The review begins:

I confess that I went into the opening night performance of Marion Bridge at Globe Theatre feeling skeptical.

The premise, after all, sounds like the set-up to a joke: “A nun, an actress and a soap-opera addict walk into a kitchen …”

Not only that, the fact the three are sisters home together — in Cape Breton, no less — for the first time in years because their mother is dying made me fear I faced a turgid evening of stereotypical CanLit dysfunctional-family angst.

But thanks to Daniel MacIvor’s sharp writing, unexpected story twists, and above all top-notch performances, Marion Bridge won me over.

The 18th-century French poet Jacques Delille famously noted that while we can choose our friends, “Fate chooses our relatives.”

More than one family has fractured because siblings discover they have nothing in common with each other … which is exactly what has happened to the family in Marion Bridge, Globe Theatre’s next mainstage production, running Jan. 20 to Feb. 6.

Written by Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor, Marion Bridge is set in Cape Breton, where the three MacKeigan sisters have come together to care for their dying mother.

Aside from their last names, they have nothing in common. Theresa (Laura Condlin) is a nun. Agnes (Liz Gilroy) is a struggling actor.

And then there’s the soap opera-obsessed youngest, Louise, played by Judy Wensel, a recent graduate of the University of Regina’s drama department.

“She’s the only sister who still lives in the home where they all grew up,” Wensel explains. “She feels a bit of frustration. They’re in her space. But over the course of the play they find some common ground and they become sisters again. They lost sight of how family is important, and by the end of it they discover that again.”

Read the rest.

For Ruth Smillie, artistic director of Globe Theatre, the key to Globe’s upcoming production of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale of Peter Pan is that children don’t differentiate between reality and make-believe the way adults to.

Smillie, who is directing the production, recalls that this past summer she overheard a group of boys walking up and down the street, “very engaged in what they were doing,” and overheard them say, “We have to save the president,” with “enormous concern and conviction.”

It’s that kind of immersion in the world of make-believe that Smillie hopes Globe’s Peter Pan will provide to people of all ages.

Including directing and being part of the cast of Tent Meeting, Regina Lyric Musical Theatre‘s fall show, which opens next Tuesday, November 3, and runs through November 8 at the Shumiatcher Theatre in the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

I’d tell you about it, but you can read all about it in today’s Regina LeaderPost. The story begins:

Regina Lyric Musical Theatre’s production of the gospel-flavoured musical Tent Meeting opens on Tuesday.

Edward Willett, who is directing and performing in the play, explained that it’s set in the 1930s in a small town in Alberta. The town is in danger of “drying up and blowing away” when a gospel quartet arrives in town to put on a tent meeting.

The leader of the quartet group, Rev. Elroy Phillips, played by Michael W. Hamann, has a history in the town. A local farmer, George Hoveland — played by Willett, who also plays quartet bass Bob Lefsrud — is “watching his fields blow away” and has become bitter. He used to sing gospel music, but lost his faith because of the drought. George’s wife, Dolly — played by Heather Ross, who is also the pianist — is worried about her husband. A bit of a love triangle is one factor involved. Back in the town, Phillips is trying to set everything right.

If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll come see it! Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students, and are available at Bach & Beyond or online here (or at the door, if we’re not sold out). Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.

It’s a good show. It’d be a sin to miss it!

Before Angel Genereux became the producer of Regina Little Theatre’s programs of one-act plays in 2007, they were seen strictly as a venue for new talent on and backstage, and traditionally drew small audiences.

Genereux thought they could draw new audience members, too. She boosted publicity. The result: last spring’s one-acts drew record crowds and made money for the first time ever.

“It’s a chance to see what RLT is all about,” she says. “And it’s cheap: 10 bucks!”

Fast-forward to this fall. Genereux is no longer the producer of the one-acts (she’s moving up to producing the main-stage shows), but she’s still involved. She’s directing one of the three short comedies featured in RLT’s Comedy Cabaret on Friday and Saturday at the Regina Performing Arts Centre.

“I’m the only first-time director, and I picked a 50-minute play with seven characters and heavy on props and set!” she says.

An excerpt:

Mackey says one of the main reasons she created the show was to let veterans know that a lot of people really do appreciate the sacrifices they made.

Another was to educate children, and Jake’s Gift, Mackey says, elicits the same “amazing” response from 10-year-olds as it does their elders.

