Ring Round the Moon

Another excellent production from Soulpepper. Things are definitely lo0king up - not only did we enjoy the play, we loved the cast and the production. Jordan Pettle was great as Hugo/Frederick - he managed to play the two characters very subtly, so that you were really convinced that there were two brothers!
Nancy Palk was a great old lady - or should one say a grande dame? Her future in theatre is unlimited, as she will be able to age into playing these old lady roles with ease.
The rest of the cast were very strong - no weak players at all. the costumes and settings were beautiful and quite a surprise in a theatre that is best described as stark.

Moby Dick

The story of Moby Dick, set to the music of Debussy, directed by Morris Panych - we should have known we would not be enthusisatic fans. But we went to see it because w e have a policy of seeing everything presented at the Studio. This is where the risks should be taken and sometimes they pay off big time, sometimes they don't.
To be fair, the rest of the audience loved the performance, and it was well done. The staging was effective and the dancing was good. But here is my bias - when I go to the theatre, I expect to see a play, not a ballet. This was not even a great ballet - it was more a theatrical event than even a pure dance event.
So overall, I remain not a fan of Morris Panych. For the record, I also did not like "The Overcoat" which got such great reviews everywhere.

Palmer Park

I had forgotten how many things happened in 1968. Palmer Park, set in an integrated neighbourhood in Detroit, is a play that is more like a history lesson. The music, the clothes, the assassinations of Martin Luther Kng, Robert Kennedy - it all came back. If all history were presented this well, we'd all be history students. As a play however, it is very weak - it lacks plot or any kind of dramatic arc; the story is carried forward as a series of lectures by various members of the cast interspersed with some great scenes. The baseball season was a great interlude.
The cast is excellent - I am becoming a fan of Dan Chameroy, whom I had previously seen as a musical comedy specialist, and I always like Kelly Fox. Nigel Shawn WIlliams delivered his usual strong performance - in fact there wasn't a weak performance in the play.