Upcoming array of plays offers an eclectic mix
You might have wondered if Theatre Aquarius was going to kowtow to complainers who want every play to be free of controversy. You might have wondered if the 2018-2019 Aquarius season would be less risky than the current one that bruised some folks with “Blackbird,” a gut-wrenching, award-winning drama.
The answer is yes and no. There’s certainly no flame-thrower like “Blackbird” on the bill. And yes, there are plenty of populist works from Agatha Christie to a non-risky Disney-sourced musical.
You could say the 2018-19 season is eclectic. And that’s what a theatre subscription ought to be all about.
There’s everything on the agenda here, from “Steel City Gangster,” a new play about hometown crime by award-winning Canadian playwright George F. Walker, to a sweet and sassy Christmas musical called “Elf ” that had Broadway audiences wiping away tears.
The fun begins with everybody’s favourite Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie. Over the years, Aquarius audiences have enjoyed the dastardly doings in Dame Agatha’s long running London hit “The Mousetrap,” and more recently they’ve tried to guess the killer in “And Then There Were None.”
“Spider’s Web,” this year’s Christie, is a tease from start to finish, with glamorous socialite Clarissa Hailsham-Brown discovering a body in her first-class British drawing room.
This parody of a detective thriller, written for glamorous British film and stage star Margaret Lockwood, will have Christie fans trying to reel in the old gal’s infamous red-herrings. Good luck to you. “Spider’s Web” sets its trap deviously. It plays at Aquarius Sept. 19 to Oct. 6.
Theatre and television star Eric Peterson, from television’s “Corner Gas” and well-loved for his iconic turn in “Billy Bishop Goes to War,” comes to Hamilton to star in “The Father.” Florian Zeller’s 2014 Molière Award winning tragicomedy, translated by Christopher Hampton, plays with time, memory and the fear of aging. It’s a gripping look at the way reality can be twisted. A dark edge gives this play its sense of half-remembered truths. As in the best works of Edward Albee and Harold Pinter, the drama here is pierced by searing comedy. It’s been described as a work exploring the cruelties of love.
A huge success in New York and London, “The Father” asks some disturbing questions. It’s not an easy ride, but the play is worth the trip. It plays at Aquarius Oct. 24 to Nov. 10.
Hamilton actor Tim Alex played in “Elf” the first time I saw it on Broadway. And I’ll admit right now he was the only reason I went to see it. I expected a gooey story that traded on treacle and Christmas emotions.
Imagine my surprise when I found the show an ingratiating, spirited romp that touched adults as well as children. A musical about Santa’s toyshop and Buddy, an elf who works there, has plenty of warmth all wrapped up with some serious thoughts about the holiday season. When Buddy goes off to New York to find his real dad you will be touched by this show’s spirit. In a world where “Beauty and the Beast” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” are annual Christmas visitors, it’s nice to have Elf instead.
The fun starts Nov. 28 and goes right on through Dec. 23.
“Crees In The Caribbean” is a warm and thoughtful play from one of this country’s leading First Nations playwrights.
Drew Hayden Taylor tells the story of a Saskatchewan Cree couple, Gary and Evie, who travel to Mexico for a 35th wedding adventure. But the play is more than just a physical journey. As these two celebrate their years together, they also experience the toll time has taken. There’s both love and loss here. That’s generally the way with a play by Drew Hayden Taylor.
When Evie and Gary meet hotel maid Manuela, they discover how much they have in common with someone from a different culture. They understand that human stories are the same the world over and cultural diversity makes us the same, but also different.
This play is at Aquarius Jan. 30 to Feb. 16, 2019.
George F. Walker is one of Canadian theatre’s best storytellers. His plays have been celebrated across Canada, the United States and Great Britain.
Expect tough talk, rough language and rocky situations. That’s Walker’s style.
“Steel City Gangster” is a Hamilton story. Rocco Perri, the organized crime boss who ruled Hamilton in the 1930s, has been ripe for a theatre outing for years. Now he’s at the centre of Walker’s new play that premières in the city where it happened. King of the Bootleggers, Perri was an audacious and lively character.
We’ve had Kevin Land’s “Heyday,” the infamous story of the Kinrade murder, we’ve had Douglas Rodger’s ubiquitous “How Could You, Mrs. Dick?” and now it’s Perri’s turn for the theatre spotlight. I can’t wait. “Steel City Gangster” plays at Aquarius March 13 to March 30, 2019.
Disney’s “Freaky Friday” gets a musical treatment in a new version with book by Bridget Carpenter and a pop/rock score from Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (“Next to Normal”). An overworked mom and her teenage daughter mysteriously swap bodies just before the mom’s upcoming wedding day. Don’t ask.
Some folks call this piece an American Classic. Really? Expect the usual manipulation you find in a show that was once a Disney film. The right buttons will be pushed. “Variety,” known in the theatre as “The Bible of Show Business,” calls this musical “Delightfully spunky, with timeless appeal.” Well, there you go. April 24 to May 18, 2019.
After a season that fielded a terrific production of the tense drama “A Few Good Men,” a polarizing, superbly acted version of a risky drama “Blackbird” and a fascinating crime story, “The Invisible Hand,” set against a world of international finance, cultural identity issues and differing religions, the 2018-19 season may not seem as adventurous.
And truth is, it’s not.
But don’t count George F. Walker, Florenz Zeller and Drew Hayden Taylor out when it comes to controversy. Aquarius hasn’t softened their risktaking entirely. Thank goodness for that. This is a regional company that knows balance is essential. If anyone thought they were going to stop the choice of something like “Blackbird” on a future Aquarius bill, they were wrong. Lighthearted fluff is fine, just not every time out.