Review: The Chance
The Chance
Leroy Street Theatre
Written by George F. Walker, directed by Wes Berger. At the Assembly Theatre. Runs until October 30.
In George F. Walker’s newest play, The Chance, Walker does what he does best: champions the underdogs. Marcie (Fiona Reid), her daughter Jo (Claire Burns), and their friend Amie (Anne van Leeuwen) are on the edges of what might be considered “respectable”: Marcie is trying to manage debt and fend off creditors, while Jo and Amie are strippers with their own problems and few prospects.
Walker has made these women wily and tenacious in their quest to grab any chance to get just a little further ahead. This means not necessarily abiding by the strict letter of the law. So when a mysterious cheque for a lot of money is found made out to cash, Marcie goes straight to the bank.
Dialogue runs like the wind in Walker plays because his characters are always thinking about their next move in order to keep three steps ahead of the sheriff. It’s clear director Wes Berger has a keen sense of the desperate worlds Walker creates, and certainly how his characters deal with that desperation.
The pacing and interplay is razor sharp. Scenes are beautifully compact, without one extraneous move. The cast of three are so accomplished it looks like they have been rehearsing for months. The humour comes from the characters’ wacky situations and how they make light of them. It’s done very seriously as all humour should be done—nothing will kill a joke or laugh-line faster than a character telegraphing where the laugh is.
Reid pops off Marcie’s lines with ease, yet still conveys her character’s weariness due to the state of her life. We watch her think on her feet—eyes focused, brain snatching at any idea that will help get her out of a jam. Burns plays Jo with a sense of hopelessness, but while Jo has a lot of worry, she has purpose and that keeps her going. Finally, van Leeuwen plays Amie as a devil-may-care party girl. She doesn’t seem to have a worry in the world but knows an opportunity when it presents itself.
For Leroy Street Theatre to have earned the rights to do a new Walker play and have cast the celebrated Fiona Reid in the part of Marcie is a coup. It’s a terrific production. See it before it closes on Monday.
For tickets or more information, click here.
Lynn Slotkin
Lynn is the former theatre critic for Intermission, and currently writes reviews on her blog The Slotkin Letter. She also does theatre reviews, interviews, and commentary for CIUT Friday Morning (89.5 FM). She was a theatre reviewer for CBC's Here and Now for ten years. On average, she sees 280 shows a year.
LEARN MORE
iPhoto caption: Jane Spidell in 'Twelve Dinners.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Family tensions run high in TIFT’s intimate Twelve Dinners
In the now-closed Twelve Dinners, an autobiographical play written and directed by Steve Ross, audiences received intimate access to an unvarnished version of a younger Ross through 12 evening meals with his parents.
iPhoto caption: Members of the company of 'Narnia.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Bad Hats’ Narnia is a joyful, heartwarming escape
The spirit of openness and the joy of discovery rule over this Narnia. Open the wardrobe and see.
iPhoto caption: Members of the company of 'Robin Hood.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Canadian Stage’s Robin Hood panto is anti-capitalist fun for the whole family
Following Ross Petty’s legacy of scene-stealing, Damien Atkins as the evil Prince John is easily the greatest delight of the show.
iPhoto caption: Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton in 'Public Consumption.' Photo by Eden Graham.
REVIEW: Lester Trips’ stylish Public Consumption captures the internet’s profound emptiness
Rather than directly representing online life, Public Consumption speculates — with virtuosity — about how the digital world affects our bodies. And the show's findings are by no means comfortable.
iPhoto caption: Tony Ofori and Daren A. Herbert in 'Moonlight Schooner.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Kanika Ambrose’s Moonlight Schooner is animated and visually stunning, but its individual pieces don’t come together as neatly as I would've expected.
iPhoto caption: Fiona Mongillo in 'Reproduktion.' Photo by Ann Baggley.
REVIEW: Here For Now’s well-acted Reproduktion attempts to tackle too much
Amy Rutherford’s world premiere script is ambitious and the material it covers is complex — but the narrative feels disjointed.
iPhoto caption: Marcel Stewart, Dan Mousseau, Christef Desir, Alex Bulmer, Shakura Dickson in The Story. Photo by Neil Silcox
It was frigid the night I saw the production, and when you are freezing and can’t feel your fingers or toes, time-wasting shenanigans wear thin.
iPhoto caption: Lena Maripuu, Graham Conway, and Peter Pan ensemble. Photo by Nicholas Porteous
Joy to the world—the most inventive, lively, whimsical production of Peter Pan has arrived for the holidays!
iPhoto caption: Robyn Stevan in The Mess. Photo by Dahlia Katz
Co-creators Mikaela Davies and Polly Phokeev have devised a short, complex, layered story of how the mess a person creates can affect those around them.
iPhoto caption: Company in the Grand Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Claus Andersen
Reviews: A Christmas Carol (x2)
Reviews of two productions of A Christmas Carol—Ross Petty Productions and the Grand Theatre, in London, Ont.—that couldn’t be more different.
iPhoto caption: David Schurmann and Carly Street in Heisenberg. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
Of the three productions I’ve seen of Heisenberg—on Broadway in New York, the West End in London, and here in Toronto—this one is the best.
Comments