opportunity when it knocks on your door.  Or perhaps when you do the knocking...

Having said that, I will be careful.  The past year or so I have dipped my toes into the tepid waters of the senior dating world, and I wish I could say the results were promising but unfortunately, they were not.  Oh, there was a tremendous amount of happiness shared in both cases initially, but I guess I had not taken into account the fact not everyone is as ready to also move on from the past and look to the future as perhaps I have been.

Let's be clear though.  I have nothing but good memories about both special experiences I had and will always feel that way.  I have tremendous respect for both individuals for taking a chance on love with me as I know full well how difficult that level of trust can be to achieve.  Both experiences were also valuable learning tools for me going forward and perhaps, it will be third time lucky for me.  We'll see.

But if, and this is indeed a possibility I am prepared for, I end up living the remainder of my life alone, I am fine with that too.  I met Sophie when I was 44 so I had plenty of experience with living on my own and I am quite prepared to do that again.  Will I worry about it?  No, not at all.  Whatever will be will be, and I will make the best of my life no matter what unfolds in the future, or with whom.

The important thing now is to focus on living my best life, which I am concentrating on doing this summer and I know that is what Sophie would want for me.  I am blessed with good health, financial independence and a love of life, so the future is bright no matter how things play out.  A friend once said my Dad raised retirement to a fine art, and I intend to do the same!

I have taken baby steps in getting back out into the stream of things, as well as some larger ones, such as a return trip to Ottawa for my birthday back in June.  I have another even bigger adventure coming up later this year and I will write about that when I return, you can be sure.

Right now I am concentrating on day trips and making new memories in some familiar places I want to return to, and that will continue off and on as time permits.  There are so many great memories I will never forget and mixing those with the new seems to be a remedy I need right now to help me move forward in a positive spirit.

Before I go, I would be remiss if I did not offer sincere and heartfelt thanks to all the friends, colleagues and acquaintances who have reached out these past three years to check up on and help support me.  Your help is invaluable and I hope you all know that.  No man is an island and that has been proven to me time and time again over the years.

A special mention of gratitude must go out to those I refer to as "Sophie's Angels"...her close circle of friends who all helped with her final weeks and afterwards, have all been there for me as well.  So in no particular order, I offer thanks to Kathy Brophy, Norma Chan, Denise & George Papaiz, Mary Kudreikis, Sheila Krekorian & Joe Skura, and Lisa Raham.  If I have forgotten anyone please forgive me, but your considerable efforts towards both of us cannot be overstated or appreciated enough.  Thank you all.

So, onwards and upwards I say.  Fasten your seatbelts...the best is yet to come.  I am ready for my next great adventure!

Have a great week!

August 16th, 2023.

Bed & Breakfast a fun tour-de-force show

 I used to go to a lot of summer theatre in my earlier days covering the arts, going as far as the Red Barn Theatre up at Jackson's Point or down to the Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover.  It's always a very casual setting with minimal sets and costumes, but the entertainment is almost always fun and entertaining.

I thought this summer, since I was trying to do more fun things as I start to feel a little more normal now, I should try a summer theatre outing again and have some fun.  So yesterday, spur-of-the-moment, I booked a ticket to the afternoon matinee performance of the Lighthouse Festival Theatre's current offering in Port Colborne, Mark Crawford's Bed & Breakfast.

The old Showboat Festival Theatre was taken over a few seasons back by Lighthouse, which now uses both Port Dover & Port Colborne locations to showcase their annual summer theatre lineup.  While one show plays in Port Dover, the previous show moves on to Port Colborne.  It's a clever way to get more mileage out of a production and reach a larger audience.

The current show in Port Colborne closes tomorrow, so you only have performances this evening and again tomorrow afternoon to choose from, but the show is well worth your time should you choose to do as I did and act spur-of-the-moment.

Playwright Mark Crawford has crafted a fine & funny play about opening a Bed & Breakfast in a small Ontario town, and the many, many obstacles facing those that do.  It's not as easy as it looks, and I can tell you from years of B&B stays the burnout rate for owner/operators is high.  The average lifespan of your average B&B is apparently 7 years, although some close sooner and some go much longer.  It all depends on the owner/operator really.

In addition to the usual trials and tribulations associated with a B&B, in the case of this particular play the two owners inherited the house from a late aunt and as they are gay men living in Toronto, it is more than a little bit of a culture shift for them.  And for the town they land in.

That said, the play deals with the many troubles the two face with wit, compassion and a very forthright outlook on how society deals with those who choose a so-called "alternative lifestyle."

The two men in question are Brett, played by Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski, and Drew, played by Warren Macaulay.  They can't afford to get into the real-estate market in Toronto but when the house literally falls into Brett's lap when his Aunt Margaret passes away, leaving the house to him, they explore their options together.  At first they want to sell quick, but then decide on renovations and open a B&B they run themselves.  

