Tag: show review

Review: Norm Foster’s latest play premieres at Lighthouse

By Mike Renzella | The Haldimand Press

August 24, 2023

PORT DOVER—Lighthouse Festival Theatre’s 2023 summer season is ending the way it began, with a Norm Foster show on stage bringing the big laughs and memorable characters that could only come from the mind of one of Canada’s most well-loved and prolific playwrights.

PORT DOVER—Pictured on stage planning the heist are (l-r) Brad Rudy as Padre, Allan Cooke as Dale, Derek Ritschel as Rubber, Jeffrey Wetsch as Chef, and Brad Austin as Chip in a scene from Norm Forster’s world premiere of A Pack of Thieves at Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover. — Photo submitted by Lighthouse Festival

While the season began with an excellent rendition of Foster’s ‘Come Down From Up River’, directed by acclaimed Canadian actress Sheila McCarthy, it ends with the world premiere of Foster’s newest work, ‘A Pack of Thieves’, directed by accomplished writer, director, and actor Jamie Williams.

The show brings together a powerhouse five-man comedy team of Lighthouse favourites to pull off the ultimate heist. Starring as best friends and neighbours are Jeffrey Wetsch as Chef and Lighthouse Artistic Director Derek Ritschel as Rubber. 

The play sees the pair presented with an out-of-the-blue opportunity to score a million bucks each by ‘stealing’ a prize racehorse from a local businessman, who is in on the scheme, and cashing in on the insurance money together.

Chef, owner of a failing restaurant, and Rubber, a tire salesman, are two men struggling through their own personal crises, both financial and personal. Neither have any experience pulling a heist, but Rubber has a plan. 

He brings in three partners: a serial criminal with a serious distaste for potty mouth named Padre – played by Brad Rudy – and ‘the twins’ (not biological), a pair of hilariously dimwitted thugs with Brad Austin as Chip and Allan Cooke as Dale, who are brought in by Rubber in a bid to score favour with his girlfriend, who happens to be their cousin.

Foster describes the show as a “flat out comedy”, noting how he purposefully tried to challenge himself to write a show that didn’t rely on the heartfelt moments he is known for: “Feelings are good. But this one has none of that. Feelings be damned!”

Director Williams, who stages the action in a fast-paced, joke-a-minute pace that gives the audience just enough time to catch their breath before throwing another red-hot zinger at them, credits all five actors for making the show as memorable as it is: “I can’t think of five better gentlemen to tell this particular story.”

He’s not wrong. Each of the five performers bring a unique vibe that, when combined, makes for some great, belly-laugh-inducing moments throughout the show.

Wetsch and Ritschel are a great duo, with Wetsch wound tighter than a drum and Ritschel amiably clueless to the gravity of the situation they have placed themselves in. Rudy imbues Padre with a steely demeanour driven by a (deserved) lack of faith in his partners’ abilities, while Austin and Cooke steal the show, leaning right into the absolutely ridiculous characters they’ve been served and bringing big laughs with them.

After a summer full of shows with big themes about aging, acceptance, and illness, all delivered with a healthy dose of laughter notwithstanding, it’s great to kick back and enjoy a show with no greater ambition than to make you laugh solidly for two hours. ‘A Pack of Thieves’ accomplishes this goal with ease and brings Lighthouse’s perfect 2023 summer festival to an end in style.

Tickets and showtimes are available at lighthousetheatre.com. The play will be at Port Dover’s Lighthouse Theatre until September 2, before moving on to Port Colborne’s Roselawn Theatre from September 6 to 17.

That’s not all from the fine folks at Lighthouse though, as they will bring their season-topping music revue show ‘Leisa Way’s Opry Gold’, featuring the Wayward Wind Band and running from September 5 to 16 in Dover and from September 20 to 24 in Port Colborne. 

Plus, new for this season, their holiday pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ promises “uproarious comedy, fantastical costumes, and musical numbers that will knock your socks off” when it hits the Lighthouse stage this holiday season.

After studying journalism at Humber College, Mike Renzella desired to write professionally but found himself working in technical fields for many years. Beginning in 2019 as a freelancer, he joined the team full-time later that year. Since then, Mike has won several awards for his articles thanks to his commitment to presenting an unbiased, honest look at the important news and events shaping our community.

Review: Where You Are on stage at Lighthouse Festival

Port Dover’s Lighthouse Festival Theatre’s production of Where You Are opens with sisters Suzanne and Glenda sitting on their front porch on Manitoulin Island.

