Northern Nights

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – Northern Lights

Playwright/s/Composer/s – Michael O’Keefe is listed as Script Writer credits for the lyrics and music was not listed.

Production Company/Theatre space – Express Entertainers in partnership with Royal Canadian Legion Branch 275.

Length – 2 ACTS (3 hours includes one intermission and one hour for dinner)

Genre– Country Western, Murder Mystery, Jukebox Musical

Premise – A British colonist who likes sheep and crossdressing, a Shania Twain-esque singer, a bumbling shy Garth Brooks-esque deputy, and a Sherlock Holmes-esque detective walk into a bar owned by Hank and find the Sherriff is dead.  

Why this play? Why now? – Just for fun.

Curiosities – I wondered how the rights to the music and lyrics were obtained. Since all five actors were from Jubilations Dinner Theatre I wondered if one day in the dressing room this lot decided to go rogue and form their own tour. How can more companies be formed to bring theatre to the people rather than people to the theatre? Tips were encouraged to be left on the table to pay the actors is this the modern form of “pass the hat”?

Notable Moment – Puppet corpse dancing.

Notable writing – O’Keefe has strung together some popular country songs (albeit modern) to help his “fun, silly project”. Thrown into the dinner theatre soup, are ingredients from Murder on the Orient Express, Hound of the Baskervilles, The Goat or Who is Sylivia? and a prerequisite romance.

Notable performances – Mark Armstrong is the strongest singer and overall performer. Abigail Carey went on as an understudy and as her voice warmed up, she found her footing. Josh McInnis gives it his all as the bumbling lovesick illiterate village idiot.

Notable design/Production – Performing in places without a lighting grid doesn’t necessitate a lighting designer or a set designer. The set is a bar with a table and a couple of barrels and a piano that isn’t played but masks the sound technician. Perfect for a traveling show.

Notable direction – Director and Choreographer Angela Woodard says in the program, “directing was easy the more ridiculous the better”. And it’s a snappy little show at a great pace.

One reason to see this show – Tasty dinner theatre with a large side of schtick.