~Another one done which will forever hold a special place in my heart~
~all photographs courtesy of Ross Davidson~
This play written by local playwright, Lynda Martens was an absolute gem to direct.
This was the World Premiere of "Swing Dance" and only time will tell where it goes next.
It was produced by London Community Players in Procunier Hall at the Palace Theatre in London, Ontario.
It ran from February 7th - 16th, 2013.
It had it all! The characters were believable, their plight was heartfelt and the situations they encountered were ones the audience would NEVER wish to be in themselves.
Vicky and Walter have been married for close to 40-ish years. During this time, Vicky has stayed at home. She's done the laundry, raised the kids, cooked the meals and kept the house clean. All the while Walter went to work each day. Now, Walter is retired, the kids have moved out and Vicky has started her own business. Suddenly Walter doesn't know what to do with himself and decides to make the rest of his life about Vicky and wants to spend every waking moment with her.
Without giving too much away, Walter takes drastic measures to get closer to Vicky - pharmaceutical measures. But Walter has forgotten one important detail. Company is coming over for dinner.
Sally and Fred arrive just as the "magic" kicks in for Walter and chaos ensues.
Fred is Vicky's new business partner and Sally is Fred's sexy and confident wife. Though this lovely and apparently strong couple claim to be coming over for dinner to discuss the new business partnership and Vicky's Swing Dance Club ~ it turns out there was a miscommunication. Somewhere along the line, Sally and Fred thought Vicky meant a Swing Club. NOT a Swing DANCE Club.
What follows is a collection of awkward moments between the two couples as one thinks they are discussing Swing Dancing and the other SwingING.
This is a hilarious play that I believe left every audience member a little happier when they left after the curtain closed.
The script and actors had the audience roaring with laughter and the play sold out every night except two!
I enjoyed every minute I spent with this cast and crew; I look forward to seeing where this play goes.
CAST (in order of appearance):
Joe Belanger as WALTER
Dinah Watts as VICKY
Kevin Curnutte as the delivery boy
Liz Marra as SALLY
Paul Bowen-Smith as FRED
CREW:
Heather May, Director
James Wybrow, Producer & lighting operator
Kevin Curnutte, Stage Manager
Sandra Halko, Assistant Stage Manager
Sookie Mei, Props
Diane Hall, costumes
David Long, Set Construction & Design
Mark Mooney, Light Design
Jeremy Hayes, Sound Design & Operator
REVIEWS:
The Beat Magazine
The London Free Press
theatreinlondon.ca
OTHER LINKS:
Palace Theatre Blog
ldtonline.ca
Swing Dance - the trailer
Keep Breaking Legs and Keep Swingin'!
