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Times-Advocate, 1988-08-17, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, August 17, 1983 Audrey 11 gives Playhouse some teeth I$ Mark ttissct GRAND .BEND - Thursday morning: • The , Huron Country Pla 'house is alive with activity. On green lawns under trees, mem- bers of the Young Company help gaggles of children through skits. Piano music floats out from the main buildings, punctuated by an occasional chorus of voices. But behind the stages, deep in the heart of the Pla house, some- thing monstrous is growing, grow ,ing.... Audrey II could well change the way you approach your vegetable -MIGHTY JAWS -- Tom Levely inspects some of the stitching on the in- side of Audrey II in her third stage. The giant jaws are the business end of a man-eating plant, the central character in Little Shop of Horrors. Windfall couple enjoying roles GRAND BEND -. For two weeks this summer, Peter Elliott and Deborah Turnbull arc multi- millionaires. While it sounds good, there arc a couple of hitches. Elliott and Turnbull play Walter and Louise in the Huron -Country Playhouse production of Windfall: Thcy arc an average couple who won S5.6 million in a lottery 16 years ago and never left their house again. Docs that sound like a difficult couple to portray realistically? El- liott and Turnbull find the .roles natural. "I don't think it's all that far- fctclicd," Elliott says of .the con- cept,••adding when you have mon- ey, you can do what you want. Turnbull explains that the couple, who havc been married for 38 years, arc from a different era. "People used to put 'up with each other," Turnbull says. "They don't tend to do that anymore. Really, other than that (their se- clusion), i think Walter and Louise arc pretty normal people." That factor is the key to play- ing Louise successfully. 'I just havc a ball ,with Louise," Turnbull admits. "Louise is a little scatty, but bas- ically -sound. i think I'm having more fun with this part than R_wara..I arc.pLt3ccci. before,"-e.,�, But the role is not without its pitfalls. "The big • challenge playing Louise is just keeping her real." The play centres on Walter, leaving Elliott with thc more de. • manding of the two roles. He is hardly off the stage over the course of the play. "It's primarily Walter's little world -- Walter's world of games," Elliott says. "Walteris about as long as Ilamlct," Turnbull chimes in. The age difference between Elli- ott and his character had the actor worried at the beginning of pro- duction. "Walter is in his sixties. I'm 48 and I don't use any kind of make- up. I Think that was a thing I had in the back of my mind -- a con- cern," Elliott says. While the two actors .are im- pressed with the Playhouse facili- ties and the community atmos- phere it exudes, they found it challenging to put together their roles in two short weeks. "To put on any play in two weeks is a fair undertaking," Elli- ott notes. Turnbull agrees: "I think actors usually they like to kind of work things out and explore. You don't havc time to do that." "Cornedy is .very • -- it's sort .of cliche' -- but it's hard work," Elli- ott adds. . But everything has fallen to- gether and the play is being re- ceived well by the public. Wind- fall, according to Turnbull, is full of life. " me of the scenes are really o c waif -anti some of the scenes are really moving," she says. It's like life. It has its ups -and - downs." Levely has been busy working on the fourth stage of the plant, which takes nine people to operate. ' z�y `patch. She is the star of Little Shop of Horrorsand she Will be eating people on a regular .bttsis from August 23 to September 10. Tom Levely and Brian Jackson are the two . Dr. "Frankensteins, shall . we say? They are working gleefully away.in the bowels of Hu- ron Country Playhouse amidst strings of hanging foam fangs and• multi -coloured warts, building the four versions of Audrey 11 -- a man eating•plant. Audrey begins as an •unassuming little piece of .carnivorous greenery and grows through four,stages to a monstrous plant which takes up 25' feet of the. 35 foot. stage. A simple hand -puppet at the beginning, the final•version of the monster requires nine people to run it. • Levely, who has taken -tinie out from managing The Players Guild of Hamilton, is constructing the'. beast with the help of 20 people.in- volved with wardrobe, props,. paint- ing and stage managing.- • _ Made of foam supported by a slur-. dy wire frame and covered with a va- riety of materials, Audrey 11 is then brought to life in her various stages b¢Jatkson, a renown Canadian de-• signer affiliated with thc Stratford - Festival. Jackson. is responsible for Au- drcy's fabulous colours. .• - - "This Audrey paint -job is going to be -different than any other. Au- drey,ever seen, Levely says in praise 'of Jackson's work. "She's.a.. work of art." . Working from patented plans 'from' the qff-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, Levely is designing alight -weight monster that is both costume and set. The -plans;sometimes vague,. have led to certain problems. "You get something Clone and you use the wrong kind of,adhesive and it (foam) disintegrates," Levely ex- plains. But through a system of trial and error, Audrey. is.cinerging With hot- • - rifying clarity. - The f inal version of the plant, which sports a seven hot jaw, -cats - thrcc people..in.11tc.final j4ct-- no tricks . Audrey swallows. them • • whole. "It's a mean cating machine," -Levely say`: "That's why the. jaws look like a shark's." • Referring to his nionstcr as --a • "glorified stuffed toy", Level guar- antces Audrdy.11 won't be.disnran- . fled after the play is finished. .co - plc have. suggested a number Of uses .for hr.r, amotig.them a hod, •an arm: . . chair or "putting .her on tvhscls and using her- as a U-1 laul'', h_ ut t.e vely expects she .mill he sold to another theatre company.: • "Actually, i- think she should go to the Botanical So, is tv -- as a unique species." . HUMBLE BEGINNINGS -- Brian Jackson takes a close look at the smallest of the tour versions of Audrey. Jackson is responsible for the fabulous paint -job on the plant -monster. The Audrey he holds has yet to be painted. - Windfall just the ticket for Playhouse Anyone looking- for a summer , theatre treat shiauld not let 11'rudfall pass.thcrn by. Ily Adrian Uarte dozens of board games. Apparent - While manyof us fantasize about ly, there is more. winning a lottery, we also harbour "What's the use of having a golf jealousies about those who do win. course in your own back yar(1 11 you We can't wait to hear how they don't know how to use it," com- waste the money or how it ruins plains Walter of his wife's crude, their lives: , So it would seem that but effective golfing. Norm Foster's new play Windfall More serious undertones develop about a pair of reclusive lottery within the play without spoiling winners would be a good idea. the excellent humour. And itis. Walter tells the reporter he be - Persistent reporter Carl Ritchie licves in an honest day's pay for an discovers that Walter anti Louise honest day's work. Brookside (played by Peter Elliott "I still believe it. I just don't and Deborah Turnbull) bought a have to practise it any more." mansion 'with their S5.6 million The reporter Finally causes the se - lottery win and haven't left the crcts of the daughter and son (Col - grounds in 16 years. leen Embret and Mark Wilson) to The humqur in this play js intel- be revealed and brings Walter.and ligcrit and subtle while gently re- Louisc to question thcir years of sc- vealing the eccentricities of the iso- elusion. latcd couple: thcy spend their days "Di01 make a mistake? Was it playing games. —""""""' "fir ilfe asks Walter. "Life isa game," Walter tells the The Huron Country Playhouse reporter. - deserves full credit for selecting and The superb set is complete with a- -producing this excellent • play. pool table, a pinball machine, a Sandy MacDonald's direction has chess table, a *card table, and two obviously made full use of the act - towering bookcases cluttered with ing talent available to roll Windfall Contracts completed for Twelfth Concession WEST McGILLiVRAY - Coun- cil were informed that contracts had been completed • for reconstruction of thc Twelfth Concession Road, road gravelling and application of dust control. By-laws were passed confirming agreements with the Lucan- I3iddulph, Ailsa Craig and Parkhill Fire Departments to provide protec- tion to McGillivray, it was reported that simulated Police praised - Continued from page 1 leave little time for meeting the general public on the streets. "i would suggest you take a day and go down to the force," chal- lenged Chapman, "and see just how much time it takes for just one col- lision report." Micklc wondered why time could not be found for foot patrols. "If there's time for patrolling in vehicles, there's also time for pa- trolling on foot," he suggested. Chapman later stated that these negative comments should not be a:kr.vcd to spoil a very favorable police inspecnon report. Motorists in a hurry down Main Street will now- have to -worry about the Exeter Police Force's newest equipment. A radar gun is to be purchased for S3,100. Mickle pointed out it Was unfortunate the gun could not be loaned to the de- partment at no cost like the breatha- lyzer to be rcccivcd from the depart- ment of Forensic Science. Wil Chisolm has -.been promoted to a First Class Constable follow- ing an evaluation and review by the Police .Committee. emergency runs by the Lucan de- partment to the residence of Lloyd Mathcrs and by the Craig depart- ment to the residence of Ray Glavin had each been completed in 11 min- utes. . Council received a delegation of John Russell and. Frank Turner from - Bosanquct township. It was agreed to join with Bosanquet, For- est, Arkona, Thedford, Grand Bend and Parkhill in disctfssing the ad- viseability of a feasibility study of a recycling program to reduce the volume of materials going into their respective waste disposal sites. Balloons carrying a message from Anne Rettig, a Grade 2 student at Salem Elementary School in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, recently landed on Reeve Corbett's farm at Brinsley. The balloons had completed a jour- ney of 225 km (135 miles). February 1853 With Patrick Flanagan presiding as Reeve. Council passed By-law three providing for the licencing of inns or Houses of Public Entertain- ment. A person wishing to establish an inn on the London and Godcrich Road (Highway 4) must havc at least four spare beds other than those they havc for -family use in at least three spare- bedrooms; a bar room, a sitting room, and a lock up stable to contain at least four span of horses and will pay an annual fee of three pounds (S15). A person wishing to establish in the interior of the township need have only two spare beds, stabling for two span of horses and will pay . an annual Ice of two pounds: The by-law further notcsthat li- cence holdearc not to harbour ti - piers or dram drinkers in their bar ropms on the Sabbath day and are at all times to maintain good order or they shall be liable for every such offence to a fine of one pound. into a smooth package with Just enough rough edges to remind you this is still live theatre. WINNERS - Peter Elliott and Deborah Turnbull in.W.indfall at Huron Coun- try. Playhouse from August 9 to August 20 Main Stage. • Formerpublisher dies Andrew Y. (Andy) McLean, former publisher of the Huron Expositor, died Sunday in Victor- ia Hospital, London. McLean, one of the most high- ly regarded leaders in the weekly - newspaper industry, was the third generation of his family to pub- lish the Scaforth paper. The pa - •per was sold to Signal Star Pub- lications in 1982, after being in the McLean family for 112 years. McLean was elected •president of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association in 1973, and maintained his interest in both that association and the On- tario Community Newspaper As- sociation after retiring. in ,1985 he was appointed editor of the Huron County Historical Atlas, published by ituron County council. McLean-ylas--an-RCAF_Sttua- dron Lcadcr'during World War 11. and was later awarded the Order of the British Empire. llc served ;t federal Liberal NW for the former Huron -Perth riding from 1949 to 1953. Ile was actively involved in his community all his life. •McLean was one of •a rapidly. vanishing breed, a •newspaper owner who was also a' working newspaper man. ile will be re- membered with affection and re- spect by those who worked 'with him.