By Sharon Grose | Ontario Farmer Magazine

July 27, 2023

Lighthouse Festival Theatre’s summer production of Where You Are (by Kristen da Silva) opens with sisters Suzanne (Melanie Janzen) and Glenda (Susan Henley) sitting on their front porch on Manitoulin Island. Suzanne is bemoaning the fact that she doesn’t need a rooster to be her alarm clock. Glenda can get up at the crack of dawn with the rooster and chickens if she wants but Suzanne would just as soon sleep in until noon. Glenda just returned from church and Suzanne itching to find out the all the town gossip- why else does one go to church in a small town?

Front Entrance of Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover – Ontario Farmer Magazine

Sisters Glenda and Suzanne live a quiet retirement lifestyle selling homemade jam and hawthorn berry jelly on Manitoulin Island. This summer, their focusing on trying to orchestrate sightings of their handsome veterinarian neighbour and prepping for the visit of Suzanne’s grown daughter, Beth (Caroline Toal). But the things are complicated by a secret the sisters can no longer contain. Glenda and Suzanne apparently aren’t the only ones keeping secrets. When Beth lands on the island and admits to having some secrets of her own the three women realize it’s time to face things that will change the course of their lives. Secrets can no longer be secrets.

Suzanne and Glenda are totally devoted to each other and manage to share a house despite their different lifestyles. Suzanne raised her daughter – single handedly but continues to struggle to find the balance between mothering and smothering her daughter. Beth and Suzanne constantly clash. Suzanne is judgmental and critical of everything Beth does. They have a strained mother- daughter relationship. Glenda widowed, is a doting beloved Aunt to Beth and tries to keep the peace between mother and daughter which is not an easy task.

Then there is the cute guy who lives next door – the young veterinarian named Patrick (Gaelan Beatty) who is still getting over being left at the alter by his fiancé. There are some interesting connections between Beth and Patrick due to common denominators – both are rebounding from a recent break up, both are doctors – although one treats people while the other treats animals. Their various roles in the medical field make for some humorous moments. Will something develop between Beth and Patrick- only time will tell. If the two sisters have anything to say about it – definitely yes. But the two women have more things to deal with than budding relationships. Suzanne and Glenda start experimenting with weed – for medicinal purposes. The two are higher than a kite when they are discovered by Beth. Some candid discussions about life, love and mortality follow.

Caroline Toal, Melanie Janzen & Susan Henley in Where You Are by Kristen Da Silva

There is an interesting mix of funny and somber moments in this play. Simple lessons in life that gets you to thinking about appreciating people and the importance of family and community.

You won’t want to miss seeing this Canadian play at Lighthouse Festival Theatre. It is on n stage in Port Dover at Festival Theatre until Aug 5th and then on stage at Roselawn Theatre in Port Colborne from August 9th to August 20th.

Lighthouse Festival Theatre company was formed in 2022 bringing Port Dover’s Old Town Hall theatre and Port Colborne Roselawn theatre together as one theatre family.

Ontario Farmer readers can also attend two other Lighthouse Festival productions A Pack of Thieves by Norm Foster (Aug 16-Sept 2nd at Port Dover, or Sept 6-Sept 17 at Port Colborne, and Opry Gold with The Wayward Wind Band (Sept 5th-Sept 16 in Port Dover, Sept 20-Sept 24 in Port Colborne).

Tickets any of the show can be ordered by calling Lighthouse Festival Box Office 1-888-779-7703 or online https://lighthousetheatre.com/tickets/

Review: Lighthouse Theatre’s winning streak continues with Where You Are

By Mike Renzella | The Haldimand Press

July 27, 2023

PORT DOVER—2023 has been a year of great, emotional comedy at Lighthouse Theatre and Where You Are – the newest show to hit their Port Dover stage – is no exception, bringing another heaping serving of the laughs and pathos that are the bread and butter of Lighthouse’s ever-popular summer series.

Melanie Janzen as Suzanne & Susan Henley as Glenda in Kristen Da Silva’s Where You Are, directed by Jane Spence.

Directed by Jane Spence from a script by Kristen Da Silva, Where You Are tells the story of Glenda and Suzanne, two aging sisters who live together and sell homemade jam out of their small home on Manitoulin Island. When Suzanne’s daughter Beth comes home for a summer visit, secrets are revealed, relationships are put to the test, and life-changing decisions are made.

