Tag: Roxy Theatre

Roxy Theatre: “Hey Ladies!”

We really enjoyed ourselves at the first Hey Ladies! we attended back in June, but for reasons to do with timing (and poor planning), hadn’t yet gone a second time…until Friday.

As per our previous experience, you could count on one hand the number of men in the audience not connected to the show in some way. Mack felt a bit uncomfortable, squirming in his chair any time the possibility of having to go up on stage came about, but as he loves Leona Brausen (she stole the show with her peahen call) and Davina Stewart as much as I do, it was an evening worth the potential stage fright factor.

Hey Ladies! is billed as “infotainment”, and I could not think of a better name for it. A variety show not unlike Oh Susannah for women, Hey Ladies! is a daytime talk show without network censors (where else would you find an audience Q & A box dressed in the form of a vagina?). Crude humour aside (the “aspic” joke got really old, really fast), the mix of light-hearted segments, from Michael Berard’s homemade Bump It and backcombing how-to, to musical interludes from Red Shag Carpet, to a “What is it?” bit featuring an oddly-shaped egg peeler, provided for an entertaining show.

Moreover, I think it’s great that Hey Ladies! promotes local talent and businesses. I can only think of the traffic to Kunitz Shoes that will arise after the three hosts raved about the selection and service at the boutique (it was also quite the Oprah-giveaway movement when Kunitz Shoes announced they were giving each audience member a luggage tag). Being able to sample locally-made liquor is also great (even in spite of the anchovy-packed lobby at intermission), and on this instance, Amber’s Brewing Company treated us to a cinnamon-cardamom beer, brewed specifically for New Asian Village.

Hey Ladies! is next up on April 23, and finishes up their season on May 21. Get your tickets soon – the shows sell out every time.

Roxy Theatre: “Hey Ladies!”

We had been meaning to go to Hey Ladies! at the Roxy Theatre for some time, particularly because two of our favourite local actresses, Davina Stewart and Leona Braunsen, were involved, but it wasn’t until late May that we managed to make it to a show.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, except that my standard for such variety/talk shows has been set by the high energy, off-the-cuff hilarity of Oh Susannah. Hey Ladies was billed as:

“your favourite daytime lifestyle show meets your favourite night time comedy jam. The final show of the season promises to be a unique evening filled with comedy, music, fashion, make-overs, ridiculousness, chit-chat, prizes, information, opinions,  possible law-suits, special guests, audience sauciness, experts, rejects, lovers, losers and much, much more.”

Though the theatre was pretty full that night, it wasn’t quite sold out. Mack was a bit uncertain about the show, as he could count the number of men in the audience on two hands.

At curtain, the ladies came out (introduced by a young Education grad named Noel, whose presence could be compared to Ellen Degeneres’ DJ sidekick), and though Stewart and Cathleen Rootsaert were present, Jana O’Connor was standing in for Braunsen, who was currently starring in a play at the Varscona. We weren’t sure how O’Connor would fare, being young and new to the ensemble, but she found her feet quickly, and supplied some of the best zingers and one-timers of the night.

Over the course of the night, several local guests were interviewed, in addition to a game and vegetarian burger taste-off. Guests included:

  • Michael Berard, a local hairstylist, who was asked about the timely subject of highlights;
  • a representative from Wine Runners, who discussed a cheeky line of California wines called Mad Housewife (available at the Sherbrooke Liquor Store);
  • a representative from Ambers Brewing Company, who introduced a coffee-rum liqueur to the audience;
  • Rick Krupa from Flirt Cupcakes; and
  • Sugar Swing, who performed two upbeat and catchy dances and talked about their lessons and weekly dances.

It really was “infotainment” (a word that was up on the marquee to describe the show), and is a perfect venue for those seeking to learn more about events and new trends happening in Edmonton. Best of all, from the liquor and food representatives came free samples – at intermission, the audience was treated to wine and liqueur samples, as well as a free mini cupcake!

The sauciness of the humour surprised me (Rootsaert’s “halter” was a running joke of the night), but really, given that there were Hey Ladies-wrapped pantyliners in the women’s washroom, I should have expected anything. By 10:30, when the show wrapped, Mack and I both had no idea that so much time had gone by – it was definitely an enjoyable way to spend a Friday night.

Stewart announced that Hey Ladies will continue next season, but details have yet to be determined. Do look for it in the fall – I know Mack and I will!

Roxy Theatre Performance Series: “BitchSlap!”

After reading numerous interviews with the stars of BitchSlap!, I was more excited than ever to see the show. So on Saturday night, Dickson and I joined a near full house at the Roxy Theatre for a remount of the 2005 Fringe hit. From the website:

“Joan Crawford (The Movie Star) and Bette Davis (The Actress): the ultimate Screen Goddesses. Too bad they hated each other so much! In this real-life showbiz feud, Crawford and Davis battle royally (like Queens) over roles, top billing, Oscars and MEN.”

Reading the brief history of the women as told in the program before the show began really helped anchor the story for me, but I’m certain I would have understood even more of the references if I was actually familiar with the actresses and their work (I kept wondering whether Davis actually spoke with such punctuated silences, or if Crawford was so appreciative of her fans). Still, a lack of prior background knowledge didn’t infringe on a general enjoyment of the play, as there were enough puns and zingers (Trevor Schmidt, as Davis, got to deliver most of them, “[Crawford]’s slept with every man at MGM except Lassie” or “You can lead a whore to culture but cannot teach them to think”) among other comedic funniness to keep me entertained.

