for barn lovers

Festival’s 42nd Street taps its way into audience’s heart

Glamour, glitz and leggy girls abound in 42nd Street. (Andrew Eccles photo)

42nd Street
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
Music by Harry Warren  Lyrics by Al Dubin
Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble
Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes
Directed by Gary Griffin
Musical direction by Michael Barber
Choreography by Alex Sanchez
Festival Theatre
Runs until October 28


Review by Geoff Dale

Thomas Wolfe’s You Can’t Go Home Again may have ideally depicted his literary protagonist George Webber but it certainly doesn’t fit the bill for Cynthia Dale.

After five years away from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s centre stage, Dale returned to thunderous opening-night applause for her spot-on portrayal of past-her prime prima donna Dorothy Brock in the exuberantly lavish musical answer to the Great Depression – 42nd Street.

The performance is particularly satisfying given her history of playing ingénues in such musical fare as South Pacific, Guys and Dolls and Man of La Mancha. Here she does a complete about-face, as a fading singing star – one whose reputation is likewise noteworthy for her inability to dance.

With all the venom and spite she can muster, she balks at the notion of relinquishing the spotlight to Peggy Sawyer (Jennifer Rider-Shaw), a nervous but enthusiastic new chorus girl from Allentown, Pennsylvania. In short, she is a sublimely nasty villainess who masters the art of chewing up the scenery and spitting it out with grand relish.

One has to credit director Gary Griffin for not shying away from a work that boasts such a long and illustrious history dating back to the Dirty Thirties. Instead, backed by an energetic company of singers, dancers, actors and musicians, he tackles the task with gusto, ensuring the latest revival of an old chestnut loses none of its luster.

Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes, 42nd Street made its first appearance as a 1933 American Warner Bros. musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon with choreography by Busby Berkeley and starring Ruby Keller.

The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar in 1934. In 1998 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

When Berkeley died in 1976, it was widely recognized as the archetypal backstage musical, and as the late film critic Pauline Kael noted, one that "gave life to the clichés that have kept parodists happy." The 1980 Broadway revival, directed by Gower Champion, who died six hours before opening curtain, won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

So clearly Dale, Griffin and cast have taken the multitude of cliques to heart, embracing them and ultimately producing a festival hit that will likely have crowds tapping their toes, mouthing the lyrics and cheering with delight until the autumn.

Musical director Michael Barber, conducting his talented troupe of musical colleagues from an above centre stage balcony, captures the brassy, sassy feel of Harry Warren’s score. Choreographer Alex Sanchez gloriously tips his hat, in memory of the flamboyant Berkeley, giving his dancers plenty of opportunities to glitter in the gaudy, brilliantly-lit spotlights.

There are plenty of fine performances to note, like Sean Arbuckle’s brash take as dictatorial director Julian Marsh, a role the late Jerry Orbach brought to the 1980 production; Gabrielle Jones’ gloriously over-the-top songwriter Maggie Jones who appears to be channeling the spirit of Broadway’s great shouter Ethel Merman and the perky Rider-Shaw as Sawyer.

The loose-limbed Kyle Blair shows off a great set of pipes as Billy Lawlor. Steve Ross would make Larry Hagman (Dallas) proud with his sly portrayal of the shunned Texas sugar daddy/financial backer Abner Dillon and, teaming up with Dale once again, C. David Johnson (of Street Legal fame) has a fun minor bit as Brock’s romantic interest Pat Denning.

For local theatre-lovers, check out Oxford County’s Kayla James in her Festival debut as one of the young tap-dancing chorus girls Lorraine Flemming.

So is 42nd Street great theatre? Judging from the audience response, the answer would be a resounding yes. But let’s turn our collective eyes to a few theatrical cliques for further analysis.

They don't make 'em like anymore! Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Girl fills in for the ailing leading lady and tap dances her way to stardom. And then boy gets girl. This is one of the all-time brassiest plays and the tap-tap-tappiest show you’ll ever find!



Verdict is in - **** out of four stars.

Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets: 1-800-567-1600 or online http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/

This review is also posted online at:  The Beat

Much Ado About Nothing

Ben Carlson (Benedick) and Deborah Hay (Beatrice)

head the cast in Much Ado About Nothing. (Andrew Eccles photo)

Much Ado About Nothing
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Christopher Newton
Runs until October 27 at the Festival Theatre


Review by Geoff Dale

There are more than enough valid reasons to catch Much Ado About Nothing at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 60th anniversary but one in particular needs to be highlighted from the onset – the brilliant performance of Deborah Hay as the strong-willed, forceful Beatrice.

Not only does Hay bring to the role the perfunctory elements of independent mindedness and sharp wit demanded by the character, she also demonstrates in the process what a remarkable and delightfully funny physical actor she can be when given the right opportunities.

Avoiding that dreaded spoiler alert, let’s just say there are several plum scenes that had the opening night audience rocking about with laughter at her antics.

Thanks to some clever casting, she is paired nicely alongside the expressive Ben Carslon as Benedick, known for his clever nature, albeit with a propensity for being a tad mean and controlling– in short something of a lovable rogue who like, Beatrice, ultimately undergoes a radical transformation of thought in the area of love.

For the most part director Christopher Newton does an admirable job, moving the nearly three hour production along at a respectable pace. While some purists may quibble about setting the play in 20th century Brazil, the locale hardly detracts from the overall impact on the plotline.

One, however, could express the desire for less of the arguably uninspired choral dance moves and the efforts of dueling pianists, melodically amusing at times but seemingly plopped into the work simply as fillers and certainly not that relevant to the action.