The play stars Susan Henley as Glenda, Melanie Janzen as Suzanne, Caroline Toal as Beth, and Gaelan Beatty as their good-natured neighbour Patrick.

Janzen and Henley make for a great comic duo in the show, gamely throwing one-liners at each other throughout, and believably selling the play’s more dramatic moments, the most touching of which revolve around their long-lasting, genuine friendship.

Toal imbues her character Beth with a believable vulnerability, proving a great foil to Janzen and Henley’s comedic exploits. While her character may be a bit hard-headed at times, it’s clear that Beth deeply loves her mom and aunt, and the childhood home she has returned to.

As the neighbour Patrick, Beatty brings the charm, making a great straight man to the comedy flying around on stage and displaying a natural chemistry with Toal as the two character’s stories begin to entwine over the course of the show.

Director Spence stages the show lightly, making the best of a witty script and more-than-capable performers. She described what drew her to the show, “It shares a powerful message about the difficulties that arise when secrets are kept, even with the best intentions. It explores what it means to love unconditionally, examining the struggles we sometimes face to give our loved ones the room to live life on their own terms, especially when their choices may differ from the ones we would make for them.”

Where You Are marks Spence’s fifth show for Lighthouse, also taking on this year’s On The Air earlier in the season. 

Gealan Beatty as Patrick and Caroline Toal as Beth in Kristen Da Silva’s Where You Are, directed by Jane Spence.

Writer Da Silva is also no stranger to the Lighthouse stage, having also written Sugar Road, Beyond the Sea, and Hurry Hard, and appearing as an actor as well. Her shows have been mounted at several venues around Ontario, and for good reason; Da Silva’s shows are guaranteed to be two things: hilarious and sincere. 

Where You Are is playing at Port Dover’s Lighthouse Theatre until August 5. It then moves Port Colborne’s Roselawn Theatre from August 9-20.

For more information, visit lighthousetheatre.com, where you can find information on showtimes for this show and the remainder of Lighthouse’s 2023 summer season. 

Up next at the theatre is the Young Company production of Robin Hood, which is running from August 9-12, followed by the World Premiere of Norm Foster’s latest show, A Pack of Thieves, and the season topper, Opry Gold.

Review: ‘Bed and Breakfast’ a comedy grand slam for Lighthouse

By Mike Renzella | The Haldimand Press

July 6, 2023

PORT DOVER—Lighthouse Festival Theatre continues a great 2023 run with their latest production, Bed and Breakfast, a show with a community’s worth of memorable characters brought to exhilarating life by just two performers.

The show tells the story of Brett and Drew, a Toronto-based couple who leave their anxiety-producing, fast-paced lives in the city behind when Brett inherits his aunt’s home in a small-town community that they decide to convert into a bed and breakfast.

Told through flashbacks, the story plays fast and loose with its narrative structure, jumping quickly through a variety of hilarious scenarios where the couple, played by actors Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski (Brett) and Warren Macaulay (Drew), begin to connect with the community they have adopted.

The thing that sets this show apart is the impressive versatility of its two leading men. Both display an incredible ability to seamlessly switch between a variety of characters, often within the confines of a single scene. It’s the best kind of theatrical magic.

In the hands of lesser actors, some of these scenes could have become confusing and difficult to follow, but Macaulay and Shepherd-Gawinski are more than up to the challenge of keeping up with the script’s breakneck pace and non-stop jokes.

While frequently hilarious, the show tackles some tough issues as well, with Brett and Drew finding themselves targeted at times throughout the play by some less-than-friendly townsfolk who disagree with their lifestyle, leading both characters to face startling revelations before the curtains drop.

In the more tender moments of the play, Shepherd-Gawinski and Macaulay share a believable vulnerability that keeps the audience firmly in their corner from the first scene to the last. 

Playwright Mark Crawford touched on the inspiration behind the show, explaining, “As we move towards a more open, accepting, loving society, we’re simultaneously experiencing a nasty backlash against LGBTQ+ people – around the world, but also here at home.”

He wrote the show for all audiences, noting, “Wherever you land on the wide and wonderful spectrum of human sexuality, I hope Bed And Breakfast tickles your funny bone and touches your heart.”

Crawford’s script is chalk full of witty one-liners, big, broad comedic moments, and biting observational-style humour. If you appreciate comedy in any form, you will find something to like with this one. And further, you’ll walk away in awe at live theatre’s continuing ability to celebrate human connection, challenge toxic cultural stereotypes, and still leaving you smiling from the simple joy of a good story well told.

Run, don’t walk, to the Lighthouse Theatre in Dover and get a set of tickets today – you won’t regret it.

‘Bed and Breakfast’ is the third show in Lighthouse’s summer festival series. It runs at Port Dover’s Lighthouse Theatre until July 15, and then heads to Port Colborne’s Roselawn Theatre, where it will delight audiences from July 19-30.

Check out lighthousetheatre.com for more information on show times, including Lighthouse’s unique, inclusive ‘relaxed performance’ program.

Review – Murder, mystery, big laughs highlight Lighthouse’s best show of the season

This review of The Real Sherlock Holmes was originally published in The Haldimand Press on September 8, 2022

By Mike Renzella

The Haldimand Press

PORT COLBORNE—If you’re looking for an evening of non-stop hilarity, wrapped around an entertaining old-fashioned murder mystery, then look no further than Lighthouse Festival’s world premiere of the new play The Real Sherlock Holmes.

This play is a true showstopper, with the wizards at Lighthouse turning an incredibly versatile set into a wide variety of locations, including laboratories, Scottish castles, a stormy sea at night, a prison cell, and more. Utilizing dazzling lighting and sound effects, the work is remarkably seamless, creating the illusion that you are travelling across the countryside along with the main characters as they chase down a murderer.

Canadian playwright Peter Colley knows how to blend comedy and menace with near surgical precision. While the show features several over-the-top characters meant to draw big laughs, the central mystery at its core remains interesting throughout, and has a great twist ending.

The story focuses on a young Arthur Conan Doyle, long before he created the iconic Sherlock Holmes, as a young medical student who gets drawn into a murder investigation thanks to his instructor, Professor Bell. Jeff Dingle as Doyle and David Rosser as Bell have a terrific chemistry right from the first scene, with their interactions playing out like scenes from a classic British sitcom. 

Their investigation leads them to the doorstep of Lady Louisa and her relative Jenny, played by Susan Johnston-Collins and Blythe Haynes respectively. Along the way they meet a rogues’ gallery of characters, deftly brought to life by a small cast of actors handling multiple roles. The acting chops on display across this range of broad side characters makes for excellent comedy. Each time an actor appears as another, even more outlandish character, the resounding bouts of laughter from the crowd grew larger and more sustained.

Nicole Wilson shines in multiple roles as a mysterious hag, a morgue attendant, and more, while both Alan Cooke and Mark McGrinder repeatedly appear as a series of recurring characters, each completely distinct and with their own set of hilarious tics. Honestly, it’s an acting showcase that needs to be seen in person to fully appreciate.

It’s ultimately up to Dingle as the young, intrepid Doyle to anchor the show and keep the narrative momentum flowing. He is able to imbue the famous author with a nervous energy that fits the story perfectly, serving as a perfect straight man to the madness unfolding around him. Pulling from research on Doyle, the character is presented as highly susceptible to mystical elements, such as ghosts, selkies, and other creatures of folklore – something that allows the play to achieve a certain otherworldly charm as Doyle occasionally encounters what he believes to be apparitions or fantasy creatures.

After playing to sold out audiences at the Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover, the show is now playing at the Roselawn Theatre in Port Colborne through September 18. If you like to laugh, The Real Sherlock Holmes will give you exactly what you want, enough belly laughs to keep you entertained from beginning to end, and enough technical wizardry on display to leave you dazzled. What are you waiting for? Go get your tickets and enjoy the show!

Show Review: The Real Sherlock Holmes is an elegant first-rate production that will make you laugh

Allan Cooke, Jeff Dingle and David Rosser in The Real Sherlock Holmes | Director: David Nairn, Set: William Chesney, Lighting: Wendy Lundgren, Costumes: Claudine Parker,

This show review by Gary Smith was originally published in The Hamilton Spectator on August 27th, 2022.

So, just who is “The Real Sherlock Holmes”?

Fans of the legendary fast-talking sleuth, know he sprang from the fertile imagination of feisty Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Or did he?

Did the deerstalker detective have a different provenance? Did someone influence Conan Doyle’s penning of all those dark-hearted Sherlock mysteries? Did “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and “Sherlock’s Last Case” really spring from Conan Doyle’s fertile brain without assistance?

If you don’t know you need to go to the Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover. That’s where lean and lanky actor Jeff Dingle spills the beans, as he trots across the Dover stage in search of adventure and romance.

Dingle, a terrific Conan Doyle, has exactly the right sense of style and pace to make this spirited Peter Colley comedy work.

