Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata

January 22 – February 1, 2014

Martha Cohen Theatre

https://www.hprodeo.ca/2014/do-you-want-what-i-have-got-a-craigslist-cantata

Listen to my review from CBC Eyeopener at

http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/episode/2014/01/27/jessica-goldman-reviews-a-craigslist-cantata/

RATING

For musical lovers – Be warned, there aren’t any big dance numbers or emotional story arc or lead performers or any plot for that matter. It’s just Craigslist ads (some verbatim, some not) sung to you for 75 minutes. But if you can lay aside the need for a traditional musical format, you’ll find that this gem of a show has much to offer. Comedy, sadness and a peak at human longing – what more could you ask from a musical? SEE IT

For musical haters – Yes this show is all singing, all the time. But unlike the traditional musicals that you might have turned your nose up at in the past, this one doesn’t have any of the hackneyed trappings. No obvious storyline, no melodramatic crooning or mawkish dance numbers and no laughably easy resolution. Instead the show offers an equally funny and sad look at the human condition as evidenced through online ads that will make you laugh and think. SEE IT

For the occasional theater goer – The lack of a plot and main characters will throw you even though I all but guarantee you will laugh heartily throughout the show. Still, this may feel a little to unstructured for you to get all that you should out of it. MAYBE SEE IT

For the theatre junkie – Now THIS is how a plotless play/musical is done. Tons to glean from it while being equally entertaining as it is smart. Streamline direction/choreography and bare minimum set design allow the performers to shine. SEE IT

Munich Now

January 14 – 25, 2014

Big Secret Theatre

https://www.hprodeo.ca/2014/munich-now

Listen to my review of Munich Now on CBC Eyeopener at http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/theatre/2014/01/20/jessica-goldman-reviews-munich-now/

RATING

For German speakers – I chatted with a German-speaking woman at the show who assured me that the language being spoken was in fact High German and not simply a scambling for the language. In fact, there were different reaction times to the jokes being told as those that understood the language laughed several seconds before the rest of us could catch up with the surtitles. However the delight in hearing your mother tongue so amusingly used in Calgary cannot fully outstrip the play’s deficits of story arc or meaning. MAYBE SEE IT

For occasional theatre goers – Forget the fact that you probably don’t want to read surtitles to understand a play, the fact that this show has no plot or point will frustrate you and far outweigh any amusement you might experience as a result of the absurd sketch-like bits. SKIP IT

For theatre junkies – What the Rabbits are trying to do here is impressive both in terms of the dialogue challenges and the effort to move beyond traditional plot-driven narratives. But in trying to pump this brand of surrealism into the show, they have lost the ability to give us something to hang onto or come away with. We haven’t  any clear idea what the playwright was trying to say therefore, while we may be amused, the giggle quickly fades away into so-what-ness. MAYBE SEE IT

 

BOOM

January 15 – 19, 2014

Max Bell Theatre

https://www.hprodeo.ca/2014/boom

 

Depicting 25 years of political, cultural and personal history featuring oodles of famous and infamous newsmakers along with a trio of ordinary folk in a two-hour documentary-style play sounds like a company biting off more than they can chew. Attempting this lofty feat with just one solo actor sounds like insanity. However if the production in question is BOOM and the writer/director/performer is Rick Miller, not only is the content chewable but the only thing insane about it would be to miss this astonishing whirlwind theatrical experience.

Part performance, part impersonation, part documentary but fully multi-media, BOOM (which is premiering at the High Performance Rodeo) tackles the era between 1945 and 1969, or what we in North America more affectionately call the baby boom era. There’s lots of dramatic fodder for Miller to mine as he draws on both Canadian and American history and major world events to paint a picture of what it was like to come of age during this pivotal time. It’s the time after all when radio gave way to TV and TV helped birth mass consumerism. A time when mellow gentleman crooners like Perry Como were overtaken by sexualized song men like Elvis and Jagger. A time when innovation took us from Hiroshima to landing on the moon. And of course an era  when politicians like Kennedy, Castro  and Trudeau were making waves at home and abroad. Miller makes sure we see and hear about it all.

