Mending Fences in Hudson

Mending Fences by Norm Foster; Directed by: Andrew Johnston; Featuring: Paul Van Dyck (Drew, Young Drew, Young Harry), Bill Rowat (Harry, Harry's Father) and Melanie Doerr (Gin, Lori, Harry’s Mum); Playing at Hudson Theatre June 24th to July 11th.

Described as a sparkling comedy written and performed with wit and humanity. What happens when a son, estranged for 13 years, returns to his gruff and uncommunicative father. In Foster’s deft hands, histories are revealed, vulnerabilities laid bare, and laughter is always close at hand. This promises to be a refined piece of theatre that tugs at the heartstrings while it tickles the funny bones; rising above sentimentality to tell a genuinely interesting story.

A well cast ensemble is in good form, Van Dyke and Rowat are believable as father and son; Rowat and Melanie Doerr have great chemistry on stage and she delivers a show stopping monolog that garners well deserved applause from the audience. The actors play more than one character and with a minimalist approach using some minor costume and physical adjustments between characters that works well. One simple interior stage design serves the play well as a multiple purpose set for the entire play. Some rather rough yet sufficient lighting design changes also help to move the story from one period to another as this non-linear story unfolds. Seven (7) bean salad will never taste the same. GO C IT!

Theatre Train Events 2010: Three Theatre Train Events will be taking place this summer. Each Theatre Train Event is in conjunction with a separate live theatrical show: June 26th (Mending Fences), July 17th (Celebrity) and August 7th (Snake In The Grass).

Celebrity, by/de Peter Quilter July 15th - August 1st. Train date: July 17th - Show times 2:00pm and 5:30pm.

Snake in the Grass, by/de Alan Ayckbourn August 5th - August 22nd; Train date: August 7th - Show times 2:00pm and 5:30pm.

Experience a private return train ride from Montreal or Beaconsfield to the delightful charming village of Hudson. Relax, shop or dine at one of the many charming boutiques and restaurants. Then top your day off with a first-rate performance at the celebrated Hudson Village Theatre. Tickets are only available through the AMT (Montreal Metropolitan Transport Agency) AMT Office hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. You must call or email in order to purchase your tickets. There are no online purchasing options. AMT ticket phone line: 514-287-7866 AMT ticket email: escapadesentrain@amt.qc.ca Price: $55.00 per event (including taxes).

Box office: 450-458-5361 www.villagetheatre.ca

The Jazz Singer shimmies into the Segal Center.

The Segal Centre for Performing Arts presents the musical version of The Jazz Singer, a Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre production. The play that inspired the 1927 Hollywood film starring Al Jolson and that signaled the transition to sound films.

Segal Centre resident composer and lyricist, Elan Kunin, adapted the original 1925 play by Samson Raphaelson. The multi-talented Kunin wrote the music and lyrics and also plays the lead role in this world premiere of the musical version of The Jazz Singer, the story of a cantor’s son whose dream of making it big on Broadway challenges his father’s wishes. “The generational conflict between Old World traditions and American acculturation explored in The Jazz Singer still resonates strongly today....” says Bryna Wasserman, Artistic Director. "...An immensely talented design team brings our Yiddish production of this timeless piece to life, through the creative set design of John C. Dinning, first-rate musical direction by John Gilbert and stunning choreography by Jim White."

Director Bryna Wasserman blends community cultural theatre with a professional cast that includes some of Canada’s finest performers, as well as emerging talent from diverse cultural backgrounds, reflecting the Segal Centre’s mission to build intercultural bridges through the arts. The costumes by James Lavoie are outstanding and the stage design is magnificent with multiple set changes that include a revolving stage. The band of musicians are in great form and the tunes very timely remaining true to the times of the period yet still catchy. A very large cast, at times overcrowding the stage, belt out the songs with compassion as they dance along with great passion. The ensemble is well cast with stand out performances delivered by Elan Kunin, David Bushman, Nadia Verrucci, Lisa Rubin, and Chris Barillaro.

