KW and Beyond
by Irena Syrokomla
Goodnight Desdemona
(Good Morning Juliet)
by Touchmark Theatre at the River Run Centre.
Last February I wrote about Thouchmark Theatre, and the play Phoenix Too Frequent, staged at the River Run Centre in Guelph by Douglas Beattie, the Artistic Director.. Touchmark Theatre is a professional resident theatre in Guelph, presenting only one play last year, but this year producing three: Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) in November, in December a fundraising comic show Wingfield’s Inferno and in February two short plays The Yalta Game and The Bear. Considering the quality of the theatre, the excellent directing by Douglas Beattie, the selection of plays with professional actors with many years experience at Stratford or other well-known theatres, and the selection of plays – the Southwestern Ontario audience has the reason to be proud!
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) was written by Ann-Marie MacDonald (the author of Belle Moral staged at The Shaw Festival this summer 2005) and premiered in Toronto in 1988. Since then it has been produced over forty times in Canada and abroad with recognition for Ms. MacDonald with a Governor General’s and Chalmers Award.
In
the story an assistant professor Constance Ledbelly attempts to decipher a
secret code within the Shakespearian text of Othello and Romeo and
Juliet. After a tragic and traumatic realization that a fellow
professor, the object of her dreams, has interests placed with another
woman, she is transported in time into the plays. She becomes enmeshed in
the plots, discovers that the heroines are different than presented in the
plays, manages to save their lives and consequently alters the dramatic
history. Desdemona turns out to be quite assertive and self-assured, Juliet
much more sexually advanced and aggressive, Romeo is looking around for an
alternative object of affection. The actors, with many years experience from
Stratford in Shakespeare’s dramas, are impressive in this hilarious comedy.
Let me mention the names: Constance is played by Marion Day, Juliet by Elana Post, Desdemona by Jane Spence, Othello by Stephen Russell and Romeo by Michael Peng. Mr. Peng has been a pillar of Theater & Company for eleven seasons and presently does different parts in various local theatres. It was good to see him again. Altogether the acting was great, the directing of high quality.
Congratulations to Douglas Beattie for his continuous efforts and dedication to Touchmark Theatre!
Future performances will also be presented at The River Run Centre in Guelph; their phone number is 519-763-3000 or 1-877-20-2408. It is not too far to drive and certainly worth while to attend.
Opera Ontario – Popera Grande – the sampler
In November Opera Ontario presented Popera: two shows in Hamilton Place, one in Kitchener’s Centre in the Square.
In conductor Maestro Daniel Lipton’s twentieth year with the company, the soloists were: soprano Tracy Dahl, mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, tenor Gordon Gietz and baritone James Westman. The program was weighted toward Rossini – four pieces from The Barber from Seville, four compositions of Verdi, arias from Rigoletto, Don Carlo and Nabucco, a real masterpiece duet of two sopranos Flower Duet from Lakmé of Delibes, and several other arias: Offenbach The Hoffmann’s Tales, Mozart’s Magic Flute and Handel. Altogether these were not the most frequently played arias; however, the assembly offered some known melodies, superb voices, and the wonderful background performance of the K-W Symphony. These musicians are real good!
James Westman added his own acting and surprise elements, with his deep and warm baritone, - an absolute joy to listen to! Gordon Gietz suffered chest congestion and had to forfeit one piece, however, one would not know he had a problem from his wonderful interpretation of "Kleinzach" aria from The Hoffmann’s Tales. Allyson McHardy, as the program notes suggest, is the opera singer to watch. She has a beautiful voice, total control over the coloratura and a youthful presentation. Tracy Dahl’s international success and confidence was projected well in her performance, her voice so clear, although she was standing among three other much taller vocalists.
It was a wonderful evening, with The Centre in the Square full of opera aficionados, the Christmas season arriving shortly. The next operatic performance is scheduled early next year with Isabel Bayrakdarian and Russell Braun. It is The Great Singers Recital Series, one performance in Hamilton on January 22 and in Kitchener on January 15. Regrettably Don Giovanni has been cancelled. Verdi’s La Traviata is going to be staged at the tail end of April and beginning of May.
On such a note we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday Season and many joys in the New Year!!