Set on a simply configured stage (designed by Yannik Larivee) consisting of a tall vertical cylindrical centre encircled by a horseshoe-like ring that comes to life in a visual splendor of multimedia magic, Miller leads us chronologically through the era playing (impersonating) the world’s most influential politicians, activists, actors and musicians.  And I mean hundreds of them. Or so it seems. Miller gives voice to everyone from Churchill to Malcom X to Janis Joplin utilizing bitingly clever lighting, expressive animation and authentic archive footage to seal the effect. Miller sings, plays instruments, orates and unleashes impressions at such a dizzyingly talented pace that he is easily forgiven if one or two of the lot don’t quite land as strongly as the others. Conversely, squeals of joy erupt from the audience when Miller gets a particular nostalgic favorite just right as was the case with his ‘Rabbit of Seville’ bit. The audience also thrills at the litany of era-defining commercials Miller voices such as one showing Camel cigarettes being heartily endorsed by doctors as their preferred brand.

While there is no question that we are mesmerized by  David’s Leclerc’s projections, Bruno Matte’s lighting and Miller’s seemingly endless ability to impersonate any individual, it’s the personal that elevates this show from being simply a visual and aural trip down memory lane. At the outset of the play, Miller gives voice to three baby boomers, Madeline, a small town Ontario woman who also happens to be his mother;  Lawrence, a black American draft dodger/musician and Rudolph, an Austrian living in the American zone of Berlin. It’s through these characters and their feelings/ reactions to the events around them that really gives BOOM its heft. Granted, in the cacophony of information and images that abound in this show, it takes some time to latch on to these individual stories, but once hooked we are on the edge of our seats to see what happens to them next.

Clocking in at two hours without intermission, BOOM is an exhaustingly busy but thrilling production that makes twenty-five years of history fly by in a manner that both tickles us intellectually and thoroughly entertains us. It was 1964 when Bob Dylan sang The Times They Are a-Changin’  and while his song of transformation wasn’t about how we experience theatre, it most certainly could pertain to Miller’s show. BOOM is not simply a superlative theatrical experience, but I’d venture to say that it will change the way we think of historical-docu period plays from now on.

 

RATING

For Boomers – I sat in front of a bullseye boomer woman who quietly laughed and sang and cried and nodded her head in agreement throughout the entire show. This is your story told brilliantly. SEE IT

For political/cultural history buffs – I’m not of the boomer generation, yet there was not one song or political event/figure or issue of the era I wasn’t acutely familiar with. It’s amazing how you can have nostalgia for things you didn’t yourself experience. Add to that the thrilling production and engaging personal narrative and you have a winner. SEE IT

For the unaware – Several times I wondered how the 20-somethings who have no or little knowledge of the political/cultural references in the show were experiencing the performance. No doubt much was lost on them. But the heart of BOOM is the personal coming of age journey experienced by three relatable characters that I believe transcends the fact that one may not know who Sly and the Family Stone is. Besides, you will never get a more enjoyable or visually arresting history lesson than this. MAYBE SEE IT

For theatre junkies. I could go on about how this show pushes the boundaries of docu-theatre and multimedia accompaniment. I could talk about how beautifully narrative is cushioned in context. I could speak of Miller’s outstanding command of his material. But really I just want to say GO. NOW! SEE IT

 

 

Eric Peterson in Seeds. Photo Credit Guntar Kravis

SEEDS

January 15 – 18, 2014

Theatre Junction Grand

http://www.theatrejunction.com/

 

All Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser wanted was to grow the pesticide-resistant canola plants that he said appeared on his property one day as a result of contamination from a neighbor’s farm. All Monsanto Canada Inc. (the biotech company who created the gene that made the canola plant so chemically immune) wanted was to protect its patent and stop what they saw as the theft of their seeds by Schmeiser. All playwright Annabel Soutar wanted was to do was to take this true story of the four-year court battle that ensued and create a piece of verbatim docu-theatre based on court transcripts and interviews with all the playersinvolved. Sounds simple enough. But just like the biased self-serving perceptions held by Schmeiser and Monsanto in this landmark court battle, Soutar’s play Seeds also gives us a skewed and at times insultingly subjective story that unfortunately takes much of the docu out of the drama in this otherwise splendid production by Montreal’s Porte Parole.

Directed with thrilling fluency and invention by 2013 Siminovitch Prize winner Chris Abraham, the play mimics Soutar’s research into the 1998 case of Monsanto Canada Inc. versus Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser that eventually made it all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada. We watch as Soutar (played by Liisa Repo-Martell) interviews everyone from scientists to activists to farmers to lawyers to the Monsanto PR representative (played with verve by an ensemble cast) in an effort to uncover the truth. Most of her time however is spent speaking with Schmeiser himself (a somewhat one-dimensional Eric Peterson) to get his side of this David and Goliath story.

