John Hudson, artistic director of Shadow Theatre has never skirted the bizarre and so with a Noel Coward aplomb presents The Dazzle opening Thursday, Jan. 20 for a three-week run.
American playwright Richard Greenberg, one of the more original Broadway talents, writes in a breezy, mannered dialogue that takes the audience into the rarefied world of the Collyer brothers.
The real bodies of Homer and Langley were discovered decaying in an urban brownstone in Harlem in 1947. Their three-storey upper Fifth Avenue home was packed to the rafters with 136 tons of junk that included 10 grand pianos, two organs, an old car chassis, preserved human medical specimens, an X-ray machine and thousands of textbooks.
This adapted story is told in two parts. When the audience first meets them, the upper class Collyer brothers’ trappings are formal costumes, a baronial mansion and witty banter. There is no hint of the upcoming self-destructive, compulsive behaviour seen in the darker second act until a young woman enters their lives and becomes a catalyst for change.
The Dazzle stars Molly Flood, John Sproule and Frank Zotter. “This play intrigues people because of the world itself — to see high society and then watch it disintegrate before your very eyes is compelling,” said Hudson.
The Dazzle is playing at Varscona Theatre, 10329 – 83th Ave. Tickets range from $10 to $25. Call Shadow Theatre at 780-434-5564 or visit www.tixonthesquare.ca
Time travel is great. There are no boundaries and there’s a freedom to express in a way that is particularly suited to young actors.
Grant MacEwan University’s theatre arts and theatre production are going into a time warp with A Connecticut Yankee running Jan. 22 to 30 at the John L. Haar Theatre.
Adapted from a Mark Twain novel, this 1943 musical setting explores the conflicted life of naval officer Martin Barrett. On the night before his wedding, he is knocked unconscious by a furious fiancée who finds him in the arms of another woman. Martin awakens in the legendary Camelot where he falls in love with a maid and wisecracks his way into transforming the court into a corporation.
“The main theme is about finding out who you are happy with,” said Jesse Harlton, a 2008 St. Albert Catholic high graduate and an ensemble player with small roles as a slave and a knight.
St. Albert Children’s Theatre artistic director Janice Flower has taken on the job of making Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers memorable show tunes breathe life — numbers such as Thou Swell and My Heart Stood Still.
A Connecticut Yankee is an opportunity to see some pretty tight tap, jazz dancing and partner work. One that’s a challenge for the entire troupe is high-speed tapper Lunchtime Follies. “It’s pretty difficult to dance and sing at the same time,” explained Harlton.
The John L. Haar Centre is located at 10045 – 155th St. at the Centre for Arts and Communications. Tickets are $10-$15. Call 780-420-1757 or visit www.tixonthesquare.ca
See passionate climbers scale the face of straight-up vertical slabs of rock or watch them hang precariously from a jutting bluff in the Reel Rock Film Tour coming to Metro Cinema on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Two films, Progression and First Ascent, co-produced by Sender Films and Nat Geo Adventure Channel, use cutting-edge technology to show how top athletes push the boundaries on extreme climbs from Yosemite to Brazil and Patagonia.
Metro is at Zeidler Hall, 9828 – 101-A Ave. Tickets are $12 at the door.