How difficult can it be?  Don't ask...

Unexpected delays, contractor problems and then...well, they soon realize not everyone in the community is as understanding and open-minded as the two men thought.  Coming home from a birthday party one night in November, they find the Christmas lights torn down and cut, and the wreath they fashioned for the front door destroyed.  In its place a very ugly term is painted on the door.

A little heavy for summer theatre but the two actors handle the situation with such skill they easily win over the audience at the performance I attended, and go on to open a successful business, even if they hit some more unexpected bumps in the road.

There are a myriad of characters in the play but only two actors, and although sets and costumes are at an absolute minimum, each actor performs each role with great precision and move at lightning speed at times.  I found myself in the second act trying to keep up with all the character changes they are so quick!

The play is directed by Stewart Arnott and the set is simply yet effectively designed by William Chesney.  Both provide a perfect vehicle for these two talented actors to work in, and they each grow into their respective roles as the play moves along at a brisk pace.

There's plenty of coarse language in the play but most in the audience yesterday didn't seem to mind.  I did see a couple leave at intermission, so I am not sure if it was the language or the subject matter they were not happy with, but it's their loss.

Bed & Breakfast is an absolute winner for Lighthouse Festival Theatre and you should catch one of the final two performances tonight or tomorrow afternoon if you can.  I give the show a strong three out of four stars.

The theatre is located on Fielden Avenue in the Roselawn Arts Centre complex, and there is plenty of nearby parking.

For tickets call or visit the box office at 905-834-0833 or go online for Lighthouse Festival Theatre.

Have a great weekend!

July 29th, 2023.

Shaw Festival's On The Razzle offers some dazzle-dazzle

 My second trip to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake this month took me to the cozy confines of the Royal George Theatre for Tom Stoppard's light-hearted take on 19th-century Viennese society, "On The Razzle".  Based on Johann Nestroy's "Einen Jux will er sich machen", the play is really a departure for Stoppard, known perhaps more so for more weighty offerings such as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".

Stoppard himself described "On The Razzle" as a 'lark', and in his Director's Note, Craig Hall rightly posits after three tumultuous years of the pandemic, "a bit of harmless fun sounded right up my alley".  Ours too, as we return to some semblance of normalcy in this beleaguered world we find ourselves in.

The play dates from 1981 and premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival, before moving to London's National Theatre.  That production starred Dinsdale Landen and Felicity Kendal, and those of us who loved the short-lived gardening-themed mystery series on British telly called Rosemary & Thyme will be familiar with Kendal.  I must admit to having had a 'thing' for Felicity after watching that series!

But I digress...

This new production takes a pretty brisk pace bordering on farce yet not quite achieving that breakneck speed, but it comes close.  Director Hall has harnessed considerable talent in this new production and they all perform admirably, even if some of the many, many puns and double-entendres might get missed in the mad rush of things.  There is really no let up from the send ups it seems...

The original Nestroy story also inspired The Matchmaker years ago which spawned Hello, Dolly! of course, and it probably receives a better treatment in those vehicles than in Stoppard's play, but still, this is as he reminds us, really just a lot of mindless fun; a romp, if you will.

Basically the proprietor of a successful Viennese dry-goods store, Zangler, is full of himself and not shy about showing off just a bit.  In the opening scenes we see him squeezing into a new military uniform his tailor has made for him, tactfully suggesting the tighter fit is what's popular at the time rather than stating the obvious.

That being said, this particular tailor should be bound up in his measuring tape for leaving the sleeves on the old man's jacket simply too long.  It is a small slip up in this production but one I couldn't help but notice.

Zangler also cares for a young ward, Marie, and is not too keen on the young man she has her eye on, Sonders.  From there this pretty thin plot goes from scene to scene with mistaken identities, missed opportunities and general mayhem as they all rush headlong to the final curtain.

The cast is uniformly first-rate, as is usually the case at the Shaw Festival, and it is nice to see veteran actor Ric Reid have a ball in the plum role of Zangler.  His tailor, who also shows up in lesser roles throughout the play, is Jason Cadieux.  His role is rather thankless frankly but he makes the most of his opportunities in his assortment of roles.

The two key roles belong to the two clerks who run Zangler's shop for him, and when he leaves in full ill-fitting military regalia for a parade after telling them they will soon be promoted, they promptly close up shop and celebrate.  They hit the town or, as they would say perhaps, be out "On The Razzle."

Weinberl and Christopher are the two clerks and they steal scenes between them throughout the play, trying all the while to avoid coming in contact with Zangler while on the lam.  Reliable and always clever Mike Nadajewski has great fun as Weinberl, and his young assistant Christopher is played with great affection by Kristi Frank.  She imbues the role with a waif-like quality that instantly makes her an audience favourite.

