Shakespeare in Action

The Diary of Anne Frank

reviewed by Ron Singer

I’ve barely got any hair left on my head and what’s still there is primarily grey. My wife of 45 years has a gorgeous head of pure white hair. And when we go to the theatre here in Toronto, we fit right in, since we’re pretty much in the age range of the average legitimate theatre-goer in this City. All by way of saying, the theatre-going population for the more traditional theatre companies in this City, (and Country) consists primarily of grey and white-haired folk…in other words, seniors. Not that there’s anything wrong with seniors, per say, BUT if we seniors constitute the majority of the present day theatre audience, and a younger audience isn’t being introduced to this art, then who will eventually take over from us once we stop going?

And the answer to that question is; Shakespeare in Action, one of several professional theatre companies in TO, that brings exciting theatre workshops and productions into our schools and directly to our youth, our audience of the future. And one of this company’s recent productions was the Diary of Anne Frank, which I saw at a local high school, along with over 250 students.

What a perfect choice of play for these teens, the now famous, true story of Anne Frank (played intelligently and note perfect by Sasha Cole), a Dutch Jewish teenage girl, who came of age during the turmoil of World War 2, while hiding from the Nazis in an attic with her family and several family friends. Almost all of the experiences in this confined living space involving this bright, spunky, highly articulate and outspoken teenager, were familiar topics and of great interest to this particular audience.

The material that teens would find easy to identify with include scenes of tense family squabbles, Anne’s keen, witty or sarcastic observations of the adults, comments that deal with Anne’s  physical and psychological growth and development, as well a most genuine, touching and brilliantly-staged and acted sexual awakening scene between Anne and the attractive teenage boy in the attic. In fact, virtually all of this play with its message of hope and positive thinking and its image of a very strong, intelligent and caring heroine, was directly in tune with this audience.

When you add the fact that almost every artistic and technical aspect of the production was beautifully handled by this professional company, which includes excellent direction by Michael Kelly, superb acting by a truly talented ensemble of 10 (Bruce Beaton, Cindy Block, Joe Bucci, Shaun Clarke, Kaitlin Janisse, Chris Karzmar, Dan Karpenchuck, Alexis Koetting and Catherine McNally), an exquisitely designed, very appropriate claustrophobic set and effective lighting (Glen Davidson), music\sound (Thomas Ryder Payne) and costumes (Lori Hickling), then you’re almost certain to get the kind of dreamed-for, ideal, positive results that I witnessed that morning in that high school auditorium. The kids were hanging on to every word and action emanating from that stage. They were living their life through Anne. They were experiencing 1st hand, live, what theatre does best, it invites and encourages you to share meaningful emotions, in the moment. AND this young audience was also presumably learning to like theatre and what it has to offer them.
Bottom line? Companies like Shakespeare in Action are not as visible or high profile as many of our other professional companies here in town, but these lesser known companies that dedicate themselves primarily to youth, obviously serve an invaluable purpose.
They’re introducing theatre to the next generation while educating and developing a future theatre audience.

The Fantasticks

Great musical at Soulpepper

performances through June 2011

reviewed by Ron Singer

No grand theatrics or spectacular technical effects here. A Spider Man, Turn Off The Dark, thankfully, it ain’t. In fact, it couldn’t be more different.

The Fantasticks is a small, intimate musical. And what exactly does that mean? Well, there are only eight cast members, two musicians (a brilliantly energetic Lily Ling on piano and a delightful Erica Goodman on harp), no major dance numbers and one very simple old fashioned, but relevant set (Christina Poddubiak). And yet, this show has the joyful impact of a successful, very-expensive Broadway musical.

The plot, music and lyrics are melodramatic, sweet and corny at certain moments and yet, they work, because like everything else in this production, directed by Joseph Ziegler, they are highly appropriate to the subject matter and they’re also beautifully simple without being simplistic. There is obviously nothing sensational here. Yet, the cumulative affect is absolutely sensational.

The Fantasticks is one of the longest running plays anywhere in the world, and seeing this production at Soulpepper led me to better understand why it can endure. I believe that it talks to old and young alike, it has an excellent balance of drama, comedy and intellect and it pushes the perfect emotional buttons for most people. It sure did for me.

The story centres primarily around two fathers (beautifully played by two stalwart pros, Michael Hanrahan and William Webster) who plot to have their respective son and daughter (very ideally cast with Jeff Lillco and Krystin Pellerin) become enamoured of one another and ultimately marry. The fathers’ thinking is, “If we order them to fall in love, they’ll never listen to us and they’re sure to do the opposite. So, let’s work at preventing them from dating and the odds are they’ll do everything in their power to disobey us in order to get together.” Does this plan work? Come find out.

Clearly, a play about young lovers is bound to deal with an abundance of youthful hormones and it’s also guaranteed to have its fair share of love songs. And it does.

For those of you familiar with the world of musical theatre, you’ll no doubt recognize the names of the superb writing team of Tom Jones (book and lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt who wrote excellently-crafted, if not always memorable, tunes for this play. However, the song that did make it big and that many in the audience will recall fondly, is Try to Remember. And Soon It’s Gonna Rain, may also be a song that generates positive memories for many. Additionally, the script tosses in references to Shakespeare and an ample number of philosophical quips to satisfy many who want more than an evening of song and dance.

The Soulpepper’s Artistic Director, Albert Schultz, seems to be having a grand old time playing the part of the Narrator who occasionally lapses into song and Michael Simpson and Oliver Dennis deliver outstanding, highly inventive comic relief.

Vocally, the cast is very capable. But then again, this play doesn’t need brilliant singers to succeed, as much as it needs strong acting. In fact, it’s the acting that takes this production to great heights. In the final analysis, I unhesitatingly call this a thoroughly gratifying piece of must-see theatre and I heap high praise on the extremely talented group of artists involved in its creation.

And as a P.S. This is the second time I’ve heard Albert Schultz sing (first time at a Tom Waits concert) and darn it, for an actor, he’s a bloody good singer. In fact, by the end of the final act, Albert and the production had me and the entire audience exactly where they wanted us. Most of us, I’d wager, were absolutely moved to tears when Albert, eventually joined by the entire cast, launched into Try to Remember, the show’s most moving at memorable tune.