He knows the perfect way to send up the drama, give the comedy a sly twist and create comic moments of perfect silliness. Dingle is aided and abetted by a smooth and smug Professor Bell from actor David Rosser.

Together this agreeable partnership gives this lunatic adventure story a sense of tremendous fun and wide-eyed innocence.

Add to the mix, wonderful Hamilton actress Susan JohnstonCollins who gives haughty and imperious Lady Louisa a perfect twist of sour lemon. JohnstonCollins is capable of controlling a scene when she’s simply standing around, artfully dabbing her nose with her always handy lace hankie. Or even better, lifting those incredibly arched eyebrows in mortal disdain.

These three actors, light up the Dover stage, dominating Colley’s play with intentionally elevated acting that makes their performances linger in the imagination long after the baddies are carted off to jail and Conan Doyle, not yet a Sir, kisses sweet little Jenny, (Blythe Hanes) who gives his crank an American twist. 

A terrific set from William Chesney is evocative and imaginative

with its several levels and hidden pop-out surprises, it is a perfect landscape for the play’s nefarious goings-on.

Then too, Claudine Parker’s lived-in costumes have just the right touch of cheesiness about them to suggest old-time melodrama.

Add Wendy Lundgren’s mood-drenched lighting and you have a sense of mystery.

Mark McGrinder and Allan Cooke, playing an assortment of outrageous characters, from a fiendish bagpipe player to a One-Eyed Old Salt of the Sea, tend to veer somewhere over the top, but my goodness they do make you laugh.

To read the full review please click this link to visit The Hamilton Spectator website

Show Review: ‘Halfway There’ is Norm Foster at his most beguiling

This show review by Gary Smith was originally published in The Hamilton Spectator on July 8th.

Want to laugh until your sides ache? Want to cry until your heart breaks?

Want to see Canada’s most prolific playwright at the very top of his game? Want to see a cast committed to theatre as a place of moving and insightful entertainment?

OK, so enough with the questions.

Go grab your favourite device and book seats for “Halfway There.” This wonderful Norm Foster comedy, with its sly comic invention and generous dollop of truth, is one of the best things I’ve seen all year. That includes Broadway, London’s West End and the Stratford Festival.

It’s in Port Dover at The Lighthouse Festival Theatre, the home of Canadian theatre comedies. But oh my, it’s so much more than you might think.

Some years back Foster wrote a play about male bonding called “The Foursome.” Well, now he’s done something even more winning.

With “Halfway There,” he’s written a rueful, first-rate love story about women. I don’t think anyone’s done this sort of thing better.

It’s “Steel Magnolias,” “Morning’s At Seven” and “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” all rolled into one. Except for one thing special. It’s uniquely Foster in every possible way.

Laughs, and believe me there are dozens and dozens of them, punctuate some of the warmest and loving moments I can remember on a stage.

Yet, these whoppers that make you laugh until you can’t take it anymore never encroach on the humanity and the truth of the play. Foster’s characters grow naturally out of a series of crises and challenges that face Rita (the wonderful Susan Henley), Vi (the irrepressible Debra Hale) and Mary Ellen (Melodee Finlay, one time Queen of Port Dover Lighthouse comedies, who is happily back with a vengeance).

These three lovable women are a triumvirate to reckon with. Their performances bristle with a kind of exquisite energy and truth that radiates from the stage like a warm hug and a great big kiss. These three friends face the losses in their lives with a will to shrug off sorrow and the strength to hold on tight to what makes them strong. They are so real you want to join their group hugs on stage, grab their hands and take them all out for a drink and a fish fry at Dover’s vintage Erie Beach Hotel.

They aren’t the centre of the story here, but they are the steamrolling heart of Foster’s wonderful play. They are what gives it its joy, laughter and tender moments of female bonding, moments that transcend life’s sometimes awkward and painful annoyances.

We are in a little diner in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. That’s the place that is halfway to the North Pole. Now you get the play’s title, right? But that’s only a small part of what it really means. More about that later.

Into this evocative spot — where waitress Janine Babineau, played smartly by Kristen Da Silva, dreams about finding real love and a hold on life — walks handsome Sean Merritt, who’s terrific as a visiting doctor in town for a month or two, working at the local hospital. And isn’t he just about perfect in a quiet, no-nonsense way.

Just maybe, he’s what Janine is looking for, someone to give her life meaning.

To read the full review please click this link to visit The Hamilton Spectator website