However, one can hardly dispute the company captures the genius of Shakespeare by presenting as the title suggests – a lot of noise about nothing. A romantic comedy that balances both humour and tragedy, Much Ado About Nothing is a superbly entertaining example of the bard’s fascination with wordplay. Many of the cast members are up to the challenge of showcasing the witty dialogue front and centre.

For those unfamiliar with the basic plot, Claudio (Tyrone Savage) and Hero (Bethany Jilliard) plan to get married but Don John (Gareth Potter), the villainous illegitimate brother of Don Pedro (Juan Chioran) slanders Hero with false evidence. With the perfunctory accusatory outbursts from both sides, the wedding is called off and Hero faints.

Her family – led by Leonato (James Blendick) – suspect slander and decides to pretend Hero died from shock. Don John’s plan is revealed while Claudio still mourns Hero’s death. Eventually, Hero is revealed to be alive and the marriage goes ahead as planned.

One of the company’s most recognizable actors, Blendick offers another one of his crowd-pleasing performance as the well-respected elderly noble Leonato; Jilliard captures the essential kindness of the gentle Hero and Potter, while rarely seen as Don John, does display some of the melancholy and malice of what it is basically a minor character that Shakespeare uses as a symbol of discord.

Whatever minor tweaking might be called for, at the end of the day Hay offers up a stellar performance that is much ado about something and more than worth the price of admission. A great opening for the 60th season. ***1/2 out of four stars.


Approximate running time: 2 hours, 41 minutes
Contact Stratford Shakespeare Festival: 1-800-567-1600


This review is also posted online at:   The Beat 

Follow-up: Street art in Thamesford

Back on April 30th I posted about stopping to chat with Dave Clarke while he was creating chalk art of a wolf on the sidewalk in Thamesford.


Recently as we drove through Thamesford again, I noticed the finished piece of art and thought it would be fun to show you the completed wolf.

 In the interim, the artist has also added this fun piece.

While we are on the topic of art, here is a still life found in our front hallway - Gray decided that Geoff‘s guitar case was an appropriate perch.

Music on the trail

This Baltimore Oriole serenaded me from a tree top tonight.

Evening visitor

An early evening visitor to the backyard.

MacHomer a murderously funny production

Rick Miller plays fast and loose with Macbeth, mixing the Bard with the Simpsons with side-splitting results. Photo by Andrew Eccles

By GEOFF DALE

STRATFORD – The moment you settle into your seat in the cozy intimate Studio Theatre, for the satiric onslaught of master impressionist/comic actor/physical dynamo Rick Miller, an odd realization hits like a lightning bolt.

Prior to the startup of the 75-minute hysterically funny MacHomer, you find yourself  immersed in another but oddly familiar world – pleasantly tapping your feet, humming the melodies to a seemingly endless string of theme tunes from countless TV shows from the 50s, 60s, and 70s and beyond.

Then the lights dim, the ominous voice in the dark warns the packed house about the usage of electronic devices but even more importantly the potential of blurting out bad Simpson impressions, urging them to get them out of their system before Miller inhabits centre stage.

It’s time for a show the program notes say has been seen by more than 500,000 people in 170 cities – an outlandish take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth through the voices and gesticulations of about 50 or so animated characters first brought to life by Matt Groening and literally re-animated by the frantically energetic Miller.

Shakespeare purists might object to the Reader’s Digest version of the bard’s classic tragedy – two acts in just over an hour – but any public court of opinion (even the odd snooty critic with nary a sense of humour) would over-rule such a trite objection.

From the opening scene of the three witches (Captain McAllister, Moe Szyslak and Principal Seymour Skinner) plotting the corruption of MacHomer (Homer Simpson) to the bloodthirsty closing battle between the heroic MacDuff (a delightfully boozed up Barney Gumble) and the witless MacHomer, Thane of Glamis, the production is a non-stop explosion of puns, gags, satiric references to the likes of one Stephen Harper, the appearance of a “real” Scot Sean Connery and even the odd passing nods to such cultural usurpers as Family Guy’s Peter Griffin.

The casting choices are simply brilliant and spot on, with Charles Montgomery Burns as a wonderfully evil Duncan, King of Scotland, the unctuous Waylon Smithers as his son Malcolm, Marg Simpson as the piercingly funny Lady MacHomer and Krusty the Clown’s ineffectual drunken porter on duty the night the king is murdered.

In addition to Miller’s dazzling performance that has the star/creator dripping with set at the conclusion, he’s aided by animations that will delight Simpsons fans and, to some degree, actually assist those not completely familiar with Macbeth.

But is this really art?

A resounding yes – much like Warner Brothers’ cartoons What’s Opera Doc? and The Rabbit of Seville, or the Marx Brothers’ mind boggling cinematic assault on classic culture, A Night at The Opera. MacHomer, like those precedent-setting bits of pop art marry both elements of high and low-brow culture, making it virtually impossible for audiences along for the ride to determine where parody begins and ends.

The real tragedy here would be foolishly issuing a number of spoiler alerts, thus stripping the production of its many moments of sheer surprise or perhaps hinting at the joys of listening to the audio crucifixion of Queen’s immortal pop classic Bohemian Rhapsody by dozens of music’s most annoying singers – fans of Justin Bieber and even Bob Dylan, be forewarned.

While MacHomer “unofficially” opened the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 60^th season, it closes May 26, just prior to the official opening ceremonies. So now is the time to catch a very clever, side-splitting bit of pop culture that merits four out of four d’ohs.

A walk on the trail

Knowing we would be staring down the barrel of a humidex reading of 35 today, I took a walk in the woods just before dinner last night.  It was very pleasant and not buggy at at.  Enjoy