“Those young kids really get it, and it makes them interested in history. They come up to me afterwards and want to know more about the war and Remembrance Day. That’s such an incredible reward.”

Jeff Tonita and company sing “Live, Laugh, Love”

Eduardo and Monica Ventura dance "Bolero D'Amour"

…and then I can think about other things again. After a week of rehearsals and performances mixed in with other stuff, I was more tired after last night’s show than I think can remember ever being before. But a good night’s sleep took care of that, and now I’m looking forward to the final show tonight.

Marianne Woods as Stella Deems and Aubree Erickson as Young Stell, "Who's That Woman?"

Here are a couple more photos to whet your appetite to come! 8 p.m. tonight and 2 p.m. tomorrow at the University Theatre, Riddell Centre, University of Regina. You can buy your tickets at the door; online ticket sales for tonight will end shortly and for tomorrow will end this evening.

From left to right, Donna Trainor, Jeff Tonita, Amanda Dancsok, Dianne Burrows, and me.

Today’s Regina LeaderPost has a preview of next week’s Lyric Musical Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, in which I play Buddy Plummer.

And no, I didn’t write it myself. Kelly-Anne Reiss did the honours; the photo is by Tony Fleece.

Here’s an excerpt:

Regina audiences are in for a rare treat as the Lyric Musical Theatre of Regina will be putting on a full stage production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies.

There has not been a staging of the entire musical in Canada for years, even though several of the songs, including “Broadway Baby,” have become standards.

Director Robert Ursan decided to revive the musical because Sondheim, who also wrote Sweeney Todd, is one of his favourite lyricists.

“And we’re lucky to have the talent here in Regina to do it,” Ursan said about his cast that has more than 40 people.

The production was just one more example of the incredible depth of talent we have here in Regina, demonstrated both by the young people who did the dancing and the adults who taught and guided them–in this case, Ana Maria Campos and Nathalia Barbara.

The two young leads, Marcelle Pieri as Lise and Wade McLean as Colas, were wonderful to watch. Marcelle in particular was delightful, lighting up the stage so that the audience fell instantly in love with her.

A personal highlight for me was the performance of Robert Ursan as Widow Simone. Little did I know, when Rob was best man at my wedding, that he would one day also make such an outstanding woman.

Many of the performances, as is often the case with supposedly amateur theatrical productions in Regina, were of professional calibre.

The same cannot be said, alas, for the performance of the audience members seated behind me. There, two ladies apparently shared the opinion that since this was ballet and no one on stage was talking, they were free to talk over the music and provide each other with an endless play-by-play analysis of the production.

Accompanying them were two small girls, who, following in their elders’ footsteps, not only provided their own commentary but also somehow between them managed to make a bag of potato chips last for the entire second act, first by slowly crunching each chip, then by (as near as I could tell without turning around) folding and refolding the bag in a vain attempt to turn it into a particular complex piece of origami. This was particular annoying since I had gulped down a large carbonated beverage prior to re-entering the theatre at the end of the first intermission in obedience to the sign stating “No food or drink in the theatre.”

Occasional annoyed looks behind me did nothing to elicit quiet, and I wasn’t quite prepared to turn around and say “Shhh!”, so I suffered in silence–and brooded.

What we need, I decided, is a national organization to set standards and provide accreditation for audience members across the country.

Called CLAP, for Canadian Live Audience Professionals, this organization would offer classes in audience behavior. Those who successfully completed the course of study, and passed a series of written and practical tests, would become fully accredited professional audience members, and would receive preferential treatment at theatres across Canada.

Eventually I foresee a day when only fully accredited CLAP members would even be allowed to attend live theatrical events or un-amplified musical concerts. (A subset of CLAP could be devoted to moviegoers.)

CLAPpers, as they would be called, would have a thorough grounding in the basics. They would know that one does not talk to one’s seat neighbor in a loud voice because it disturbs one’s fellow audience members and the performers on stage. (You can hear the actors talking, right? What makes you think they can’t hear you?)

They would know that one does not bring food items or mints wrapped in crinkly paper to the theatre, then spend several minutes opening them during quiet moments in the proceedings. (When I attended Sandra Shamas’s work in progress at Globe Theatre three weeks ago, a woman unfortunately did just that, earning a scathing comment from Shamas. Every actor who’s ever tried to play a scene while listening to crackling noises from the third row applauded her silently, though the audience seemed shocked. Had they all been members of CLAP, the issue would never have arisen.)

