HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron 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."
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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.
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You are invited to attend these area churches
St. Thomas
Anglican Church
A Congregation of the Parish of The Holy Spirit
Jarvis St. Seaforth
Parish Office 527-1522
Sunday, September 41"
Worship at 9:30 a.m.
EVERYONE WELCOME
St. James Roman
Catholic Church
Welcomes you
14 Victoria Street, Seaforth
527-0142
Weekend Masses: Sat 5:15 pm
Sun. 11:00 am
Bethel Bible Church
Egmondville
United Church
An Associated Gospel Church
Service time remains at 10:30 a.m.
126 Main St. Seaforth
until Sept. 11
527-0982
Guest Speaker:
Sunday Worship Hour 10 am
Sun. Sept. 4 - Les Hills
Sept. 11 - Sunday School kickoff and
EVERYONE WELCOME
Grandpa) Day Celebration beginning at 9:30
a.m. Church service begins at 11 a.m.
NORTHSIDE UNITED
First Presbyterian
CHURCH
54 Goderich St. W.
Church
Rev. John Gould
Goderich St. W., Seaforth
Sunday, September 4`"
Rev. Henry Huberts
Worship 11 a.m.
Sunday, September 4'"
Sermon: Family Fights
Worship at 11:15 a.m.
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