Valmai Goggin

From inside the Lunchbox, the director emerges. After spending the year in deep at Lunchbox Theatre as its RBC Emerging Director, Valmai Goggin now gets the chance to take the reins of her own show. She has chosen to direct The Lover, Harold Pinter’s 1962 dark, comedic tale of the sexual adventures of a married couple. Goggin sat down with Jon Roe to talk about what she learned and why she picked The Lover.

What was the biggest lesson you took away from this year? Directors often work in a little bit of a bubble in that you don’t often get to collaborate with other directors on projects. There’s a sense of, what is everyone else doing? Getting to work on four shows with four very different directors with four very different processes—it was nice to see the things in common and it was nice to see the deviations people make based on their own process and based on the script.

Was directing always part of your plan? Yeah. Like many people, I started out as an actor and within a couple years really fell in love with directing. I’ve been pursuing that for a quite a few years now.

What made you want to pursue directing? Probably the fact that I’m better at directing than I am at acting. As a director, you get to have your hands in a lot of different pots, so to speak, in terms of being able to tell the story not only from an acting perspective, but also in terms of design and environment. The bird’s eye view of the storytelling process was really appealing to me.

Did you dabble in directing prior to your MFA in directing at the University of Calgary? I spent a couple of seasons at an outdoor Shakespeare company in Sackville, N.B. and did some work there. When I really became serious about directing, I was actually living in Iqaluit, NU. and doing quite a bit of community theatre up there, including their first-ever production of a Shakespeare play. It was working up there that really renewed my interest in directing and clarified for me that I really did want to go back and pursue a higher level of training and hone my craft.

Why were you up in Iqaluit? My boyfriend and I moved up there for pretty basic student financial reasons: to get rid of some loans and a change of scenery. We went up there with a very short-term plan of staying, and ended up staying there for two years. We fell in love with the town and the people. There really is a lovely little arts community up there. We literally did community theatre out of pockets and on our kitchen tables. It really was an incredible experience. I think everyone should live up north at some point, it’s so beautiful.

Were you going to school? No, I was a wildly unqualified business sales administrator for Northwestel, which is the telecom up there. My boyfriend worked as a graphic designer. We were doing theatre in our off hours and it became clearer and clearer to me that I wanted to pursue that as a full time profession.

Why’d you pick The Lover to direct? Harold Pinter has always been my favourite playwright. His experimentations and use of language are really fascinating. His ability to communicate so much with staccato or condensed dialogue is quite extraordinary and powerful. The Lover really spoke to me as a very challenging text, both for myself as a director and for the actors, for us to wade through and navigate the story. It’s also a really classic Pinter play in that it’s the darkest of dark comedies. You’re really trying to navigate a story where people are laughing at one moment and suddenly faced with something strange and disturbing in the next. It seemed a great fit in the Lunchbox space, in terms of being able to tell the story in the theatre. Also, I really wanted a script I could sink my teeth into with a team of talented professionals.

The play’s interpretation can swing between comedy or a bit more dramatic. Do you hit the middle of the road in that sense? I think so. As with all of Pinter’s plays, it does swing the pendulum between the comic and the dramatic. Navigating between the two is part of my task as a director. It’s sometimes more powerful when you can rocket people from one extreme to the other in a one act play. I think heading too far in one direction or the other can be a bit of a misdirection. As we work our way through the script and try to break down to play, we’re trying to negotiate what are those moments of comedy and what are those moments of drama. You do all that work in the rehearsal hall and you get up in front of an audience and who knows what they’re going to think is funny or what they think is sad. It’s part of the fun and terror of it all.

Is the play going to be set in the ’60s? The play was written and set in 1962. I’ve kept it there because I feel it is a bit of a period piece in terms of the characters and the world that they live in. We toyed with the idea of updating it, but I think it’s a stronger story when you keep it in that early ’60s time period.

The sexual nature of the story was quite shocking at the time for audiences. What can contemporary audiences take away from it? Pinter wrote it at a time when the Sexual Revolution was sort of starting to get underway. Second-wave Feminism was starting to pick up and the idea of people talking openly about their relationships and the emotional and sexual qualities of that was really starting to get some traction. It really would have shocked audiences in the day. It stands the test of time because it’s really an examination of the games that we play and the rules that we set up in our relationships and in our dealings with other people. And how tenuous and breakable that can be when a person decides not to adhere to the rules or not to follow the game that’s been set up.

