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Dump Guys
May 23, 2025
Breezy Summer Fare Opens PSFT’s 2025 Season Reviewed by Sookie Mei Dump Guys, written by former Artistic Director Simon Joynes, kicks off the 2025 Summer Season at Port Stanley Festival Theatre, a tribute to the man that shaped the theatre for nearly two decades. Opening night featured a heartfelt introduction by current AD Liz Gilroy, highlighting Joynes’ legacy at PSFT, and happily noting that his good friend Murray Furrow was the guest director for the production. As soon as the audience enters the theatre, the set is striking and engaging. Designed by Joe Recchia, doing double duty as lighting designer, the stage is quite literally a dump, piled high with old tires and license plates and interesting objects like a mannequin, a red telephone, and even a couple of feet sticking out from the pile. It’s a great backdrop to the story. The show is about two former friends who had a falling out at the end of high school when they both fell for the same girl, Maggie. Decades later, an unseen Maggie has brought them together again in the dump she owned, and they are forced to explore some long-held grudges and move forward. It’s a show about regret, nostalgia, memory, first love, and moving on to live in the here and now. Right off the top, the dialogue is affable and engaging, letting us know the show is going to be fun and we can settle in for an entertaining ride. The humour is more chuckles than belly laughs, but the script maintains a constant level of jolliness throughout. There could be more varied levels in the tone – at times it feels somewhat repetitive and comes off a bit glib – and some explorations of different vocal ranges would be a nice change. But there is ...
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Mary's Musings
Young Star of Annie has a Very Bright Tomorrow!
May 22, 2025
Annie By Mary Alderson “This is not your Granny’s Annie.” So says 11-year-old Harper Rae Asch, who has the role of Annie at Stratford’s Festival Theatre. By that, she means It isn’t like productions you may have seen in the past, nor is it like the movie versions. Harper knows; she has watched the various movies, and she took in the U.S. national tour version live on stage. So, in the young actor’s opinion, what makes Stratford’s Annie different? “There are lots of dance breaks, with flips and tricks,” she explains. That’s not a surprise. With Donna Feore as the Director/Choreographer, one can expect her trademark impressive dance numbers. Harper also hints that the characters’ appearances might not follow the traditional looks that were originally based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip which debuted in 1924, Yes, Harper wears a red wig (in fact, she has two of them) but it might not look quite the same as the tousled curly bright red hair you’ve seen on past Annies, Harper was shocked and then thrilled when she was offered the iconic role in Annie, “It took a moment to process because there were so many talented children at the audition. It was a nation-wide call,” she says. Some of those girls now share the stage with her, as orphans in Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Harper is no stranger to being on stage. At age 5, she appeared in the show, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Since she was 9, she has been doing voice-overs for animated TV shows. “She has a career ahead of her: she’s a mini-star,” says Stratford Festival’s Publicity Director Ann Swerdfager. “She is a remarkable human being, packed with talent, and her beautiful composure and poise take her to the next level. Plus, she’s super-smart,” Swerdfager ...
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