HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-03-13, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 1996 PAGE 23.
E ntertainment gets 'Crazy'
Centre stage
Grand performance
From left: Patricia Collins, Marion Gilsenan and Howard Jackson help bring to life A Little
Night Music at London's Grand Theatre. The Broadway play, written by Stephen Sondheim
and Hugh Wheeler, is a certified hit to end this Grand season.
Theatre review
By Keith Roulston
Beautiful music, witty lyrics,
sumptuous costumes and a univer-
sally talented cast, the Grand The-
atre production of A Little Night
Music has everything one would
expect in a musical — except per-
haps elaborate sets.
Although A Little Night Music
won six Tony Awards for compos-
er and lyricist Stephen Sondheim
and playwright Hugh Wheeler
when it opened on Broadway in
1973, and although it contains one
famous, haunting song (Send in the
Clowns), the show remains some-
thing of an unknown compared to
more high profile hits like the mod-
ern Phantom of the Opera. Ask
anyone but Broadway musical con-
noisseurs for a summary of the plot
line and they'll be hard pressed to
tell you. The story involves inter-
connected couples and their loves
and jealousies set early in the cen-
tury in a vaguely Scandinavian
country.
But the strength of the piece is
not in the plot but in the music and
lyrics. Sondheim uses his witty
lyrics to develop characters,
advance the plot and provide
humorous insights into human
behaviour.
Director Michael Shamata, artis-
tic director at The Grand, has
assembled a tremendously talented
cast for this, the final production of
the season. The performers show
both acting and singing skills to
bring the show to life. Benedict
Campbell performs well both as a
singer and actor as the aging
Fredrik Egerman, who has married
a teenaged wife (but hasn't consum-
mated the marriage after nearly a
year) but is still infatuated with an
old flame, the actress Desiree Ann-
feldt, played by Patricia Collins.
Although Collins, alone among the
cast, is no singer, there's only once
in an early Song where the lack of
vocal talent grates. Otherwise her
acting strengths make the songs
work, particularly in Send in the
Clowns, her solo late in the perfor-
mance.
Mary Ellen Mahoney, who was
in Blyth several years ago for the
filming of the movie Blue City
Slammers, provides one of the
highlights of the evening as Count-
ess Charlotte Malcolm who, despite
humiliation from her husband's
infidelities, continues to love her
husband even to the point of help-
ing in his assignations. She is so
devastatingly funny that she
becomes a sympathetic character
instead of a fool.
Bruce Clayton as her pompous
husband, Kristin Gauthier as
teenage wife, Marion Gilsenan as
Desiree's mother and John Ullyatt
as Fredrik's troubled son, all give
strong performances, both acting
and singing.
CAPITOL
THEATRE
291-3070
All Seats $4.25
LISTOWEL
. Dolby Surround Sound Stereo .
• STARTS FRIDAY •
March 15 - 21
7 p.m. MR. WRONG (PG)
9 p.m. CITY HALL (Al Pacino) (AA)
2 p.m. Matinee
Saturday -
Free Paddyfest Matinee
BALTO (F)
Return Engagement
Friday, Sunday - Thursday
TOY STORY (F)
Shamata may have introduced a
new talent to Canadian audiences.
Trish O'Brien, a recent immigrant
from Ireland, is fine as the maid
Petra but stunning when she sings
her solo The Miller's Son.
Backed by a 10-piece orchestra
under the direction of Don Hors-
burgh, the musical has a lush
sound. The costumes by Susan
Benson are gorgeous. John Fergu-
son's set is inventive, a mostly-bare
stage that makes use of a turntable
to transform the scene quickly from
on room to another, dropping tree
silhouettes from the fly gallery to
create a country atmosphere, but
those looking for something elabo-
rate will be disappointed.
Shamata keeps the whole produc-
tion moving with seldom a lapse,
drawing strong performances from
everyone in his cast of 17.
The production has already been
held over until March 30 giving
Shamata a certified hit to end his
first season at the helm of The
Grand.
BLYTH FESTIVAL
SEASON
ANNOUNCEMENT
PARTY
Thursday,
March 14, 1996
5 p.m.
Bainton Gallery
Come and join in the fun,
bring a potluck dish or Just
drop by to get the news of
the 1996 season first-hand
from Artistic Director
Janet Amos.
Crazy For You, the Tony Award
winning musical-comedy which
has been bringing audiences to
their feet around the world, comes
to Kitchener's The Centre In The
Square this June 4 to 9.
This is a sparkling new produc-
tion of the "All Singing! All
Dancing! All Gershwin! hit that
first wowed Broadway audiences in
1992.
With its combination of classic
songs by George and Ira Gershwin,
wildly inventive tap-dancing and an
Clinton
hosts
Dutch play
The Woodstock Dutch Theatre
will be coming to Clinton to
present De Kerkestraat Is Een
Keurige Straat, a Dutch language
comedy.
The Woodstock Dutch Theatre is
the only Dutch-language theatre in
Canada. The play, which translates
to, Church Street is a Beautiful
Street, is about a family which tries
to fit in to their new upscale
neighbourhood.
The performance of the plan will
be held at the Clinton Town Hall
on Saturday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
Advance tickets are available for
$8 and are available until March
12. The price at the door is $10. To
purchase tickets contact Sue
Guetter at 482-9257 or Cory Haak
at 482-7190.
Proceeds from this event will be
divided among the Children's
Hospital of Ontario and the Clinton
and District Christian School.
Richard Dreyfuss
Mr. Holland's Opus
Fri. - Thurs.
Mar. 15-21
8 PM Nitely
LONG DISTANCE
hilarious story of old-fashioned
romance this is entertainment that
the whole family will enjoy.
Crazy For You includes 16
Gershwin standards such as
Embraceable You, I Got Rhythm,
But Not For Me, Things Are
Looking Up, and Someone To
Watch Over Me.
The story, by Ken Ludwig
(author of the hit comedy Lend Me
A Tenor), is a dizzy romp that
stretches from glamourous New
York in the 1930s to Deadrock,
Nevada, a worn-out mining town
with 157 men and one girl. Small
town hicks meet high-class glitz in
a raucous display of mistaken
identity, show-biz know-how and
the triumph of true love.
Tickets went on sale Saturday,
March 9 at The Centre In The
Square Box Office.
To order contact The Centre In
The Square Box Office at 519-578-
1570 or toll free 1-800-265-8977.
HAPPY SWEET 16
ON MARCH 15
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Sat. & Sun. Mat.
March 16 & 17
2 PM
All Seats 54.00
`Night Music' has it all
ACADEMY AWARD' NOMINEE
BEST ACTOR - Richard Dreyfuss
.44r • Ark
Arr- • PARK THEATRE • 4r; MN: . :p MUNICH 524-7811 4111t-
CALL 1-800-2654I4 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO