Old Stock and Urban Tales give new twists to traditional tales

The latest production of the Segal Centre’s 2018-2019 season gives a fresh, interesting perspective to the story of the immigrant/refugee experience to Canada at the turn of the 20^th century, and it’s done in the form of “Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story”, which is playing an extended run at the Segal Centre until December 19.

Part gypsy caravan, part travelling show and part old-time vaudeville show, “Old Stock” was originally produced by the Halifax based 2b Theatre Company, and has played to great success at the Halifax and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, as well as across Canada and the U.K. Housed in a sturdy metal shipping container, it acts as a tableau to this representative story of what it was like for Jews to flee the anti-Semitism, oppression and violence of their Eastern European homeland during the early 1900s. It focuses on two Jewish refugees: Chaim (Dani Oore) and Chaya (Mary Fay Coady), who first meet as fellow immigrants when they land at Pier 21 in Halifax, and then make their way to Montreal to make a new life for themselves, and the hardships that they have to endure in their new home, whether it be assimilation, prejudice, the struggle to make a living, and raising a family at a time when infant mortality rates were quite high.

This historical narrative is strongly complemented with a live four-piece band (which includes the two actors who portray Chaim and Chaya) that vividly recalls the folk and traditional music of that era. And it is all held together with so much force by Ben Caplan, who portrays The Wanderer, who is its narrator, anchor and in a sense, its conscience. With manic energy, a raging talent as a musician, singer and dancer, and an amazing ability as a storyteller, Caplan is almost like Tevye on steroids, as he guides the audience through the story of Chaim and Chaya with so much flair that he knows how to wear the comedy mask (especially when he rattles off so many offbeat expressions and synonyms for the phrase “sexual intercourse”) and the tragedy mask (when he graphically describes what a pogrom in a Jewish Eastern European village was all about) to such great effect, that The Wanderer plays an integral part in this narrative of this historical tableau.

So whether you’re a first or fifth generation to immigrants to this country, “Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story” is a theatrical experience that you will not only be highly entertained by, but will strongly identify with.

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For the 12^th time, the Centaur Theatre offers the perfect antithesis to all that upbeat Christmas holiday season cheer with “Urban Tales”, which continues until December 15.

“Urban Tales” is a theatrical anthology of six stories about Christmas time (but in a dark, twisted manner) that are told by a solo performer (and accompanied by the guitar strumming courtesy of the multi-talented Harry Standjofski, who is also the creative force behind “Urban Tales”). This year’s theme is “Feathers”, and each tale has that avian material prevalent in each story, whether they play a major or minor role in the development of each narrative.

Standjofski begins the night – and sets the theme and the tone quite well – with the spiritually urban story “Exterminating Angel”; Danette MacKay’s story “The Woman’s Christmas” starts off with an exhibitionist neighbour and ends as a rather empowering story; “Motherless Milk” has Alarey Alsip relate the story of an aspiring ballerina and a rather deadly eggnog concoction; and Laurent Pitre proves that he is a rising star on the Montreal Theatre scene, as he performs two stories: “A Christmas Caroler”, a terrific piece of dark comedy about a high strung young man and a persistent, homeless man-turned-Christmas caroler, and “Douai”, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran’s Christmas story told after he is killed in Kandahar. And “Urban Tales” is wonderfully capped off with Standjofski’s manic story of a man and his dysfunctional family called “seven last words’.

And finally, a note about Standjofski’s talent as a guitar player, and his ability to create such layered musical pieces with his stringed instrument and his network of pedals that so effectively creates the tone for each story. One day, he should consider just doing a solo, non-theatrical show that would showcase his ability with the guitar and what wonders he can do with it.

So if you like to celebrate the holiday season with a dark twist to it, make “Urban Tales” part of your Christmas list … and it doesn’t matter at all of you’re naughty or nice!

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To purchase tickets for “Old Stock”, go to www.segalcentre.org. To purchase tickets for “Urban Tales”, go to www.centaurtheatre.com.

A Doll’s House, Part 2 works as a theatrical sequel

There are not many sequels of classic dramatic plays that surface nearly 140 years after the original’s stage debut, especially after its original author is long deceased before they can even commit a sequel to paper.

Lucas Hnath somehow had the audacity to walk in the shoes of 19^th century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and wrote a follow up to his iconic 1879 drama “A Doll’s House” called, appropriately enough “A Doll’s House, Part 2”, which is now playing at the Segal Centre until December 9.

The play takes place in the year 1894, exactly 15 years after its ahead-of-its-time protagonist, the unhappy, suppressed housewife Nora Helmer (Sarah Constible), slams the door and leaves her husband Torvald (Oliver Becker), and the stifling marriage that went along with it. During that time, she has done well for herself, building a successful career as a writer of books that are geared towards women, and that promote ideas about marriage that are seen as radical.

What prompts Nora’s return to the home of her former husband is to clear a certain issue regarding their divorce, or she faces certain public exposure by the judge that can be ruinous – and criminal – to Nora. As she tries to air out the tensions between her and Torvald, her mother-in-law Anne Marie (Victoria Barkoff) and their grown up daughter Emmy (Ellie Moon), Nora discovers that this legal impasse was due to a simple reason: Torvald failed to officially file for the divorce in court, which makes their separation illegal. This puts a wrench in what Nora hoped would be a cathartic visit to the place where she went through a rather loveless marriage.

Although it feels like a play that is literally 140 years in the making, “A Doll’s House, Part 2” is not awash in 19^th century thinking, as it deals with domestic issues that still resonate today. As well, the dialogue is not of the stiff, stuffy nature that was common with drawing room dramas of that period; it is written with a clearer, comprehensive slant to it that contemporary audiences will better understand the situations and dilemmas of Nora and Torvald (and complete with some modern colorful language, too). However, to fully appreciate this play, it’s best to familiarize one’s self with Ibsen’s original work so that you don’t have to go into this production rather blindly (and thanks to the Segal Centre, they provide a concise summary of it in the programme book).

And kudos to set designer Pierre-Etienne Locas for his simple, understated set, which combines late 19^th century parlour décor with a minimal, neo-expressionist air to it.

“A Doll’s House, Part 2” is a compelling play of how a strong, female character who strikes a blow for women’s rights at a time when they really didn’t have any to speak of, tries to find a sense of personal closure and still has to smash through more glass ceilings before she reaches that closure. It achieves that rare accomplishment in theatre of a sequel to a classic piece of drama that actually works, so that a difficult situation can go full circle and reach its hopefully logical conclusion.

“Once” the ultimate date play

I am aware that when it comes to dating, there are such things as a “date night” or a “date movie”, but a “date play” is quite a rare thing, practically something that is unheard of.

That is, until I saw “Once”, the Tony-winning musical that kicked off the Segal Centre’s 2018-2019 season, and runs until October 28.

This is a charming, heartfelt production that is a wonderful testament to the power of music and the role it plays in the lives of ordinary people. It takes place in Dublin, Ireland, and follows the building of a strong relationship between an Irish musician (Greg Halpin) and a Czech immigrant (Eva Foote), whose common bond is their love of music.

The Czech girl somehow manages to bring out the musician’s hidden musical talent (he spends his spare time busking on the streets of Dublin, when he is not working as a vacuum cleaner repairman at his father’s appliance shop) to the point where she takes him to a studio and have these songs recorded for posterity. However, throughout this growing relationship built on music, things get complicated when they reveal they have their own set of personal baggage; the girl has a young daughter and a husband who has left them, yet she is hopeful he will return; and the guy hopes to move to New York City to further his career, where he has a girlfriend waiting for him.

“Once” is a musical that is ideal for taking your spouse or significant other to, as the ultimate “date play”. The plot is honest without having to resort to a mawkish, schmaltzy ending that one would see in old Hollywood romance movies of the 30s and 40s. And the two lead performances are excellent, especially Eva Foote as the Czech girl, who is quite captivating and delightful and brings a mix of humour, enthusiasm and boundless spirit to the role; in fact, she practically wins you over the moment after she utters her first line of dialogue.

And a word about the music. The 10-piece band does a splendid job in the show, as it plays a rollicking repertoire of Irish and Czech folk music that plays an integral part in the show’s plot, pace and as a bridge between scenes.

For more information, or to purchase tickets to “Once”, call 514-739-7944, or go to www.segalcentre.org.

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And speaking of the Segal Centre, its Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre began its 60^th anniversary season with a production that it has been presenting at the Segal Centre (and under its original name the Saidye Bronfman Centre), as well as touring around the world, for 22 times since 1972 … “A Bintel Brief”, which had a brief, week-long run from October 14 to 21.

The play is a selection of vignettes that are based on a column of the same name that appeared in the New York-based Yiddish newspaper The Forward. In it, readers aired their concerns, problems and dilemmas, and hopefully could be supplied the answers they were seeking courtesy of the paper’s editor.

“A Bintel Brief” is a fascinating snapshot of the Jewish immigrant experience in America during the turn of the 20^th century, and portrays a number of scenarios both humorous and dramatic, from a bigamist with two large families, a Yiddish/English vaudeville show, an evening English class, a young immigrant girl being roped into a marriage she doesn’t want, and the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in March of 1911, which killed 146 young immigrant workers.

Add to that a topnotch veteran cast, authentic costumes, and a verve to bring back the days of how our ancestors lived between the old country and the new world, “A Bintel Brief” was a fitting, entertaining way for the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre to starts its seventh decade.

"Les Miserables" a thundering triumph

Earlier this week, I saw the musical version of Victor Hugo's epic 1862 novel "Les Miserables" for the very first time, as the national touring company is making a brief run at Place des Arts in Montreal until February 11.

From the first pounding notes of the musical score that signals the moment the curtain goes up on a group of prisoners rowing in the underbelly of a French naval vessel in the early 19th century, to the highly-charged emotional finale, I can readily see why "Les Miz" has been nothing short of a thundering triumph on Broadway and London's West End for over 30 years, and has played around the world to the same enthusiastic reactions.

The production, which is a breath taking tale of the triumph of the human spirit and personal redemption in the face of adversity and tragedy -- and is all embodied in the main character of Jean Valjean -- is also a vivid portrayal of the harsh life among the wretched of post-Napoleonic France, as it  is about to erupt in a populist uprising against the French establishment and its military. And what I liked about it is how this story is told in a very operatic manner, complete with powerful music, authentic costumes, and striking scenery that not only immerses you into this turbulent period of French history, but also makes you think you are experiencing it within the majestic confines of New York's Metropolitan Opera House.

As well, the cast of "Les Miz" is first rate all around, including Nick Cartell who anchors the show so admirably as Jean Valjean; Melissa Mitchell as the tragic figure Fantine; Monte J. Howell and Sarah Cetrulo, who excellently provides the comic relief as the innkeeper and his wife; Danielle J. Summons as the passionate rebel Eponine; and of course, Josh Davis, who plays the policeman Javert -- who is Jean Valjean's nemesis -- to such menacing perfection.

And of course, you can't forget the show stopping songs such as "I Dreamed A Dream", "On My Own", "Master of the House"and "Stars", which were greeted with thunderous ovations from the audience.

"Les Miserables" is a thundering triumph, not to mention a vivid example of how a musical production is not only an epic visually and musically, but also how it can tell a sweeping, life-affirming story in the process. It is -- and will always be -- a definite stage must-see.

To get your tickets for the remaining performances of the show's Montreal run, go to www.evenko.ca
or www.placedesarts.com.

"Clybourne Park" is social dramedy at its best

Change can be a good thing, but when it involves a family of another race moving into a bedroom community in a Chicago neighbourhood nearly 60 years ago, that change can be a source of resistance. And that sense of resistance can go into reverse in that same house, in that same bedroom community exactly 50 years after the fact.

That’s the overall theme of Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Clybourne Park”, which is now playing at the Centaur Theatre until April 30.

The play is divided into two parts. The first part takes place in 1959, as Russ and Bev, a middle-aged married couple living in Clybourne Park are about to move out of their house. Throughout this hot Saturday as Russ and Bev are packing the last of their boxes before the big move the following Monday, they receive a number of visitors: Jim, the local parish priest; their friends Karl and his hearing impaired wife Betsy; and Albert, who is picking up his wife Francine, who works as a maid for the couple. Although the fast-paced conversations deal with a variety of rather trivial subjects (from how Neapolitan ice cream got its to name to geography), it eventually dissolves into a whole mess of anger and pain when Karl raises the topic that Russ sold his house to an African American couple (who are about to live in an all-White neighborhood), and when Jim brings up the painful memories about Russ and Bev’s deceased son, and what lead to his premature tragic death.

The second part takes place 50 years later, in 2009, when a neighborhood association meets in the same house in the same neighborhood – which is now predominantly a black neighborhood – as they discuss the prospect of a white couple purchasing the house in question, and how they plan to tear it down and build a new house on the site. The conversations between the characters, like in the first half, start off being of a trivial nature (like what really is the capital of Morocco). But as it becomes more relevant and politically incorrect, it dissolves into another mess of anger and pain; but this time, the ghosts of the house’s previous owners resurface, thanks to the discovery of an old army footlocker that was buried in the backyard.

“Clybourne Park” is dramedy at its best, with a great deal of humour, talk, frustration and hurt mixed into a winning formula on how people not only deal with subtle, yet radical change, but also how they deal with their personal demons and prejudices. My favorite part is the 1959 segment, which fondly reminded me of the sitcoms and live dramas that were part of TV’s golden age (in fact, I was wondering where the three 1950s TV cameras with the large CBS eye logos on the side were going to emerge from the audience). It started like an episode of “I Love Lucy” and ended up being a production of “Playhouse 90”. And the ensemble cast – which had the challenge of performing two (and sometimes three) different roles – successfully met their acting challenges with flying colours. In particular, special kudos go out to Lisa Bronwyn Moore, whose performance as Bev in the 1959 segment as a typical 50s housewife (complete with makeup, perfectly coiffed hair, house dress and high heel shoes) was a wonderful combination of June Cleaver and Edith Bunker; and Harry Standjofski as Russ, who in his loud, bombastic way, somehow strikes a blow for civil rights as he defends his choice of whom he sold his house to, although much to the consternation of his good friend (and closet bigot) Karl.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, call the Centaur box office at 514-288-3161, or go to www.centaurtheatre.com.

A conversation with "The Book of Mormon"'s Gabe Gibbs (aka Elder Price)

“The Book of Mormon”, the wildly satirical musical comedy that won 12 Tony Awards – including Best Musical in 2011 – will be returning to Montreal for a limited engagement from April 18 to 23 at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier of Place des Arts.

Created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker (the duo behind the edgy Comedy Central animated series “South Park”) and Robert Lopez (who created the equally edgy Broadway musical “Avenue Q”), “The Book of Mormon” tells the story of Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormons, who are fresh out of the LDS Church Missionary Training Center, and are eager for their first international posting as missionaries to spread the gospel of what the Book of Mormon has to offer to their potential new converts. However, instead of getting assigned to Elder Price’s dream posting of Orlando, Florida, he and Elder Cunningham are sent to Uganda, in particular a village that is ruled by a tyrannical local warlord.

“The show is damned funny. If you tell the average 40-year-old about a musical that deals with religion, they will run away screaming in the opposite direction. If it’s covered by the people who brought you South Park and Avenue Q, then it’s a different story, because people will not sit down and watch a two-hour musical of that nature without some humour to it,” said Gabe Gibbs, who portrays Elder Price in this current touring company production of “The Book of Mormon”.

During a recent phone interview with Gibbs from Toronto, where “Book of Mormon” is about to wrap up a seven-week run before heading to Montreal, he expressed a great deal of admiration for Stone, Parker and Lopez for raising questions about organized religion in general through “Book of Mormon” that normally wouldn’t be brought to the table during a normal conversation. But he also cited another reason why he is honoured to be part of the cast of a show that he deemed as “something special.”

“It’s fun to see someone sent into an impossible situation, and it’s even more fun to watch somebody not get it when they are offered something that is not part of their values,” he admitted. “Basically, it’s fun to watch those missionaries drown as they try to preach something that doesn’t match or connect with the villagers they hope to convert.”

Gibbs, a native of Detroit who performed “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway and joined the national touring company this past October, admits that going on the road with a hit Broadway show can be tough, but says that when the show arrives at a certain destination for a short or lengthy engagement, somehow adapts a small percentage of it to cater to the city or region where it is playing in. “For example, we tweaked about 2 percent of the show when we brought it to Salt Lake City, Utah, because that’s the world headquarters of the Mormons; and the show ended up being wildly different,” he added.

Tickets for the Montreal run of “The Book of Mormon” are still available, and cost between $41.25 and $125.75. To purchase tickets, go to www.evenko.ca.

Centaur Theatre goes “hand in hand” as it launches its 49th season line-up

There were many reasons for people to go “hand in hand” with applause at the annual unveiling of the Centaur Theatre’s line-up, which took place last Wednesday (March 15) to mark its upcoming 49^th season, which will go under the theme of “Hand in Hand”.

Roy Surette introduces Eda Holmes (left), his successor as the Centaur Theatre's Artistic & Executive Director

First of all, the gathering of media and members of Montreal’s English language theatre community were applauded by the Centaur for braving the aftermath of the major snowstorm that fell on the city the day before to attend the launch event. Second, outgoing Artistic and Executive Director Roy Surette was applauded for his 10 years of running the Centaur and bringing English language theatre in Montreal to a whole new level (he will be stepping down at the end of May to return to his native B.C.). Third, applause was called for the official introduction of his successor, Eda Holmes, who previously ran the Shaw Festival, but had her theatrical roots in Montreal with the National Theatre School and the Centaur. And finally, there were enthusiastic rounds of applause for the exciting line-up of new shows that will grace the Centaur stage for the 2017-2018 season.

Before that line-up was revealed, Surette announced that the Centaur’s facilities on St. Francois-Xavier Street in Old Montreal will undergo a series of major expansion renovations, starting in January 2018 with the Centaur 2 theatre space, with a projected completion date to coincide with the beginning of the Centaur’s 50^th anniversary season.

The six plays that are part of the Centaur’s 2017-2018 subscription series are a diverse mixture of autobiography, comedy, diversity and even puppetry that will have audiences burst out in enthusiastic rounds of hand in hand applause. It begins with “Playing With Fire: The Theo Fleury Story” (October 3 – 29), in which the Centaur transforms into a hockey rink to tell the story of Theo Fleury (based on his best selling memoir of the same name) and his up and down career as a professional hockey player, from his Metis upbringing, to winning a Stanley Cup championship, to winning a gold medal at the Winter Olympics; Fans of the “Master of Suspense” himself, Alfred Hitchcock, will certainly be pleased with this multi-award winning stage adaptation of “The 39 Steps” (November 14 – December 10), Hitchcock’s classic 1935 thriller film of spies, murder and deception … but this time with a comic twist (it also marks Ms. Holmes’ directorial debut at the Centaur); The world premiere of Pascale Rafie’s play “The Baklawa Recipe” (January 23 – February 18, 2018) is the story of two young immigrant women from Lebanon who settle in Ville St. Laurent during the 1960s, and face a struggle to integrate themselves with the traditional female roles of their native country, as female roles quickly begin to change within the feminist movement during this turbulent period in Quebec’s history; “The Daisy Theatre” (February 20 – March 25), is a puppet show with a risqué slant to it, as Canadian master puppeteer Ronnie Burkett literally pulls the strings with a show filled with some of the most outrageous, out of the ordinary characters ever in the puppetry world, including lounge singer Rosemary Focaccia and Lillian Lunkhead, billed as Canada’s oldest and worst actress ever. Please note that this show is only for adults 16 years of age and over; “Successions” (April 10 – May 6) marks the Centaur debut of Montreal playwright Michaela Di Cesare. This comedy tells the story of two second generation Italian Montrealers – one is a lawyer who is running for public office, and the other is his lackadaisical-minded brother who would rather party than hold a steady job; Originally scheduled for a run during this summer’s festival season, but has now been shifted to conclude the 2017-2018 season, the English-language adaptation of Michel Tremblay’s acclaimed drama “Hosanna” (May 15 – June 10) won four METAS Awards in 2015, and tells the story of a Cleopatra impersonator who returns home from a Halloween party in tears, and later faces his deepest fears and insecurities.

As well, the Centaur will continue its popular series of beyond the mainstage productions, including the Brave New Looks play selection, which for this 49^th season will be Scapegoat Carnival’s production of Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy “Oedipus” (October 19 – 22); “Urban Tales” (December 7 – 16), Centaur’s Christmas tradition of dark, twisted Yuletide tales told by some of Montreal’s best onstage storytellers; the “hottest two weeks in winter”, better known as the Wildside Theatre Festival (January 4 – 13, 2018), which now begins its third decade; plus the Saturday Morning Children’s Series, and the behind-the-scenes Sunday Chat-Ups and post-performance Talk-Backs.

“It’s been a marvelous 10 years as the Centaur’s Artistic and Executive Director,” said Surette. “And I know I will leave the theatre in great hands with Eda Holmes as my successor.”

For more information on what the Centaur Theatre has to offer for its upcoming 49^th season, or to purchase its 6-, 5-, or 4-play subscription ticket packages, call 514-288-3161, or go to www.centaurtheatre.com. #centaur49.