Despite the play containing an abundance of scientific facts and theories and an ample amount of legal procedure pertaining to patent laws, Abraham directs the action on stage with such a brilliantly orchestrated pace that we are visually mesmerized if not altogether narratively engaged. Much of the credit for this must also go to Julie Fox’s energetically busy set design that litters the stage with science labs, lawyer’s offices, coffee houses, courtrooms and the Schmeiser farm with what amounts to garage-sale props. Ana Cappelluto’s moody and arresting lighting design brings the cool factor to the stage and Elysha Poirier’s inventive video and projection design, which often puts the action up on stage in projected real-time video, adds much-needed depth to the production.

But looking beyond the distraction of the uber-slick production and able cast, the play offers up little more than underdeveloped characters and preachy story-telling. Soutar assures us that each character has the opportunity to speak their point of view but there is no care to make sure the tone of those views is balanced. The words may be verbatim, but without fail Soutar (and Abraham) presents Monsanto supporters as cold, grating, unlikable characters while Percy, his wife and others that side with him come across as sympathetic and reasonable voices. My reaction to this treatment was a stiffening in my seat, don’t tell me what to think response. The blatant demonizing of one side of the narrative while at the same time claiming to be a balanced docu-drama was manipulative at best and simply bad story-telling at worst. This is not to say that the slant taken wasn’t my own personal bias, but I would have preferred to get there on our own through compelling and fair narrative treatment rather than to have one viewpoint thrust so obviously upon us.

Bias aside, Soutar’s script fell short in other areas as well. Midway through the story Schmeiser turns from simply wanting to grow the genetically modified seed that ended up on his property to becoming an activist decrying the use of GMOs altogether. Soutar glosses over this change of attitude without examining its genesis in any meaningful fashion. More confusing is the floated notion in act two that Schmeiser is not well-like by his fellow townspeople. Soutar does finally decide to show some balance in her script by revealing that many farmers in Schmeiser’s town believe he’s a liar, a fame-whore and a generally detestable person. Yet all this information is rendered impotent by the fact that Schmeiser seems to continually get elected as town mayor. Here Soutar misses the opportunity to truly show the contradictions in this complex narrative and instead simply leaves the plot twist as a dismissive head-scratcher.

At the play’s conclusion, Soutar’s character acknowledges that everyone in the audience will come away with different views about the truth of the case. Perhaps more correctly, she should have acknowledged that the audience would come away with views about her truth of the case. But despite several narrative reservations, there is no denying that Seeds is a gorgeous production and an imaginative staging of one Canada’s most recent blockbuster court cases. Who knew patent law could be so sexy?

 

RATING

For GMO haters – The David and Goliath treatment which demonizes big biotech will appeal to you and you will be easily able to gloss over any narrative criticism thrown Schmeiser’s way. SEE IT

For the occasional theatre goer – Lawsuits and science may not seem like entertaining fodder for a night at the theatre, but this production is far from dry. Gorgeous to look at, easy to digest and with a quick pace, the play will keep you engaged if not enthralled. MAYBE SEE IT

For the theater junkie – I rarely endorse style over substance, but in this case the production is so thrilling that the narrative issues irritate less than they would otherwise. Go for the experience and leave your red pen at home. SEE IT

 

 

 

 

6.0 How Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won

Jan 13 – 25, 2014

Lunchbox Theatre

https://www.hprodeo.ca/2014/heap-and-pebble

Listen to my review of the Northern Light Theatre/Lunchbox Theatre/High Performance Rodeo production of Valentina Ceschi and Thomas Eccleshare for Dancing Brick’s 6.0 How Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won at

http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/theatre/2014/01/14/jessica-goldman-reviews-six-point-zero/

 

RATING

If 6.0 is a perfect score in ice dancing (or it was until that system was replaced in 2005 – but we’ll ignore that for now) let’s follow that model as a way for me to rate this show. The 6.0 scoring method is divided up into 3 parts – technical merit – required elements and presentation:

For technical merit –  Trevor Schnidt’s direction and choreography of the wood-skating scenes was dynamo. Even better was Gervais and Borotsik’s execution. The production has decent video projections to create mood, and the use of dry ice in the theatre was a nice touch. 5.5

For required elements – This is a High Performance Rodeo show, so I want something unique and not the kind of traditional play we see during the regular season. A comedy/polemic wrapped in ice-dancing on wood – not bad!  4.75

For presentation – The acting was terrifically fun and  audience participation was well incorporated. Some of the direction in the non-skating parts was a little clunky and the show  could have flowed better but overall it fit it’s one-hour time slot with very few lags. 5.0

Whatever that averages out to – I thoroughly enjoyed this show!

