REVIEWS

University Players Brings Enchanting Pop- Up Book Adaptation of ‘Little Women’ 

Posted by Dan Savoie | Mar 21, 2024 | Theatre Reviews

  The University Players’ production of ‘Little Women,’ which opened this past weekend at the Essex Hall Theatre, is a sight to behold.

 

Director Kerry Ann Doherty’s vision has been beautifully translated onto the stage, creating a living, breathing storybook that captivates the audience from start to finish.

 

  The stage itself is a work of art, with a flowing floor that extends beyond the edges of the stage and a cutout in the shape of a house. Video projections and passing dates are displayed at appropriate times, adding to the sense that the audience has stepped into a pop-up book brought to life.

  The play, based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, follows the lives of the March sisters – responsible Meg, fiery Jo, gentle Beth, and artistic Amy – as they navigate the challenges of growing up during the Civil War. With their father away serving as a chaplain in the Union Army, the girls rely on the guidance of their devoted mother, Marmee, as they face hardships and heartbreak while never losing sight of the importance of family.

  One of the strengths of this production is its ability to capture the essence of Alcott’s novel while condensing it into a stage-friendly format. Playwright Marion Defrost has skillfully woven actual dialogue from the book into the script, ensuring that the spirit of the original work shines through.

  The relevance of ‘Little Women’ in the modern age cannot be overstated. The novel’s subtle feminist themes, such as women’s aspirations, independence, and the pursuit of careers, continue to resonate with audiences today. 

  The cast of the University Players’ production does a fine job bringing these beloved characters to life.

 

Director Kerry Ann Doherty’s focus on the bonds of love that carry the characters through adversity is evident in every scene. The intimacy and authenticity of the relationships portrayed on stage are a testament to the hard work of the cast and crew, as well as the guidance of intimacy director Megan Quinn.

 

  The emotional depth of the story is palpable, with moments of laughter and tears throughout the performance. The cast’s ability to convey the warmth and love of the March family home is a true testament to their talent and dedication. With its stunning visuals, talented cast, and heartfelt performances, this may be one of the University’s finest and most popular shows to date. It is a must-see for anyone who appreciates the enduring power of family bonds and the resilience of the human spirit.

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RECORDER & TIMES

'Earnest' a brilliant study in wit

Ronald Zajac 

Published Jul 13, 2023 

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  After seeing The Importance of Being Earnest at the Kinsmen Amphitheatre, one is inclined to ask: Where has Oscar Wilde been all this time?

​  Once the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival made the decision, some years ago, to combine the Bard’s plays with the works of other playwrights, it was inevitable that the Prescott company would eventually turn to the brilliant Victorian-era Irish author responsible for some of the English language’s wittiest turns of phrase.

  Wilde is a natural fit both for the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, and for a Prescott audience, but it is perhaps most fitting that The Importance of Being Earnest runs this year, paired with A Midsummer Night’s Dream.Like Dream, Wilde’s comedy touches on the subjects of forbidden love amid rigid class structure, dichotomies of urban and rural existence, and the comic confusions that arise from the will to deceive

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  Festival regular Kerry Ann Doherty has returned to direct this production, and like artistic director Richard Sheridan Willis with Dream, she works with little (in numbers, not substance) to create something memorable.Her version of Earnest is given an early-20th-century setting, and it is salted with some contemporary Prescott references, which never fail to produce laughs.

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  “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing,” Gwendolen says, and along with some stellar acting, this cast brings out the inimitable style of Wilde’s work, even as the play satirizes the Victorian preoccupation with style itself.

  One hopes to see more Wilde staged in Prescott in years to come.

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GROUNDED -- theatreSix.

Review by Istvan Dugalin.

 

  For their inaugural production, theatreSix presents George Brant’s Grounded, a one-woman show in which The Pilot tells us her story—from adventures in the sky to motherhood and war trauma. It’s an emotional roller coaster that lifts you high, then pulls you back to earth with thrilling force.

   As the brassy, unnamed Pilot, Carly Street drew me in immediately and her firm hold never loosened. Her boisterous, backtracking rhythm is thoroughly compelling and feels like such an essential part of the character that I wonder, not being familiar with Brant’s play, if it’s been written into the text itself. Regardless, be it exceptional delivery of a tricky text or a performance choice: it grabs your attention and keeps you locked within her buzzing headspace.

​  This is an insightful portrait of a woman’s simultaneous psychological descent and spiritual awakening, but it is also a beautiful study of a strong marriage. As her ordeal takes its toll on her husband and their small daughter, he responds with empathy—and she, not totally lost, sees and demonstrably appreciates his allegiance.

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  Director Kerry Ann Doherty’s staging is compact yet dynamic, allowing us to focus intensely on Street as she embraces the undulating pattern of Brant’s script—the soaring, joyous heights and the devastating lows.

 

Set designer Melanie McNeill surrounds the playing area with strips of sand, suggesting both an airstrip and a lonely desert road. Towards the end, the gritty tangibility of these mounds of real sand pays off nicely.

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  With Grounded, theatreSix offers a solid production of this rich and captivating one-hander. I look forward to their future offerings!

Grounded

runs from Feb. 13 to Feb. 29, 2020
at Streetcar Crowsnest, Scotiabank Studio (345 Carlaw Ave.) 

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Review: GROUNDED

by LYNN SLOTKIN on FEBRUARY 17, 2020 in THE PASSIONATE PLAYGOER

At Streetcar Crowsnest, Carlaw and Dundas Written by George Brant
Directed by Kerry Ann Doherty
Set and costumes by Melanie McNeill Lighting by Michael Brunet

Sound by Thom Marriott Cast: Carly Street

   The Pilot (Carly Street) is a confident to the point of cocky fighter pilot who takes pride in her expertise to down whatever planes that she must in the line of duty. She lives hard and fast and then goes drinking at the bar with her flying colleagues. One night she’s chatted up at the bar by Eric. They connect, go home, have sex and a relationship results. They marry and she becomes pregnant with their daughter Samantha. This means the end of her ‘flying’ career. She’s grounded for her own safety and that of her crew. She’s assigned to ‘fly’ drones and offer surveillance, protection except not by actually flying.

​  Playwright George Brant’s play is gripping. The implications of how The Pilot is drawn deeper and deeper into the drone world get more and more serious as the play goes on. The sentences are short and punchy. They create a sense of momentum and urgency. We grip the armrest as well as The Pilot as we too are drawn into her world.

 

  Director Kerry Ann Doherty and her set and costume designer, Melanie McNeill, have created a space with the audience sitting on either side of the playing area. In that space are two perfectly formed parallel formations of pristine sand. It could be symbolic of the edges of a runway—reminiscent of The Pilot’s former life as an actual fighter pilot. Now these two parallel lines of sand can be the edges of the highway that takes her to and from work. On the way home she often gets out of the car and hides things in the sand, indicating that all might not be right with The Pilot.

 

  Carly Street is a powerhouse as The Pilot. This is performance of a person who takes no prisoners, neither in the air or on a screen, tracking some nasty piece of work who needs eliminating.  Carly Street’s speech gushes out like a torrent. Heart pounding, pulse racing. The unseen people around the Pilot are calm it seems; only the Pilot is getting more and more tense. It’s a performance of a woman who is trying to hold on to the image on the screen and her sense of reality.

 

  Kerry Ann Doherty’s direction is careful, meticulously detailed and slowly gains momentum until you are left breathless at the end. It’s a terrific production of an intriguing play.

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  Grounded by George Brant is the first production by a new artist-driven theatre company called theatreSix. I look forward to many more productions from this group. Bravo.

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