Rounding out the strong cast is Drew Plummer as the suitor Sonders and Lindsay Wu as his love interest Marie, the ward of Zangler.  Both are solid but Marie's role especially is pretty thin.

Special mention must go to another Shaw veteran Patrick Galligan, who goes over-the-top with great style as both the Coachman and the Scotsman, always eying the ladies and looking for action.  Galligan more often than not is the gentleman on stage but here, he is anything but.  I can imagine his glee when offered the role...

Sets and costumes by Christina Poddubiuk are suitably Viennese although the sets are rather sparse in order to maximize the tight space on the Royal George stage.

So even though this is all mindless fun, is it worth your time? Yes, so long as you realize this is akin to what a situation comedy TV show would have been like in the 19th-century, had there been one.  It goes nowhere fast, but the journey is more than half the fun.

"On The Razzle" continues at the Royal George Theatre until October 8th and rates a three out of four.

For tickets, contact the Shaw online at www.shawfest.com.

Have a great week!

July 24th, 2023.

Revisiting the Elora Festival

I wrote last time in this space about the 44th annual Elora Festival, which was set to get underway last weekend in the picturesque town of Elora, Ontario, and the fact I would be returning for that first weekend for a performance.  It would be my first time back after the pandemic and after the loss of Sophie in 2020.

Last Saturday I made my way up for an afternoon performance that proved to be everything I hoped it would be:  informative, entertaining and for me personally, soul-soothing.

I got away from the house not as early as I had planned, but I stopped in Guelph for a picnic in the park along the way, even though storm clouds were looming in the distance.  No matter, the concert was inside the cozy confines of St. John's Church in the heart of Elora, so I wasn't worried.  Sure enough, the rain came just as I was parking for the concert, but I packed my trusty umbrella and all went well for a short stroll on the main drag before the concert was set to begin.

I purposely chose an afternoon concert for my return visit as I only wanted a day trip for this very first visit on my own; an overnight stay at our favourite B&B might be easier to handle next year.  So I decided on a delightful recital of the music of Clara Schumann, in a program curated by Confluence Concerts' Larry Beckwith.

Entitled Clara Schumann Letters, words and music are interwoven to tell the life story of a remarkable 19th-century woman who, although well-known during her lifetime, has rather faded from the pages of history since her passing, and that is such a pity.  Clara was of course, the wife of troubled fellow composer Robert Schumann, who was somewhat older than she was.  But she was also a gifted composer in her own right and a virtuoso pianist as well.  In fact, her talents at the keyboard really helped to keep food on the table for the Schumann family, which was quite a large one by today's standards.

Clara gave birth to children that numbered dangerously close to double digits and lost one in infancy.

But it is her own compositions that were celebrated in this recital, performed alongside letters she wrote that were read from the stage by Alison Beckwith, and narration for the concert was provided by the always-informative and genial CBC Radio host Tom Allen.  Taken as a whole, the words and music provided an illuminating afternoon of music and information about her life.

The musical performers were all first rate, starting with pianist Angela Park.  She did Clara's keyboard works justice, including her "Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann, Op. 20" that closed out the first half of the concert.  Accompanying Clara's songs was pianist Christopher Bagan, and both he and Angela teamed up on a bravura performance of her "Wedding March in E-flat Major".

All the lieder was performed by talented Canadian singer Patricia O'Callaghan, who often moves from classical to contemporary music during her regular concert appearances, and here she felt perfectly at home yet again.

All in all it was a delightful afternoon of music beautifully performed in a church I look forward to returning to each and every year I attend the Festival.

This is the final weekend, and up today is a performance of choral and vocal music written by Larry Beckwith's famous father John Beckwith, performed by The Elora Singers.  That's at 1:30 this afternoon at St. John's Church in Elora.  Tonight the cavernous Gambrel Barn on the outskirts of town is the venue for The Elora Singers teaming up with singer Sarah Slean and the Art of Time Ensemble at 7:30 pm.  Everything from Brahms to Leonard Cohen is on the bill for tonight's performance.

Tomorrow for the final day of the Festival there are three performances scheduled, beginning with the New Zealand String Quartet performing music by Farr, Mozart and Shostakovich at 1:30 at St. John's in Elora; The Gryphon Trio celebrates 30 years of music-making with a performance at the Gambrel Barn at 4 pm; and the day wraps up with another concert at the Gambrel Barn entitled Music of the North, featuring music from Iceland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and of course Canada.  Performers include The Elora Singers conducted by Mark Vuorinen accompanied by Richard Burrows on vibraphone and percussion.  That final performance takes place at 7:30 pm.

If all this inventive music-making is tempting you to go, then great!  Call the box office for tickets at 1-519-846-0331 or go online at www.elorafestival.ca.  

Thanks again for the opportunity to return to the Elora Festival again this year; it was time and I was thrilled to be in the town again.

Have a great weekend!

July 15th, 2023.