CLAPpers would know enough to turn off their cell phones, or at least set them to vibrate rather than ring, unlike the two individuals whose all-important communications punctuated two separate performances of Regina Little Theatre’s production of The Play’s The Thing a couple of weeks ago.

CLAPpers would know that while coughs and sneezes may not be entirely avoidable, they can be stifled to a certain extent, so that the rest of the audience does not miss important plot points and punchlines. They would know that if a child is brought to the theatre and that child starts to cry, that child should be taken outside immediately.

CLAPpers would know, in short, that a live performance is a one-time-only thing, that it cannot be rewound, replayed, or perfectly recreated. They would know that they are not watching TV in the privacy of their own living rooms, but are sharing with other human beings a unique artistic experience. They would know, therefore, to be attentive to the performers and considerate of other audience members.

We’re blessed in Regina with many fine professional performers. Isn’t it about time we developed some professional audiences?

The Apple Tree, the Broadway musical Regina Lyric Light Opera is presenting at the Shumiatcher Theatre in the Mackenzie Art Gallery through Sunday afternoon, is a fabulous, funny show that shouldn’t be missed.

Unfortunately, judging by the half-full houses on Wednesday and Thursday, it is being missed, by far too many people.

Why?

Most likely because it’s not a well-known show. Never mind the fact the original ran for 463 performances on Broadway in 1967 and was nominated for six Tony awards. Never mind that its creators, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, are the same songwriting team that gave us Fiddler on the Roof, one of the most popular musicals of all time. Never mind that it’s based on well-known short stories by Mark Twain (The Diary of Adam and Eve), Frank R. Stockton (The Lady or the Tiger?) and Jules Feiffer (Passionella).

All of that is, in too many people’s minds, irrelevent, even if they’re aware of it (which they probably aren’t). The fact remains that The Apple Tree isn’t one of the handful of musicals that have permeated public consciousness. It’s not The Sound of Music. It’s not The Phantom of the Opera. It’s not My Fair Lady. And since people haven’t heard of it, they decide to save the paltry $17 it would take to go see it and save up for the next time they can spend $80 on a second-rate touring production of one of the musicals they have heard of.

This fear in people’s minds of encountering something new is a problem throughout the arts. The Mackenzie Art Gallery brings in fabulous show after fabulous show of art of all types–but it knows perfectly well that it’s going to get record crowds only when it brings in something like the upcoming Impressionists show (which I’ll be writing about next week, by the way). Why? Because people have heard of Monet and Cezanne, so they already know what they’ll see when they go the gallery–they don’t risk being challenged by something unexpected.

The Regina Symphony Orchestra often plays new works–but they know they have to include well-known works by older composers, preferably dead ones, or the audience will complain.

There are plenty of readers out there who read nothing but bestsellers by authors they’ve heard of. They’d never think of tackling the first novel by a promising new writer who hasn’t won any awards or had much publicity. They don’t know what might be in it, do they? They don’t know what to expect. Better to stick to Tom Clancy or Stephen King or Michael Crichton.

A talented bunch of musicians have just released their first CD on an indie label? Let someone else take the risk of listening to it. Look, Celine Dion has another one out, get that instead.

That’s human nature, I guess, and maybe it’s not fair to blame people for it…but it’s frustrating when you’re on the other side of the equation, when you’re one of those talented musicians or you’re that new author or you’re running an art gallery or you’re producing The Apple Tree.

In fact, it can be equally frustrating even if you’re one of those established artists or writers or composers whose fans know the sort of thing you create and expect you to keep creating pretty much the same thing. Many musicians and authors have attempted to move outside the box of their fans’ expectations, only to find that their fans aren’t willing to follow them into the unknown world outside.

But unfortunately for artists, they aren’t comfortable inside boxes. Their creative urge demands that they continue to create new things, things that aren’t exactly like the things they’ve already created, things that no one else has created.

And so, art has moved beyond the Impressionists, music has moved beyond Schubert, literature has moved beyond Jane Austen, musicals have advanced beyond Oklahoma!. New things are constantly being created.

You don’t have to like the new stuff. Everybody has their own tastes, and that’s all right. But at least, give the new stuff a chance.

You might be pleasantly surprised…and you’ll make an artist, writer or performer very happy.