What’s next for you? I’m really delighted to stay on for a little bit more with Lunchbox as a festival assistant and director for this year’s Stage One Festival. I’m really excited to be working with new scripts and sitting in on some of those processes. I’m teaching for Artstrek 2013 this summer in Red Deer. I really love to teach and that’s always been a big part of my artistic career. And then in September I’m really delighted to be taking over the artistic producer role with Evergreen Theatre. It’s a theatre for young audiences company in Calgary. Their mandate involves environmentally or science-based arts education for children. We workshop and develop scripts with a curriculum component, usually something science or environment based. The shows are rehearsed and toured to schools around the province. Evergreen Theatre also runs a residency program where they send artists into schools for a week to create a show from scratch with the students. One of their newest mandates is the Big Green Puppet Bus. They’ve bought an old transit bus and converted it into a movable puppet theatre for children. I’m replacing Jacqueline Russell, who’s the outgoing artistic producer.

The Lover: RBC Emerging Director’s Showcase. Thursday, May 30 to Saturday, June 1 at Lunchbox Theatre, 160, 115 9th Ave. S.E. $10. 403-265-4292, lunchboxtheatre.com.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Lover+Lunchbox+Theatre+Emerging+Director+Presentation/8425057/story.html#ixzz2U9XBfVYg

Almost a Love story Explores a Son’s Encounter with his Deceased Dad’s Lover

By Janine Eva Trotta

Is it possible to truly love two people at the same time? What does it mean to a son to find his father has a male lover?

Almost a love story is not the typical play that shows at Lunchbox Theatre but it is a script which, once Artistic Director Pamela Halstead read through it, was clearly in need of the opportunity to be brought to stage.

“When Louis [B. Houston, the play’s writer] asked me to read the script he prefaced the request with the caveat that he knew that Lunchbox would not be able to produce it,” she recalls. “I read it and loved it but wondered about whether it was a good fit or not. I decided to workshop it in our annual Stage One Festival and see where we could get the script to and how the audience would respond. The response was so positive that I decided to program the show in the regular season.”

This is the story of a young man who, following his Father’s death, realizes that a close friend of his father was in actuality a lover. He decides to confront this man, and in trying to reconcile the identity of the father he thought he knew, finds his own sexual identity must endure redefining.

“I think the most important thing this show does is provide a different perspective,” Halstead says. “And the questions of sexual identity and choices that we make around how we conduct ourselves as sexual creatures; and the nature of relationships and honesty or betrayal.”

Halstead recounts a Stage One reading last June, for which an older patron had sat in by accident. That older woman came to her and said, though she had never been comfortable with homosexuality, she liked the play and felt that the two men had genuinely cared about one another.

“If the play can open up any discussion around human relationships it will have been successful,” Halstead says.

The play will have full opportunity to inspire just that type of dialogue and more. Almost a Love Story is part of Lunchbox Theatre’s Education Comes Alive Program, which is targeted to schools in the region.

“There is a study guide available and post-show talk backs scheduled for school groups that attend,” Halstead says. “In the play Daniel (the son) also wants to be an actor and is working on his Shakespearean monologues for auditioning for University, and Callum (the lover) assist him with that. This literary connection is also an excellent tool to connect the play to the student’s curriculum.”

This run of Almost of Love Story will be the play’s first professional showcase to the public, though amateur actors performed an earlier draft as part of a community theatre festival in which it received award.

The play will be performed Monday to Saturday at 12:10pm with “Happy Hour” performances Fridays at 6:10pm and “Date Night showings Saturdays at 7:30pm, from April 29 to May 18, 2013.

“We have not started rehearsals yet but I am looking very much forward to working on this beautiful and challenging script with such an amazing group of actors.” Halstead said at the time of writing, noticing that the biggest challenge of directing such a play is its non-linear timeline.

“The play jumps in seconds from the present to the past and between characters and through memory,” she says. “So keeping not only the actors but the audience clear about where we are in the non-linear storytelling and to do it in a way that flows is the challenge.”

The show promises a well-seasoned cast known to Calgary theatergoers.

Christopher Hunt, who plays David, the father living a dual life, is touted “one of the finest actors in the city having graced every stage in town” by Halstead, and is a past recipient of numerous Betty Mitchell awards for his performances.

