The Citizen, 1995-08-02, Page 23E ntertainment
The view from here
Kate:
I don't miss the city at all. Blyth is so peaceful.
Yes, I live kitty-corner to the fire station and the
alarm nearly sends me out of my skin when it goes
off. And yes, the extra room around all of the houses
out here means that power mowers can be heard from
dawn to dusk, and the only variety in the drone is how
near or distant they are. And yes, there seems to be a
convoy of riding mowers that roars through town, and
past my door at 6:34 every morning.
But you get used to it, the same way you get used to the screaming and
gunfire soundscape of downtown Toronto.
Did I tell you that Blyth is getting natural gas? There are backhoes.on
every street digging trenches and laying pipe. They start at seven in the
morning. It's a big job, starting up that kind of service in a tdwn, and I
don't blame them for all the racket. I really don't. It's not their fault that I
don't get off work until 11 at night, and don't usually get to bed until
several hours later. I counted myself among the blessed when they waited
until 7:30 to gut my front lawn last Thursday.
Everybody's industrious around here. One of my neighbours cut down a
tree a few mornings ago and then decided to carve the trunk into a canoe
using a circular saw and some small explosive charges. I don't know the
first thing about attempting a job like that, and I was impressed that he
had the sense to get an early start on it, because that's not the kind of work
you want to be doing during the heat of the day. Judging from how things
seem to be progressing, he should finish in time to get the thing in the
water for Labour Day.
So you see, I really don't miss the city. I don't need to. Every time a
rutabaga truck tears by and makes the house shudder, I shut my eyes and
pretend I'm riding the subway.
Yours,
Michael.
Michael Healey is a member of the Blyth Festival Company. His tongue-
in-cheek letters home will be featured weekly throughout the season.
.41111 - • PARK THEATRE • A.
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FRI - THURS.
AUG. 04 - 10
FRI & SAT.
6:45 & 9:15 PM
SUN - THURS 8 PM
'A TRIUMPH OF
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LONG DISTANCE? CALL 1-800- 65-3438 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO
Forthcoming Marriage
RADFORD - GOULET
James and Dorene Radford of
Londesboro are pleased to
announce the forthcoming
marriage of their daughter,
Katherine
to
Daniel Goulet,
son of Paulette Anderson
and the late Laurent Goulet
of Ottawa.
The wedding will take place
on Saturday, August 12, 1995
at the Radford's residence
with a private reception to
follow at the Benmiller Inn.
,
' 4
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1995. PAGE 23.
Small town politics at its best...or worst
Residents of any village may recognize the characters in the latest play by Ted Johns,
Jake's Place, now on at the Blyth Festival. Entangled in political confusion are, from left: Eric
Coates as George Ranford, Jerry Franken as Bert McGee, Randi Helmers as Marian
Palmer (in back) and Anne Anglin as Deirdre Munsinger. The performance will be staged
until Aug. 26.
Delightful 'Dragons,
Dinosaurs' for kids
Theatre review
`Jake's' characters familiar
By Janice Becker
If you have ever lived in a small
town, dealt with small town politics
or had a relative who had turned
into the odd old man that lives
down the lane, Jake's Place is sure
to hit a chord of familiarity.
Written by Ted Johns, a veteran
of the Blyth Festival, Jake's Place
has a disclaimer which says that
any resemblance to actual persons
or groups is purely coincidental,
however, any locals are sure to
catch some inside jokes which may
be missed by a visitor to the com-
munity.
The play centres around an old
man, Jake, who has become some-
what odd and reclusive since the
death of his wife and his daughter's
move to the city.
Unbeknownst to him, he will
soon play a key role in a "very
important" council decision.
In backroom meetings and with
moves which appear to be self-
serving, Councillor Bert McGee
(portrayed by Jerry Franken) con-
nives and convinces the somewhat
over-eager and naive reeve, George
Ranford (Eric Coates), on the pro-
cess to fill the vacant council seats.
Bert carefully explains that in
order to have a quorum to decide
the fate of a noxious weed grower
(Deirdre Munsinger), the vacant
seats have to be filled, and since
council is beyond the 90-day period
since the last election and everyone
was acclaimed to their posts, there-
by leaving no one with less votes,
the reeve may choose the new
councillor.
Reeve Ranford quickly begins to
rhyme off names of potential coun-
cillors only to be persuaded by Bert
to look in another direction.
The first cannot be chosen
because he's too busy, the next
because he sided with the old coun-
cil and the third because he voted
for the new street lights.
Finally the list ends with Jake,
someone who cannot read or write,
has had nothing to do with munici-
pal politics and can be easily con-
vinced to vote their way for the
cost of a culvert under his flooded
driveway.
During Jake's initiation into the
workings of council, Bert explains
to him that municipal govemmen
is "the lowest form of governme: '
therefore the closest to the people.
And if there is ever a problem,
never admit it, say it was the fault
of the previous administration."
However, the councillors are in
for a surprise when they discover
that the "treacherous" Munsinger
has been to visit Jake before the
official meeting and has lit a spark
in his eyes.
Jake is taken aback by the chant-
ings and herbal remedies recom-
mended by neighbour Munsinger,
to alleviate the problems in his life,
but soon begins to fall for her
unusual ways.
The problems of Munsinger's
noxious weeds, Jake's isolation and
the vacant council seats are
resolved in a surprising twist, at
least for Bert and Reeve Ranford.
Many aspects of Jake's Place hit
close to home, including some of
the portrayals of the characters. It is
fun just to watch the audience react
Buck & Doe
for
Ken Whitmore &
Connie Koehmstedt
Saturday, August 5
at Blyth Arena
9 to 1
Music by DJ
$5.00/person
to the appearance of Bert in his
councillor's attire. He may remind
you of someone.
The role of Jake, played by
Michael Healey, who is a much
younger man than Jake, is played to
perfection. One can easily see an
aging man who has suffered loss in
his life, fallen to the temptations of
the bottle and become known as
rather odd by the townspeople.
Though he is supposed to be
somewhat of a curmudgeon, Jake is
very diffiCult not to like. He
reminded me of many of my elder-
ly, bachelor uncles, maybe a little
unusual but no less loveable.
The physical antics of Bert after
mistakenly drinking a hot concoc-
tion brewed by Munsinger, are
hilarious. Franken's entire perfor-
mance was very good.
Though the supporting characters
were more subdued than Jake and
Bert, the strength in them provided
the perfect backdrop for the two
men.
This is a production which is a
must see for locals to have a laugh
at themselves and a comical, not
completely exaggerated, insight for
the visitor.
HAPPY 25TH
CARM & SANDRA!
August 7, 1995
Love, family, friends
and The Gang
A special play for children will
be presented on Sunday, Aug. 6 at
2 p.m. in The Garage Theatre at the
Blyth Festival.
Jill Frappier will perform
Dragons, Dinosaurs and
Kidnapped Kittens, a special treat
for little ones filled with stories of
fantasy, adventure and partici-
pation. The play features Drago,
the dragon babysitter, Plessel, the
lonely dinosaur and Marie the
runaway kitten.
Tickets are $4 each. Seating is
limited. Call the box office at 519-
523-9300 for tickets.
Buck & Doe
for
Steve Cregan
Shelley Strickler
August 5
For ticket information
call 887-6296