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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1991-06-25, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 1991. Entertainment Tim Taylor at Primetime concert Theatre Review The "Hall" is alive with the sound of music ... Country Music! Primetime Country's summer con cert series is underway at the Wing ham's Town Hall. The professional live performances are captivating audiences and filling their hearts with the Country Music spirit! Come and be part of this enter taining experience. The next con- Too many ideas mess in Barbershop Shop talk Then there’s "Chordwalk" a local barbershop quartet, featuring fylclissa Whitmore, Margaret Whit more, Kale Teall and Kathi Urbasik-Hindlcy. Their renditions of old favourites were interspersed throughout the plot, not always to the best effect. To their credit, the group did an admirable job, consid ering they were often required to move separately across stage, not easy for an acappella group, where tonal accuracy depends on standing order and the ability to hear and tune into each of the other voices. Also, other than to explain the name of the play, I'm not complete ly certain they, fit into the whole concept. I couldn't help feeling that Cole man had been given a list of things to incorporate into a play and he wanted to do his best to use them. There are many potentially good issues to be addressed in the script, but none get the attention they deserve. It's a bit like taking the leftovers from the fridge and throwing them together to make soup. If you get the right combina tion it works. If not, the whole thing falls flat. Barbershop Quartet could go either way. cert is during Canada Day Weekend, on Sunday, June 30. Primetime Country proudly pre sents Tim Taylor and his lovely wife and country music star Anita Perras and the illustrious Gary Buck. Engagement CHALMERS - GIBSON PITCH-IN Elliott Smith as Peter, left, Jerry Franken as Jim, standing, and Alan Williams as Skinny discuss the problems of the world during a visit to the barbershop in Layne Coleman's new comedy Barbershop Quartet, which opened in Blyth on Thursday, June 20. CANADA! Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Gibson of Wingham and Mr. and Mrs. James Chalmers of Blyth are pleased to announce the forthcoming marriage of their children, Kimberley Anne and Michael Paul. The wedding will take place at the Wingham United Church on July 6 at 6:00 p.m. Reception to follow at the Blyth and District Community Centre at 9:00 p.m. BY BONNIE GROPP People love variety. We like to be given a lot for our money; like a good smorgasbord, with enough tit illating offerings to tempt even the most picky palate. But, as everyone has experienced trying to give the public too much can often result in sacrificing quali ty. Such is the case of Barbershop Quartet, the new play written by Layne Coleman, which opened at Blyth Festival last Thursday night. Coleman's script covers so many issues of Canadiana life that I had the feeling I was only given a quickly prepared sample of each. The primary focus, if there is one, is on the Mcech Lake debate and the disintegrating relationship of Peter, played by Elliott Smith and his French-Canadian wife, Marie-Helene (Philippa Domville). The analogy of a broken marriage and the anticipated separation of English and French-speaking Cana da is nothing new, but is still one of the best. Coleman has also come up with some original comparisons as well. One of the characters of the play explained his feelings about Quebec's defection saying, he felt like someone had sat him down at a fancy restaurant and left him with the bill. The crotchety, old farmer, Skin ny, (Alan Williams) who provided many of the comic highlights of the play has an answer for that, howev er, "Go! Just go! But pay your own way. That's what I told my eldest and it slows them down," he advised the group during a visit to the barbershop, the place with more social updates than a coffee shop. Owner of the barbershop is Jim, portrayed by Jerry Franken, in his fifth season as a member of the Blyth company. Jim is the catalyst, the voice of reason, despite the fact that his personal life is in a bit of a mess. Jim, we loam is living with a former art student, Glona, who has given up on her work and now spends her time watching television or driving her new car. "She want ed to paint inside my head," remembers Jim. "Now I can't get her to paint anything." He tells