Playing June 6 to 27 to sold out houses this is a gem that you don't want to miss. Presented in Yiddish with translation into English and French. Most of the dialogue in in Yiddish however a lot of the musical lyrics remain in English. GO C IT!

Fringe Fried A Summary of Fringe XX 2010.

On Arts Notebook CINQ 102.3fm we conducted 12 interviews this season over 4 weeks:
- May 29th, Geoff Agombar Fringe Communications Director - preview and Fringe For All.
- June 5th, Shavirez, Jesus Jello, and Robby Who?
- June 13th, Fruitcake, Misadventures of a Massage Therapist, Third Time Lucky, & Wide Load.
- June 20th, A Trip to Coney Island, How Coyote Was Swallowed by the Sandia Mountains, Blind to Happiness, & Just Us in the Bed Room.

A summary of the 2010 Fringe XX blog reviews. The number of productions covered by the contingent of reviewers on the blog totaled 40, with 60 reviews: Dee Arr 20; Sylvester 15; Scooby Doo 12; Tin Tin 9; RaTaTa 4. Over 70% of the productions reviewed got a favorable rating of 3 cents to 5 cents. A Fingetastic positive average. Overall the comedies favored the highest and dance rated lowest.

1 cents = 3 / 6% 2 cents = 14 / 23% 3 cents = 14 / 23% 4 cents = 14 / 23% 5 cents = 15 / 25%

FUNDERSTORM - Fringe XX

FUNDERSTORM, Petit Campus, Venue #2. This show is SO GAY! Not in the sense youngsters have been using it these days, but because the play includes a naked guy, another masturbating under a blanket, the 4 guys playfully sharing their fears, with plenty of uncomfortable moments and sex faces! They are 4 cosmopolitans a few inches shy of 'Sex and the City'! They must be part of the new breed of sensitive straight men! The show made me laugh, like the young women beside me, the two of us making up most of the audience, but also uneasy. Was it because it was too intimate or too unrealistic ? 3 cents. TinTin

Just Us In The Bedroom - FRINGE XX

Just Us In The Bedroom @ Portuguese Association, Venue #7. By Just Us Producing - Canada, Iceland, Germany. Winners of the 2009 Spirit of the Fringe award. Invited to return as guests of the Fringe this season. The audience enters and the performance has already started, or has it. Much of what we see and hear is in a questionable and ambiguous reality. The two characters on stage, David and Beckky, are real people in a very unreal world. With a dream like quality and accompanied by a live musical cello instrument, they deliver a poetic text that is very abstract and absurdest; and much like in a dream, what goes on beneath the covers is unexplainable. It is not a comedy nor a drama but it is very experimental and a brave new work. 3 cents. Dee Arr

Jean et Beatrice - FRINGE XX

JEAN ET BEATRICE @ Mainline Theatre Venue #6. By Les Cousins Germains - France. This is an highly intense show with a highly beautiful intensity. Happily, the comical bits provided a balance that kept me from choking up. A woman feeling dry wants to find the recipe for love with a man feeling empty, raising the age old question: what's love? For her, it's first being interested, moved and then seduced, and that's exactly what this show does; it seduces the audience into loving it. That must be what love is, of this play anyway. A well balanced mix of excellent acting and seamless direction. 4 cents. TinTin

METEOR - FRINGE XX

METEOR @ Petit Campus Venue #2. When going to an improv show, I expect a lot of so-so sketches and very few gems. It's just part of 'the game'. METEOR was no exception to this trend, at least the show I attended. I really appreciated that the trio of actors remained dynamic throughout, even smirking, showing that they love what they do. It cannot be too selfindulgent, the audience has to also love and enjoy what they are watching. It makes the difference between an improv show that's fun and one that's really so-so to dull. The most fun was that we were provided with streamers to throw at the stage; My second throw crashed...much like a lot of what I saw at Meteor. 2 cents. TinTin