HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-07-27, Page 30~uc CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 1994.
‘Barn’ held over
Shocked
Brenda (Nancy Beattie) is horrified when she finds this sexy underwear stored away at her
mother’s home, in this scene from Blyth Festival's third offering of the season Bouncing Back
which premiered July 20 to a near capacity crowd. The play pits an 80-year-old mother
against her 40-ish daughter in a struggle for control of one’s life, regardless of its quality.
Theatre review
Strong cast appears in
Blyth’s ‘Bouncing Back’
By Bonnie Gropp
Blyth Festival’s third offering of
its 1994 season, Suzanne Finlay's
Bouncing Back, has a lot of good
things going for it. The plot is
promising, its script has humour
and pathos, the cast is comprised of
three familiar, highly respected
actors and its score is by John Roby
(need I say more).
Unfortunately, al limes, it tries
loo hard.
There are few mothers and
daughters of whom I know that
would not relate, al least to some
degree, with the lead characters in
Bouncing Back. Kate Kcrivan and
her daughter Brenda are by turn,
devoted to and sparring with each
other.
Despite suffering a stroke, the
80-ycar-old Kale remains fiercely
independent. Strong-minded she
has learned to role with the punch
es. She had a loyai and passionate
love for her husband that carried
through even in death.
Conversely, Brenda is mildly
neurotic, incapable of finding a
HCP kicks of jazz series
The popular Sunday afternoon
jazz scries al Huron Country
Playhouse kicked off its fourth year
in a row on Sunday, July 3 with the
John N ou bar i an Trio. Other
performers this season arc Clarence
Brodhagcn's Jazz Quintet (July 17),
Dave Wiffcn's Jazz Group -
Continuum (July 31) and Johnny
Bond and The Festival By The Bay
Orchestra featuring vocalist Denise
Pcllcy (August 21).
Tickets are $6 each for the
Playhouse II concerts. Tickets for
meaningful relationship and dissat
isfied with her career. Her daugh
ter, who is happily married to a
craftsperson, lives in a trailer park
and is perpetually pregnant, pre
sents an enigma to Brenda, one that
you can't help thinking she wishes
she could emulate.
Unable to cope with looking after
her failing mother Brenda puts
Kate into a nursing home, where
the gregarious, outspoken woman
brings life to at least one fellow
resident, the reticent Mr. "Shicky"
Schichcrowski. With dogged per
sistence and a liquor bottle, she
draws the lonely Polish man out
and back to the land of the living.
Mother and daughter continue to
struggle for their own identity, with
each presuming to know what's
best for the other until the end
when each discovers what's best for
themselves.
The cast is the strongest part of
the play, with the interplay between
Anne Anglin and Jerry Franken as
the two seniors, a real highlight.
Anglin is a likeable heroine who
has you rooting for her early, while
the Festival By The Bay, Big Band
concert on the Main Stage are $12
(adults), $10 (under 16's).
Jazz scries subscriptions arc also
available for $25 (adults), $20
(under 16's).
"Jazz is creating and improving -
something you do yourself" says
Johnny Bond, director of the All
That Jazz scries al the Playhouse.
"It's an emotional experience,
getting right into the swing. Il's
happy music."
the charming Franken wins the
audience just by being on stage.
Nancy Beatty, with a tendency to
over-act, is a manic Brenda whom I
found a little wearisome at times.
Directed with an in-your-face
attitude by Terry Tweed, Bouncing,
particularly the first half, was a lit
tle irritating, as every line, even the
ones which were not particulary
funny, was played for big laughs.
The second act picked up as the
characters became more familiar
and the play's message became a
little deeper.
The set design by Shawn Kerwin,
though not particularly imaginative,
serves the purpose.
In the program notes, Ms Finlay
says "I'd like you to laugh, I'd like
you to cry, I'd like you to go home
and think." Bouncing Back has
some good laughs, though I didn't
get as big a chuckle from some that
a lot of the audience did. It has
poignancy and docs provoke some
thought. But a little subtlety might
put some polish on what al times,
resembled an amateur production.
rBud<^ & CDoe
for
LORI POWELL & KENT
“CHOPPER”PATTERSON
Saturday, august 6th, 1994
9 p.m. -1 a m.
Stanley Township Complex, Varna
$5.00 per person Age of Majority
Music by D.J. Lunch Provided
FOR MORE INFO: BRIAN 523-9291
DAWN 482-7403
Due to the exceptional demand
for tickets, the Blyth Festival's 20th
Anniversary Season production of
Ted John's perennial favorite He
Won't Come In From The Barn will
be held over for an additional seven
performances, from Sept. 6 to Sept.
10. This agricultural comedy for
cynical limes, complete with three
pigs, two cows and two chickens,
has proven incredibly popular with
audiences and critics alike and very
few available seats remain for
performances through the rest of
the scheduled run.
‘Alice’ at Avon
Alice Through the Looking Glass,
a chronicle of a little girl's journey
through the enchanted world of her
own imagination, is directed by
Marti Maraden with set design by
Stephen Britton Osler, costume
design by John Pennoyer, music
composed by Keith Thomas,
lighting design by Kevin Fraser,
sound design by John Hazen,
choreography by Donna Starnes
(assistant to the director), magic
consultation by Robert More. This
production of Alice features live
theatre sound reinforcement in
Dolby Surround.
The cast features Sarah Polley as
Alice, Mervyn Blake as the Red
King/Aged Man, Barbara Bryne as
the White Queen, Douglas
Chamberlain as Haigha/the
Carpenter, Keith Dinicol as
Tweedledee/the Lion, Michele Fisk
as the Red Queen, Bernard Hopkins
as Tweedledum, William Needles
as the White King, Douglas Rain as
Humpty Dumpty/the Walrus,
Bradley C. Rudy as Hatta and Tom
Wood as the White Knight. Also
appearing in the production are
Brian Brockenshire,-Edward S.
Daranyi, Vince Fera, Timothy
French, Bradley Garrick, Lina
Giomofelice, Christina Gordon,
Rose Graham, Mark Harapiak,
Graham Harley, Melanie Janzen,
Gabrielle Jones, Jeffrey Prentice,
Donna Starnes, Geoffrey Whynot
and Robert Yeretch.
aXCBOTt T’HE ATM
Phone 357-1630 for 24 hour movie information
STARTING FRIDAY, July 29,1994
at 7:00 p.m.
Fri. - Thurs.
CITY
SLICKERS
AA
Additional performances of He
Won't Come In From The Barn will
be presented on: Wednesday, Sept.
7 at 8:30 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 8 at
8:30 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 9 at 8:30
p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8:30
p.m.; with matinees on: Thurs.
Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. and Saturday,
Sept. 10 at 2 p.m.
Tickets, priced at $6 for youths,
$15 for weekday and matinee
performances, and $19.50 for
Saturday evening, are available by
calling the Blyth Festival Box
Office at (519)523-9300.
Lewis Carroll's Alice Through
the Looking Glass, adapted by
James Reaney, opened at the
Stratford Festival's Avon Theatre
on Sunday, July 10 at 2 p.m.
Forthcoming
Marriage
TAYLOR - TENPAS
The families of Judy Ann
Tenpas and Nigel Morgan
Taylor are pleased to
announce their forthcoming
marriage on Saturday,
August 6, 1994 at 3:00 p.m.
at Melville Presbyterian
Church, Brussels. Judy is
the daughter of Mary Tenpas
of Brussels and the late
Albert Tenpas. Nigel Taylor
is the son of Janice and
Russell Taylor, Wingham,
Ont.
at 9:00 p.m.
Fri. - Thurs.
SPEED
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