 

 

A Brimful of Asha

Engineered Air Theatre

Jan 9 – 11, 2014

https://www.hprodeo.ca/2014/a-brimful-of-asha

 

As the saying goes, if it’s not one thing, it’s your mother. For Indo-Canadian director/writer/actor Ravi Jain, the one thing is his mother Asha, or more specifically her unyielding insistence that he settle down and get married already. When Asha’s nagging turned to meddling in the form of trying to arrange marriages for him, Jain took his personal drama and channeled it for the stage. A Brimful of Asha is the true account of Jain and his mother at loggerheads over the question of when, to whom and by what means he should marry. If Jain had left the idea at that, the result might have been a quaint run of the mill culture clash story suitable for sitcom timing and stock characters. Instead Jain made the brave and very headline-grabby move of casting himself and his non-actor mother as themselves in the show. The result is a charming, if not altogether successful production that relies too heavily on casting and a one note narrative.

On a simple table and chair set we are told to imagine is the Jain’s family kitchen, the moon-faced Asha clad in a beautiful hot pink sari, tells us we are not here to see a play. Instead she gracefully informs us, we’re here to help her sort out a dispute with Ravi. A dispute, according to her, where he is wrong. Thus begins a comical, fourth wall-breaking  he said, she said recounting about the “absolute true” events that led Ravi’s parents attempts at arranged marriage during a trip he made to India in 2007. We listen as Asha explains that her duty in life is to see her children happily married and the pressure she feels from her community in Indian and Canada to make this happen. We see Canadian-born Ravi rail against the guilt put upon him by his parents traditional marital views and his need to come to marriage in his own way.  Mostly we just enjoy the bond we see between mother and son as they argue, make fun of each other and revel in the laughs their version of the story gets from the audience.

But somewhere just over halfway into this ninety minute production, the novelty wears off and the story stagnates. We get not one but two lengthy scenarios involving Ravi and a “marriageable” girl , Asha’s retorts of ‘because I’m your mother and I’m right’ become repetitive and large block of the tale takes place without Asha, leaving her sitting mute on the stage and leaving us wondering if and when she will fold back into the production.

That’s the problem with “absolute true” stories. Just because it happened that way doesn’t necessarily make it interesting.  Where A Brimful of Asha does shine is not so much in the repeated arguments/scenarios between mother and son, but rather the asides taken to give context. Asha’s description of her own marriage and move to Toronto from India shows the non-actress at her most natural story-telling and is a wonderful window into the immigrant experience. Ravi’s story about a Bollywood star who inspired him to become an actor is similarly unforced and delightful. But it was the smallest moment in the show that packed the most punch. While delivering yet another set of complaints against his mother’s traditional ways, Ravi takes a seat on the edge of the kitchen table. Asha taps to get his attention, then gently calls his name, getting louder to make herself heard. Whispering as though trying not to be heard, she shakes her head and tells him gently but forcefully not to sit on the table. Ravi looks stunned but slowly obeys and takes a chair. Whether this moment was planned or not (and I assume it was) it told us everything we needed to know about the dynamic between these two and it sealed our affection and laughter for both characters. Sometimes in comedy and drama the biggest bang comes with the smallest tap.

 

RATING

For Indo-Canadians – I heard many comments from Indo-Canadian audience members that amounted to – “We have these exact arguments in our home” and “This play is SO true” – so obviously the show resonates on a personal level with many in this cultural group. Always good to see your issues addressed and laughed at respectfully on stage.  SEE IT

For everyone else – The desire of a parent to exert influence over (control?) their child’s life is by no means exclusive to the Indian culture. This is both an educational and relatable story with some lovely giggles along the way in spite of the show’s shortcomings. SEE IT

For the occasional theater goer – The show is more of a recounting and conversation rather than a traditional play. But Ravi and Asha are charming and while their conflicts are real, they are presented as light comedy that can be easily digested and enjoyed. MAYBE SEE IT

For the theatre junkie – At ninety minutes this show felt very much like a great Fringe show that overstayed its welcome. While there is no doubt that the play’s idea is terrific and Ravi and his mom are charming on stage, the repetitive story arc and the “rehearsed” feel of the argument stops this show from being a must-see. MAYBE SEE IT

 

 

It’s Rodeo time again! Lots to choose from and many interesting productions on my list of must sees. You can listen to my some of my picks for the 2014 High Performance Rodeo at http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/theatre/2014/01/06/jessica-goldman-previews-the-high-performance-rodeo/