The acting was first rate – there was an undeniable chemistry between Schmidt and Darrin Hagen (as Crawford), but more than that, the two actors seemed to be having the time of their lives sparring and one-upping the other. Their scenes together were undoubtedly the most enjoyable. Even though the Whatever Happened to Baby Jane filming sequences felt a bit long, they provided some of the best moments of the play – Crawford’s deliberate hunch while wheelchair bound, and Davis’s building fury in a climactic confrontation between their screen characters.

The closing dialogue tracing the death of both stars’ careers (appropriately delivered by the reporter, Hedda Hopper, played by the always reliable Davina Stewart) was ultimately melancholic in tone, but necessary. No matter how popular or respected they were, in the end, it didn’t matter – as female entertainers, they were treated as disposable commodities – easily replaced once past their prime by the next new up and comer.

Despite the good acting, the laughs, and the story of a feud between two legends of the silver screen, there was something missing from BitchSlap! I have no doubt why it was a hit during the Fringe, but as a full-length, theatre season play, I was expecting more.

Theatre: “Closer and Closer Apart”

Uncomfortably full, Dickson and I headed to the Roxy Theatre for Eugene Strickland’s Closer and Closer Apart. Though I usually shy away from dramas, I was intrigued by both the award-winning playwright and all-star cast. I wasn’t disappointed. From the program:

“A man once renowned for his architecture can no longer recognize his own reflection. Dressed perfectly in a suit and tie, he clings to his life’s details scrawled on scraps of paper. As he proudly tries to battle Alzheimer’s Disease on his own, his children attempt to map out the future of a man who seems lost in a city he helped build. ”

The living room set was gorgeous – strikingly modern and classic at the same time. So hip it seemed that the older, retired architect looked out of place in his own home. The backbone of a bookcase was certainly the dominating feature – both in size and representation of the crumbling state of Joe’s mental organization.

Closer and Closer Apart is one of those beautifully written, character-driven plays where details are at a premium and the audience thirsts for information (e.g. tracking the timeline of the mother’s death and Melody’s move), a valley created that mirrors Joe’s own need to fill in the blanks that he cannot recall. The opening scene with Michael, frantic on his cell phone, was brief, yet incredibly revealing. This is a sign of a deft playwright.

At intermission, I turned to Dickson and commented on how James DeFelice was “acting the crap out of his role.” In the challenging character of the architect, he not only had the speech pattern and timing dead on, but everything from his shuffle to the way his shoulders hunched over conveyed the image of a proud yet fragile man. Between his mannerisms and his dated wide-lapel, double-breasted suit, buttoned just under his belly with tie astray, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the West Wing‘s Leo McGarry (which layered the character with even more history for me, though admittedly misplaced). Sue Huff (replacing the Sterling Caroline Livingstone) was surprisingly good, visibly torn between the choice of her father or her future. Julian Arnold had a smaller role than expected – a barrel of energy on stage, his character didn’t demand too much from the seasoned actor.

Though Dickson was slightly disappointed with the ambiguous, unresolved ending, I think the play ultimately accomplished what it set out to do – raise the issue of Alzheimer’s, framing it in a realistic, relatable context. Strickland mentioned in an interview printed in the program that the play provided an outlet for those affected by the disease to speak about it without having to refer to those around them. He reached this goal in spades, crafting a heartfelt, touching work about the importance of family and connection.

Theatre: “Dinner with Friends”

Having read about Dinner with Friends in Avenue Magazine a few weeks ago, I had wanted then to see it for Davina Stewart alone. But the plot and its Pulitzer-prize winning pedigree aren’t too shabby either. From the Roxy Theatre website:

“Two married couples have been best friends for years, but when one couple announces they’re splitting up, the rug is pulled out from underneath their comfortable foursome.”

Mack’s one word reaction to this play (as ‘overheard in the theatre’) was “heavy.” From Beth and Tom’s exhausting bedroom brawl, Tom’s painful description of a disintegrating marriage, to Karen and Gabe’s realization of their own fears and insecurities, all of the scenes resonated with an uncomfortable realism and a naked truth. I found the last act, with separate scenes between the two women and men the most poignant. The friends weren’t able to relate to each other anymore; they had lost the common ground they had built their adult lives on.

The cast was positively superb. Though my initial thought was that Dana Andersen was the weakest link (due to his lack of intensity compared with the other three), I do now agree with Mack’s opinion that Andersen played exactly the type of character asked for – unassuming and laid back. While the actors did a great job, I think the play would have worked better if all four cast members looked about the same age. Otherwise, as was the case here, it seemed like the more mature Karen and Gabe trumped the younger, more naive couple.

The production made great use of portable kitchen sets, complete with edible lemon almond polenta cake (a recipe of which is included in the program)! I also liked the curtains of circular chains positioned above the stage – great visual of the connectedness of both couples, the ‘natural’ cycle of marriage (as referred to by Gabe: newlyweds, mortgage, children, menopause), and of course, marriage rings (noticeably worn only by Karen and Gabe). There was also an interesting use of offstage presence – the kids and both of Tom and Beth’s new partners are never seen, only heard and discussed – emphasizing both the “he said, she said” conundrum and highlighting the forced reliance on experience relayed through words.

Overall, it was a very personal and relatable play, and truly, “you never know what couples are like when they’re alone; you never do.”