HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-06-29, Page 10PAGE 10, BLYTH FESTIVAL SALUTE, JUNE 29/30, 2005
Jerry Franken: The role of Powers was written for him.
By Sarah Mann
Special to The Citizen
For Jerry Franken, who plays
Powers in Keith Roulston’s Powers
and Gloria, acting at the Blyth
Festival is like working at home.
“There’s a real feeling of kinship
there. 1 live in Stratford but most of
the work I do is in Montreal, Ottawa
or Winnipeg and Blyth, although I
don’t live there, I’ve been coming
back for so long that it’s like
working at home.”
And it’s that feeling of community
that Franken likes about Blyth, as
well as Powers and Gloria.
Powers’ father built a furniture
factory in a small town and became
very wealthy. He went off to study
architecture until his older brother,
who was to inherit the business,
d,ed. Out of a sense of duty, Powers
returns to take over the business for
his father. In doing so, he built it into
the town’s major industry. He’s a
man with very good taste and
wealth, which he shares with the
community not only through jobs,
but education funds. He comes into
conflict with his Harvard Business
School graduate son who thinks it
would be best to move all the
company’s operations to North
Carolina.
When we first meet Powers, he’s
recovering from a stroke and
paralyzed on one side and mobile
thanks to a wheelchair. But he hasn’t
lost his sense of perception when a
Back in
Power
Jerry Franken proves you can’t
keep a good man down in the role
of Powers in Powers and Gloria
young girl, Gloria, has been hired to
take care of him.
“She has very low self-esteem and
was a single mother at the age of
16,” Franken said. “But Powers sees
a potential in her she doesn’t see in
herself and the play is really about
his sort of mentoring her and
Historic tours
offer unique
view of Blyth
Fascinating tales from the
history of Blyth will be revealed in
a new historical walking tour of the
village offered by the Festival.
Led by Janis Vodden, a collector
of the history and folklore of the
village, the 30-minute tours are an
insight into the 150-year-history of
the village, from the days when it
was carved out of bush so dense the
forest floor seldom dried out after a
rain until modem times.
Both sides of Vodden’s family
bringing her along to self-awareness
and to recognize her own value.”
What Franken enjoys most about
this play is the central idea of
everyobody’s value within a
community.
“I think, especially in today’s
world, the values of a small
were among the early pioneers of
the village and she has maintained
an intense interest in her hometown
even when work took her and her
husband Brock, to other parts of
Ontario. In recent years they’ve
both undertaken to record as much
of the village’s history as possible.
Along the way, tour participants
will learn the history of Sk-D-unk
Alley and Gypsy Lane. Vodden
describes how traditions brought
from Britain helped shape even the
layout of the village. They’ll learn
about some of the village’s
entrepreneurs such as the cement
block maker who created the blocks
for the walls of the main street’s
largest building, The Blyth Inn.
community are important and I thinl
the play speaks to that,” he said
“The arguments between father ant
son — I think you could call the
father old-fashioned but in fact, he’;
just talking good solid communit}
values. With a caring that I don’i
think we have as much now as we
did at one time.”
Although Franken is only in one
production this year, he’s glad it’s
Powers and Gloria, a play he refers
to as one of Roulston’s best.
“I think it’s better constructed,” he
said. “The characters have a little bit
more depth than some of his other
plays and I think it’s one of his best
bits for the theatre.”
When it comes to the Blyth
Festival, Franken said the reason he
keeps going back is because of the
work ethic and energy that
accompany it.
“Despite changes from year to
year with actors and such, there’s a
real communal effort to it that I
enjoy and you don’t get anywhere
else.”
Janis Vodden: Conducts
historic tours.
The tours are recommended for
groups of 12-15 and cost $75 per
group. Arrangements for tours may
be booked through the Festival box
office.
September 6 -10
August 12 -
September 3
Capucine Or\n 8< Anne Lederman.
The Gingko Tree
by Lee MacDougall -
COMEDY J
June 28 - August 13
Adrian Churchill & Suzanne Roberts Smith
Photo by Keith Roulston
/'// Be Back Before'
Midnight^^
by Peter Colley
flJI
Spirit of the
Narrows
by Anne Lederman -
SENSATIONAL
FIDDLING!
r Blyth Festival
I P.O. 60.x 10. Blyth, Ontario
I Canada NOM 1H0
I Toll free: 1-877-862-5984
k, Tel. 519-523-9300
Fax. 519-523-9804
The Thirteenth One
by Denyse Gervais Regan
-WORLD PREMIERE -
HEARTWARMING FAMILY DRAMA,
BASED ON A TRUE STORY
August 2 - September 3
POIGNANT & FUNNY
July 9 - August 13
Powers and
Gloria
by Keith Roulston
-WORLD PREMIERE