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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-09-04, Page 31Entertainment Temptation Time in a brothel proves Macheath's undoing in The Threepenny Opera on stage at Stratford's Avon Theatre. From left: Barbara Fulton as Molly, Amy Sellors as Betty, Tom McCamus as Macheath, Susan Gilmour as Jenny and Stephanie Roth as Dolly. (courtesy photo) Theatre review Play a look at the dark side Open Wedding Rece tion for JEFF ZEHR & ELLEN WORKMAN on Saturday, Sept. 7 9:00 p.m. at B.M. & G. Community Centre, Brussels Everyone Welcome 1 Please join Alzheimer Huron for... COFFEE BREAK EXTRAVAGANZA FUNDRAISER Sat., Sept. 14/02 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. UNDER THE BIG TENT at the Betty Cardno Memorial Centre, 317 Huron Rd., Clinton Featuring Music by: JUANITA WILKINS TRIO This fun filled family day will include a BBQ, Clowns, Music and, of course, Coffee! Please bring a Iawnchatr. For more information call 482-1482. My name is Garrett Bromley. I just had my first birthday on August 16. 1 would like to thank my Grandpa Bromley and my Uncle Mike and my Grandma Bromley for all the great gifts that they got me, and for making that day so special for me. And 1 would also like to thank my grand- parentg! -and my uncle for everything they did to help my mom and I out for the past year. Thanks again and I love you guys, Garrett. CUOIDP L.RIP LIVIL3pc,r, THE FAMILY COMEDY ADVENTURE OF THE SUMMER! 1-FE MASFR. FRI. - SUN. ONLY FRI. & SAT. 6:45 & 9:15 PM SUNDAY 8 PM ' www.signs.movies.cogn rx,N F SI I I r Al ()NI. FRI. - THURS. SEPTEMBER 06 - 12 PG "TWO THUMBS UP!" ,,,,, 11. PI rl i'1. 5, G I II .. 11 FRI. & SAT. 6-45 & 9:15 PM SUN. - THURS. 8 PM Screen 1 closed for renovations Mon. to Wed. September 9 to 18 The old seats will be available at the theatre for $5.00 each Mon. & Tues. September 9 & 10 *inquiries (519) 364-4000* LONG DISTANCE? CALL i'1100-255-34311 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2002. PAGE 31. Leisure Chislett play part of Stratford playbill for 2003 season By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor A tale of beggars and users, thieves and abusers, Stratford Avon Theatre's production of The Threepenny Opera uses every trick to expose the world of theatrical make-believe as intended by writer Bertolt Brecht. . Rolling costume racks, canvas drop cloths, doors and moving metal staircases remove any mystery around the creation of on-stage illu- sion. Conceived as a satire on the 1920's Germany Weimar Republic's bourgeois society, The Threepenny Opera attacks fools and sinners. The score by Kurt Weill, was adapted by Mark B I i tzstei n. Beginning his career in opera, Weill was attracted to the . more modern jazz and the incorporation of these two forms are evident in the music of The Threepenny Opera. Set in the Soho district of London in the 1830s, the play's societal underbelly is exposed in the first minute when Thoin Allison, as a raggedy street singer works his way onto the stage from the back of the theatre. It is he who delivers, while pseudo stage hands attempt to remove him, the play's signature song The Ballad of Mack the Knife. It is Macheath (Mack the Knife) the charismatic leader of a gang of "thieves. who is central to the story. In a rather suspicious ceremony he weds Polly, the daughter of J.J. Peachum, a distasteful 'entrepre- neur' who controls the beggar busi- ness in London. Discovering that Macheath and Polly have wed, Peachum vows revenge and pressures the police chief Tiger Brown to arrest and hang his new son-in-law. The law enforcer and the thief, however, are old friends and Brown is reluctant to take action. In the meantime, Macheath is warned by Polly and plans to leave ,London. Not before one last visit to the brothel, however, where he is betrayed. In jail, he is visited by Brown's daughter Lucy,. who also lays claim to being Mack's wife. She helps him escape and Peachum, furious, lays down a plan to have all the beggars ruin the Queen's coronation. Macheath's yearning for the broth- el proves his undoing once again and this time, Brown admits that he can- not help him any longer. Arrested, he is sentenced to the scaffold until a ridiculously implausible solution brings a change of luck. Tom McCarnus is smooth as the anti-hero, a dangerous amalgam of charm and smarm. Peter Donaldson as Peachum is a sarcastic delight, a calculating busi- nessman who rents his assorted items of beggarly attire to his assort- ed group of beggars. His real-life wife Sheila McCarthy clearly has fun with the role of his on-stage missus, a hard-hearted mother and unromantic wife. Macheath's ladies all shine, partic- ularly in musical numbers. As Polly, Diana Coatsworth's lilting soprano ,soars, while Susan Gilmour as the hooker Jenny sings" with a rich- - earthy quality. But it was Blythe Wilson, who played Lucy that stopped the show belting out one song then challenging Polly to a musical duel. The set, by Peter Hartwell was stark and effective. Choreography by Donna Feore was, as always, enter- taining, particularly a table-top soft shoe — with hands. Stephen Ouimette did a good job with this production finding the humour amidst the darkness: Admittedly, there's not a whole lot of lightheartedness in The Threepenny Opera. But once you look past that, you will find yourself intrigued by its characters and their message. The Threepemi s' Opera is at the Avon until Nov. 2. Anne Chislcd, who has spent the last five years as artist director for the Blyth Festival, will have one of her plays performed at the Stratford Festival next season. Last week, Stratford Festival Artistic Director Richard Monette announced the play list for the 2003 season which includes Chislett's Quiet in the Land at the Tom Patterson Theatre, beginning Aug. 20. ' The production will be directed by Andrey Tarasiuk, associate director and head of new play development. Quiet in the Land, which pre- miered in Blyth in 1981, won a 1983 Governor General's Award and the Chalmers Award. It tells the story of a Waterloo County Amish youth who chooses to become a soldier in World War I, thus exiling himself from his pacifist family and heart's love. Other productions at the Tom Patterson Theatre include Antony and Cleopatra, The Birds and Troilus and Cressida. On stage at the Festival Theatre will be The Taming of the Shrt4, The King and I, Preciles and Love's Labour Lost. The Avon Theatre will feature The Hunchback of Noire Dante, Gigi and Present Laughter. At the Studio Theatre, there will be The Swanne:Princess Charlotte (Acts of Venus) along with Agamemnon, Electra and The Flies which will be presented with a uni- fied design. • Many of the 2003 productions will focus on the influence of classical Greek theatre on western theatre. said Monette. Bringing several hew produc dons to the Stratford Fes tival,I Monette is well on his way to completing his goal of presenting each of Shakespeare's 38 plays during his tenure with the Festival. Tlyiri v -three have now been programmed. Other productions next season are geared to appeal to a wider audience with the inclusion of two musicals, The King and / and Gigi, as well as family tastes with The Hunchback of Notre Dante. • Executive Director Antoni Cimolino said the 2003 season will build on the momentum of the 50th anniversary with the "beautifully balance playbill" and "something for everyone"