Comedies, thrillers, spy stories: A fall of entertainment on stage
Ottawa Little Theatre brings us a few new fall selections, starting with Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee. This famous play tells the story of the Scopes Monkey Trial. The theatre then moves on to the dark thriller Dr. Cook’s Garden by famed writer Ira Levin, from October 18 to November 5. Their fall lineup concludes with the comedy I Hate Hamlet, from November 29 to December 17.
At the Gladstone Theatre, director John Kelly’s Seven Thirty Productions stages the comedic spy thriller The 39 Steps from September 7 to 24. Kelly has a sense of acerbic humour that translates well to the stage. Next is I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Fell, another intricately plotted dark comedy.
The GCTC returns with another shotgun season aimed at the widest variety of audiences possible. From September 13 to October 2, Ottawa actress Eliza-Jane Scott plays a fiery, passionate Amelia Earhart in Amelia: The Girl Who Wants to Fly. From October 25 to November 13, the world of Cold War intrigue is explored in Whispering Pines. From November 29 to December 18, A Company of Fools remount their family-friendly A Midwinter’s Dream Tale.
The New Theatre of Ottawa presents the surreal and romantic Dreams of Whales from October 20 to 29. Evolution Theatre’s first show of the fall season is In the Eyes of Stone Dogs (Nov. 16-26), a show that sounds charged with poetry and mythology.
The NAC presents two romantic tales: An Israeli Love Story on September 7 and 8, then Salt-Water Moon from October 18 to November 5. The season continues with the marvellous, timeless Lionel Bart musical Oliver!, running from December 6 to 24. I don’t think historians view the musical as wholly accurate, but I think we can let that slide in favour of some tap dancing, no?
Third Wall Theatre presents the monolithic Chekhov classic Three Sisters from November 29 to December 10. This should be a must-see show for no other reason than that Chekhov’s genius deserves to be seen first-hand, and this is one of his more loved and celebrated plays.
As seen in the Ottawa XPress, September 01, 2011: http://ottawaxpress.ca/2011/09/01/fall-arts-preview-theatre-stage-fright/
