Since I had enjoyed this show so much in New York, I was really excited to hear that it was being produced in Toronto, and by a new theatre company too. So I talked Brenda into coming with me (which is never that difficult), and we went down to the Poor Alex Theatre, which is a small general-admission space, where we sat right up in the second row.
Of course, I was bound to compare the show to the New York production, and that worked against it, but there were a lot of things I enjoyed about it too. Dean Armstrong was really good as Jon. He has a great voice, well-suited for this music. He had this frenetic, nervous energy that was a little grating at first, but worked its way to endearing before too long. Unfortunately, I don’t think the direction worked well with that character choice. Since the stage is so small, he spent a lot of time just running back and forth from one end to the other, without any real reason for the movement.
The other character’s movements were smaller and so they seemed a bit more natural in the world set up on stage. Michael Dufays was really good as Michael (and his squeaky-voiced temp at the office had us on the floor), and Daphne Moens was a very good Susan. They both have great voices as well, and when all three sang together, it was beautiful. However, for some reason, I noticed more with this production that these characters feel forced into the piece. It was, after all, originally intended as a one-man show, and so Jon is the only character whose motivations and thoughts we ever really learn.
Overall, I felt the show sounded great (although the band was a little louder than the actors at time), but could have done more in terms of the staging. “Sunday”, which was my favourite scene in New York, wasn’t even close to capturing the wit and style of that production. The set was not very attractive, and not really that useful for telling the story. Still, I did enjoy the evening, and Brenda, who wasn’t familiar with the show at all before, had a great time as well. I really hope we see more from this company!
Jonathan |
DEAN ARMSTRONG |
Susan |
DAPHNE MOENS |
Michael |
MICHAEL DUFAYS |