a client that they never married because Gloria says she won't marry a barber and after 25 years Jim's inclined to believe her. The big news in town is "Potato Days" and here for the big event is Mark Spinner, a former hockey player, who scored the final win ning goal in an important interna tional all-star game, his one minute of glory. He'reminisces about his father and how he could never please him. "He used to come to my games and if I didn't score a goal he made me walk home in the snow, carrying that heavy equip ment." Mark then reflects on his two failed marriages and how he eventually found peace in the min istry. Skinny, is one of the regulars at the barbershop. He is an angry farmer, who like earlier genera tions, doesn't give much thought to whether or not he's happy, but lives his life day to day. He and his wife Audrey don't need to talk, he says, they just let things lay and eventu ally they're forgotten. When he docs take lime to think about his life later in the story, he recognizes he is unhappy and is frustrated by the knowledge that his wife is as unhappy as he is. She had moved to the country from town after their marriage and never, he says, really fit in. He knows he should sell the debt-ridden family farm, but still sees his father giving him "that look” every- lime he thinks of il. Peler is a brooding young man, with a talent for music and drink ing. He is frustrated by his career and by his youth, which he feels has been unproductive. He wants to be loved and nurtured by his young bride. Marie Helene is a woman with enough chips on her shoulder, to fill a Hostess bag. To start, she is French and married lo an English Canadian. On top of that she is a liberated woman, with an intense dislike for men who drink, because her French father, was an alcoholic who beat her English mother. As Mcech Lake is lost she dons black to mourn the death of Quebec and shaves her head to look like a boy. Seeing her in a black lank top and leather mini-skirt, one can only think, "Good luck!". Jack, played by Thomas Hauff, another familiar face on the Blyth stage, seems to have a fairly smooth life, if that can be said about a Canadian trucker. His wife, Sheila, would like him lo spend less lime on the road, but he loves the job. Only, he adds, because he has a place to come home to. There are some really wonderful moments in Barbershop Quartet, and some really funny ones. Alan Williams' Skinny has examples of comic brilliance, while Franken's downplaying of Jim makes him a very appealing character. Bruce McFee as Mark, delivers his lines with an easy-going nuance that moves from amusement to a sensi tivity that seems almost genuine. Domville and Smith have the manic intensity of youth, but, par ticularly, in the case of Domville the exuberance becomes a little wearing. However, she displays a wide range of ability as Marie- Hclenc moves from poignancy io hostility and everything in between. Directed by Bill Dow, there were scenes that moved along, bui many others seemed a little slow, leaving the viewer wondering how we had actually gotten lo where we were. LAST CHANCE CLUB 284 CAR TICKETS Available at Todd's Bakery & Brussels Hotel THIS SAT. 9 P.M.- 1 A.M. YOUTH 3 PM - 5 PM HORSE SHOW SATURDAY JULY 6,1991 ADULTS 5:30 PM - 8 PM W-6 QUARTERHORSE RIDING CENTRE R.R. 2 BRUSSELS CON. 16, LOT 3 GREY TOWNSHIP $10. Show Fh for adults, $5. for youths, Youths must waar halffiats & proper foot - wear. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Admission $1.00 (ALL YOUTHS SHOWING GET A PRIZE) for further information call: 887-6052 or 887-9316 THE GODERICH TEEN COUNCIL a committee of The Goderich Recreation Department presents STARVING ARTISTS" FRIDAY, JULY 26,1991 at the Goderich Arena Music competition open to bands anywhere from within Huron and Perth Counties. Prizes donated by Ernie King Music Ltd. Entry Fee for Music Search - s25.°°/band Entry deadline July 5/91 Admission to Music .Competition only - $2 00 Admission to Dance only ■ $4 00 Admission to Competition and Dance • S5 00 AT THE DOOR Music provided by ’PLAN B‘ and the Winning Band Music Competition - 4 00 p m - 8 00 p m Doors Close at 10 00 p m No Re-Entry to Dance after you leave Dance - 8 30 p m • 12 30 a m Adult Supervisors will be on duty Entry forms for the competition will be available at your local high school your local Recreation Qepartmer.t and the Goderich Recreation DepanmeQl For more information contact the uooench Recreation Department - 524-2125