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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2005-08-31, Page 5Opinion Huron Playhouse's Twist and Shout full of impressive performances By Ben Forrest Expositor Staff I arrive at the Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend for opening night of Twist and Shout: The British Invasion, Drayton Entertainment guru Alex Mustakas' tribute to the influx of Englanders into North American pop culture during the 1960s. The parking lot is packed, and people are milling about in the courtyard outside the theatre, yakking it up. There are a number of classic vehicles, contemporary (I assume) to the 'time period in which the play takes place. Nice touch, I think to myself. I get in line to retrieve my tickets and as I do, the guy at the press table makes a promise to the folks in front of me. "You'll have a lot of fun," he says. "You'll be dancing. I hope you brought some good shoes." This gives me pause, fills me with dread. Believe it or not, this white boy doesn't like to get down. My chubby, 6'4" frame is not that nimble, and does not, under most circumstances, cut a rug. Ask me why I don't dance and I'll answer like Jerry Seinfeld: "Because it's so stupid." Some folks can pull it off, contorting their bodies to a rhythm without looking or feeling like idiots, but I'm not one of them. I do my dancing with the blinds closed and nothing but my stereo keeping me company. "You'll have a good time." THE HURON EXPOSITOR, August 31, 2005 - 5 SEAFORTH INSURANCE BROKER LTD. 527-1610 • Home • Commercial *Auto • Farm • Out of Province Travel Insurance 41 Malu St. S. Seaforth Ken Canino, Joanne Williamson, Christa O'Neil and Barb Watt trUCCCIILIT.- FARM EQUIPMENT SEAFORTH 527-0120 EXETER 235-2121 www.teamvIncent.com • CASE lil Not likely. dance. At the end of the night, I'm somewhat relidved. With the exception_ of one guy late in the first act, nobody that I could see was dancing in the aisles. There was a lot of clapping, a lot of whooping, and a bit of singing along, but that was the extent of the damage. I survived with my dignity intact, thoroughly entertained, and extremely satisfied by the experience. The reason is essentially this: Twist and Shout isn't just well done, as is everything caressed by Drayton's Midas touch. It's extraordinary in virtually every aspect. It starts with the stage, which is done up as if it were the set of an Ed Sullivan -like '60s talk show, complete with a boom mike creeping over from stage right, a lighting Not if I have to News apparatus, and what appears to be legitimate 1960s commercials projected onto two large "monitors" facing the audience. David Brummel, as host Roy Solomon, guides the production from song to song, contributing vocals to a few but largely leaving the singing to the rest of this brilliant cast, who perform tunes from the Beatles, Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits, The Rolling Stones, and several others. The cast almost surely does not play the instruments they hold in their hands, but their imitations are thoroughly believable - the guitarists move their hands in what appear to be legitimate chord progressions along with the music, and those playing the drums seem to bang the skins and cymbals in perfect time. The real musicians (a band led by music director Robert Foster) turn in a phenomenal Van Egmond House has webpage aimed at students By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor Egmondville's historic 19th Century manor, the Van Egmond House, has joined the 21st Century with its first webpage. John Scott, a recent recruit to the Van E g m o n d Foundation's board of directors, has been working over the past six months to create a webpage using a free blog program called blogger. "There hasn't been a webpage before for the Van Egmond House and I wanted to make information about the house available to anyone in the world," says Scott. The webpage - at www.vanegmond.blogspot.com, is aimed primarily at high school students who want to research the house and pioneer history of Southwestern' Ontario. Scott says a high school class from Central Huron Secondary helped clean up the grounds of the historic house recently and he discovered they didn't know much about the building. "I realized high school students didn't have access to information about the Van Egmond House. Now, students, especially in Huron, can click onto this page and read these lengthy articles about it," he says. The webpage, so far, includes information about the house's architecture and history, including some of Col. Anthony Van Egmond's role in the Rebellion of 1837 before the house was built by his son Constant in 1845. As well, it includes architectural drawings of the Ligal `There hasn't been a webpage before for. the Van Egmond House .and I wanted to make information about the house available to anyone in the world,'— Van Egmond Howe board member John Scott house from_ all angles, a tour of the house from a walking tour pamphlet available at the historic building, along with pioneer recipes. Scott is also in the process of including articles previously published in the Huron Expositor including a series by David Scott written in the early 1990s and a series written by Professor Kerr. "It's online now but it isn't finished yet. I'm still working on it." says Scott. Another feature of the webpage is information on events currently planned at the Van Egmond House and links to tourism in the Huron East area. Vet Association says banning a breed an ineffective control From Page 1 creating more dogs at that age anyway," he says. Nuhn says that while Huron East has pitbulls, there are only about 16 but of 1,000 on his list that live in the area. "They're out there and they're noticeable but they're not that many," he says. Nuhn says he agrees with the position of the Ontario Veterinary 'Medical Association that . the legislation to ban the breed will not work to prevent dogs from attacking people. "The irresponsible owner is always going to be out there. What's the next breed we banT' he says, adding that laws against vicious dogs would he far more effective. Nuhn concedes, however. that pitbulls, when they bite, can do a lot of damage. "If they're bred to he aggressive they're not just nippers. When they attack, they don't give up and that's why they make the news." he says. Anyone needing full details surrounding pitbull legislation can find the regulations on the internet at www.attorneygcneral.jus.gov.on.ca. Loader damaged at gravel pit The windows of a front end loader at Parrish Gravel Pit on Jamestown Road in Huron East were damaged over the weekend, reports the Huron OPP. The front and rear windows of a Komatsu Model WA470 front end loader were smashed with rocks. performance, playing each of the 64 songs with utter perfection. The vocalists, however, are perhaps the most impressive components of the ensemble, with especially notable performances from Danny Williams, Duff MacDonald and Christine Glen, whose soulful rendition of Dusty Springfield's "Son Of a Preacher Man" was a show - stopper. Also to be commended is Kevin Etherington, whose solo performance of the famous "Who's on First, What's on Second" bit nearly made me cry. I could go on and on about this play - there are no weak performances here, only a few that shine slightly brighter than the rest - but it's probably best if you see it yourself. Twist and Shout will show eight times a week between now and Sept. 3. H. 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