HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-07-26, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2012. PAGE 19. Gangsters run the show in ‘Lonely Diner’
At the conclusion of the Blyth
Festival’s third play this season, The
Lonely Diner: Al Capone in
Euphemia Township, one could
think that its name could have been
switched with another play opening
this season.
While the show certainly features
a diner and Al Capone, it could be
called The Devil We Know as the
story was definitely one of dealing
with problems both known and
hidden.
The show officially opened on
Friday, July 20. It features Duval
Lang and Ryan Wilkie who made
their Blyth Festival debut earlier this
season as well as returning Festival
artists Haley McGee, Catherine
Fitch and Michael Spencer Davis.
While all the actors
performedwell, the characters that
who really stole the show and had
the most stage presence didn’t enter
until mid-way through or until the
end of the opening act.
Spencer Davis’ efforts to bring
Snorky, later identified as a Capone
alias, to life as well as Wilkie’s
portrayal of the often-
mispronounced Marscapone, who
serves as Capone’s right-hand man,
were among some of the best I’ve
seen at the Blyth Festival in some
time.
The play opens with Fitch as
Lucy, a mother, wife and waitress,
having a heated discussion with her
husband, Ron, played by Lang,
about the treatment of customers in
their diner while daughter Sylvia,
played by McGee, looks on.
The first part of the play, dealing
with the ins and outs of running a
business and the realities of life in
the 1920s, may seem a bit slow to
those looking for action in the
gangster-inspired piece, however it’s
a good reflection of the uneventful
life the family leads.
Excitement for Lucy and Sylvia is
looking forward to nights of reading
imported magazines about famous
Hollywood actresses and comparing
their hair now to when the last
magazines came.
Knowing that business is slow, life
is slow and, aside from the ‘engine
parts’ they sell in the barn, things are
pretty ordinary explains how the
owners of the diner get into the
situation they do.
While there aren’t too many local
diners run out of converted farm
houses, the story connects with areas
like Huron County and undoubtedly
the lives lived hold some parallels
for those watching the show.
The action picks up when Wilkie
and Spencer Davis take to the stage
and bring, among other things, some
excitement, and intrigue.
The dubious duo shines some light
on the ‘engine parts’ being sold in
the barn and Marscapone even
teaches Lucy how to make pasta and
sauce the way his mama used to
make.
As the first act draws to a close
Lucy discovers that the man who
was introduced to her as Snorky is
actually the infamous Al Capone.
As the stage was awash in light for
the second act, Spencer Davis sets
out to do something unique with the
character of Capone; he humanizes
him.
While the play likely calls for the
actor to try, in a tongue-in-cheek
manner, to make Capone more of a
person rather than his larger-than-
life persona, Spencer Davis
succeeds in making Capone a person
you could see sitting down with and
having a plate of pasta which Lucy
does in the story.
Through talking about his family
and his business and the challenges
he faces being maligned by the press
Capone becomes less a mobster
legend and more a man. Add in the
good-natured ribbing that Capone
has with Marscapone, and the tone is
set for the two to swing from one
end of their character spectrum to
the other. They’re able to be the
mobsters and get what they are after
regardless of the cost but they are
also able to sit, talk and seem to
belong in the diner.
The play’s ending is predictable.
The actions of Fitch’s Lucy and her
character’s inability to lie
convincingly created a situation in
which the final scene was going to
be, minus a comedic twist that few
will see coming, an inevitability.
The play itself is enjoyable and
fits in to the life of Huron County
well. The one-room stage contains
the action effectively and the use of
props and off-stage lights and
sounds really draw the audience in
and help them to believe they are
sitting in that diner on that farm and
hearing the sounds of rural Canada
all around them.
Short of smelling the fresh tomato
sauce that Marscapone makes earlier
in the play, the immersion could not
have been accomplished much
better.
The play unfolds in two acts in
real time and is completely reliant
on the artists on stage to set the
scene and to tell the story, which
they do effectively enough to
paint the picture of Euphemia
Township.
But it’s the mobsters, gangsters,
wiseguys or goodfellas, however
they are called, who really steal the
limelight. Spencer Davis and Wilkie
play the Chicago-based mobsters
perfectly and really bring the
ensemble together.
The Lonely Diner: Al Capone in
Euphemia Township runs in
repetoire until August 25. For tickets
or information contact the Blyth
Festival 1-877-862-5984 or visit
www.blythfestival.ca
Buck & Doe
for
Rachel Elliott
and
Jame Zaiyouna
August 11, 9 pm - 1 am
Tickets $7.00 in advance $9.00 at the door
Brussels Community Centre
Lunch provided • Age of majority
Tickets from Paul and Kathy Elliott
at 519-887-6316
Happy 16th
Dalton
Love Mom, Dad
& Carson
Howick Hot Rod
Weekend Event
Saturday, August 4th
Corner of Alma St. and
Harriston Rd. (Hwy. 87)
across from Pentastic Motors
519-335-3322
howickhotrodweekend@gmail.com
Car Rally 10 am to 2 pm
Car Show 2 pm to 5 pm
Pig Roast 3 pm to 7 pm
Beer Tent
Street Dance
Children’s activities
11 am - 11 pm
Happy 90th
Birthday, Ross
August 9th
The family invites you
to an
Open House
August 11th ~ 2-4 pm
at 10 Frederick St.,
Brussels
Best Wishes Only
WEDDINGWEDDING
SOCIALSOCIAL
for
Jamie Lewis
&
Matt Teeter
Saturday, July 28
Pork BBQ
6:00 - 8:00 pm
followed by games,
prizes and DJ
at 37527 Belfast Rd.,
Lucknow (St. Helens)
Tickets: $10.
Call 519-523-9435 or Barb and
Ron Snowden at 519-528-
2279 BYOB
Friends and family
are invited to aReception
for
Joanne and Mike Dixon
who were married in
Las Vegas on July 7
July 28 ~ 8:00 p.m.
Blyth Community Centre
(casual dress)
Entertainment Leisure&
The gang’s all here
Al Capone, played by Michael Spencer Davis, initially identifies himself as ‘Snorky’ but soon
enough his real identity is discovered in The Lonely Diner: Al Capone in Euphemia Township.
Lucy, played by Catherine Fitch, is fascinated with the world of celebrity and gangsters, but
soon realizes that the world might be more than she bargained for. The Lonely Diner plays at
the Blyth Festival until Aug. 25. (Terry Manzo photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen