HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-09-03, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1986. PAGE 23.
New Cake Walk production proves script good
Continued from Pg. 22
assisted by Ron Gabriel whose sure
hand with comedy could be an
asset to any director.
The story concerns various
people who enter a cake-baking
contest in a small town and their
reasons for wanting to win.
The central roles of Sister Leigh
Cleary, the nun who enters the
contest to win a trip to France for
her former teacher, and Taylor
Abbott, the absent minded archeo
logist who seems to be better at
cake baking than dealing with
people, have been taken this time
aroundby thehusband and wife
team of Marlane O’Brien and Ric
Reid.
Ms. O’Brien is a newcomer to
the Blyth stage having been in
“Painting Churches” at the Bas
tion Theatre, Victoria, “TopGirls”
at the Citadel in Edmonton and
“Pal Joey” at the Tarragon in
Toronto. She brings the right touch
of self-effacing charm to the part.
Rick Reid is already familiar to
Festival audiences from his work in
“Another Season’s Promise” and
“Lilly, Alta.” but audiences will
see an entirely new side to him in
Cake-Walk. As the bumbling
archeologist he displays a deft
comic touch that must make him
attractive to all those women in the
audience who are attracted to
non-macho men.
Heather Esdon, as Sister
Leigh’s best friend, is a writer’s
delight, able to get the most out of
every comic line without ever
stepping out of character.
The part of Ruby Abel, the scout
leader not above cheating to win
the cake baking contest seems to
encourage mugging and Lorna
Wilsonperhaps does more than
she needs to bring off the role.
While she has a fine comic touch
she could have scored just as many
laughs playing alittle more like her
natural self, holding back on a few
of the exaggerated facial expres
sions.
Claire Crawford as the upper
crust mom who enters her daugh
ter’s wedding cake in the cake walk
because for once in her life she
wants to win something herself,
looks as if she could have stepped
right out of a Mercedes and into the
role.
Paulina Gillis, seen earlier in
Lilly, Alta., plays the spoiled
daughter ready to do anything to
keep her mother from embarassing
her by entering the wedding cake
in the contest. It’s a difficult
balancing act trying to keep the
part from being too obviously
manipulative and pretty and she
manages it well.
The redesigned set by Jules
Tonus, who earlier designed the
sets for “Drift” and “Garrison’s
Garage” for the Festival, is much
more visually interesting than the
set for the original production
although one still gets the impres
sion that this play could be played
on a bare stage and it would be of
little difference because there is
little interaction with the setting.
When the cast makes its curtain
call at the end of the performance,
costume designer Kerry Hackett
should almost be on stage to take
her bow too for the spectacular
wedding dress she has created for
the show. It may become the most
talked-about wedding dress in
August 26 -
September 13
Blyth Memorial Hall
For tickets and information, call 523-9300/9225
Brussels
Lions Club
PRESENTS
LOWDOWN
Saturday, September 20
Dancing 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
BRUSSELS, MORRIS AND GREY COMMUNITY CENTRE
Age of majority card only.
Tickets available from any Lions member
$8 per person in advance - $9 at the door
Proceeds for community betterment
these parts since the Royal Wedd
ing.
But behind the excellent work of
the rest of the company the script is
still the major element. There are
still little flaws like the news of the
outside world that comes over the
intercom on stage that always
seems to stop the flow of the action,
but the most charming thing about
Cake-Walk is that its unpreten
tious and aims at nothing more
than letting the audience have fun.
There’s no message, the charac
ters may not have tremendous
insights to share with the audience
but the play is just a good romp.
It’s also a show that the parents
can feel relaxed bringing the whole
family to, which in a season that
has been aimed more heavily at
adult audiences, may be a great
relief to parents wanting to make
theatre-going a family affair.
For people who just want to have
a good time, Cake-Walk is a
delightful way to end the 1986
Festival season.
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Midway in Operation
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Rooster crowing contest
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