Frank Zotter, based out of Edmonton, plays Callum, David’s lover. Lindsay Burns plays Ellie David’s unaware wife, who upon discovering the truth about her husband allows her maternal instinct to protect her son overpower her own feelings of hurt and betrayal.

David the son, is played by recent Mount Royal graduate Joe Perry, while Callum’s neighbor and confidant, Henry, is played by former Artistic Director of Shadow Productions, Hal Kerbes.

Halstead has worked across the country as a director, spending the last ten years working primarily on new play development both at Lunchbox Theatre and Ship’s Company Theatre in Nova Scotia.

“ …both companies with long historic of premiering new Canadian plays,” she says.  She was familiar with Almost a Love Story’s writer Louis B. Hobson as, in addition to writing plays, critiquing them for the Calgary Sun.

“I am thrilled to be working on the world premier of Almost a Love Story,” Halstead says.

Hal Kerbes as Henry, Frank Zotter as Callum, Christopher Hunt as David, Lindsay Burns as Ellie and Joe Perry as Daniel in Almost a Love Story by Louis B. Hobson. Photo courtesy Lunchbox Theatre
Almost a Love Story
Lunchbox Theatre till May 18
Director: Pamela Halstead
Starring: Lindsay Burns, Christopher Hunt, Hal Kerbes, Joe Perry and Frank Zotter.

This Story Truly Tugs on Heartstrings

By Neil Fleming, Calgary Sun | Wednesday, May 1, 2013

There is no question that Louis B. Hobson loves the theatre.

For over 30 years he has been a fixture in our local community, at times as a drama teacher, mainly as theatre critic, but sometimes as a playwright, a contributor.

Almost A Love Story, which opened this week at Lunchbox Theatre, is a love-letter from Hobson to the world of the theatre.

The characters are actors, or they want to be actors.

When their own words escape them, they turn to the words of Shakespeare to convey how they really feel.

They can distil any of life’s problems down to a lyric from some old Broadway show tune.

But this is just the backdrop to what Hobson really wanted to explore — love.

Love in all of its messed up, life-changing, unforgiving, and unexplainable glory.

The story follows Daniel (Joe Perry), a young man who is auditioning for the National Theatre School who recruits the aid of acting teacher Callum (Frank Zotter), a friend of his late father David (Christopher Hunt).

But Daniel knows that Callum and his father were more than just friends, and what he has really come for are answers.
Zotter is wonderfully understated and sympathetic as David’s secret tryst.

Hunt manages to get us to love him for all his faults, despite his infidelities, and newcomer Joe Perry shows us he can more than hold his own in such company.

Hobson has obviously drawn on his wide theatrical background to create a framework that is at the same time simple and straight-forward, but also intricate and clever.

The action steps seamlessly back and forth in time as the backstory echoes the discoveries being made by the current characters.

Kudos to the deft hand of director Pamela Halstead for choreographing this intricate dance.

The transitioning between past and present is aided in no small part by Scott Reid’s elegant design, and Dewi Wood’s subtle score.

The play itself is not entirely without fault.

There are a few bits of clunky backstory in the early scenes and the characters of jilted wife Ellie and flamboyant neighbour Henry seemed to lack the same depth that exists in the trio of father, son and lover. But for me, there were enough moments of pure emotion that I walked away moved by the story.

The dialogue sizzles when Lindsay Burns as Ellie stands her ground opposite Callum.

We see honest attraction when Zotter and Hunt trade lines of Shakespeare in a scene-study class.

Hal Kerbes hits the mark when larger-than-life Henry trills a touching little Broadway ditty to comfort his dear friend.

These are moments as a writer you hope you can provide to your actors.

Those moments when it’s easy for them to believe what they are saying, because then those of us watching will believe, too.

Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald Hal Kerbes, Frank Zotter and Joe Perry in Louis B Hobson’s Almost a Love Story, at Lunchbox Theatre
Photograph by: Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald

Lunchbox serves up twisty, beguiling yarn with Almost a Love Story

Lunchbox Theatre is looking for a dynamic individual to be the Summer Marketing and Communications Assistant for mid-May to August 2013!

Job Description

The Marketing and Communications Assistant will assist the Marketing and Communications Manager with research, planning and execution of marketing initiatives for the 2013/2014 season during the summer of 2013. The position duties will include:

• writing marketing, communications and public relations materials
• working with, entering and analysing patron data
• assisting with the creation of marketing plans and marketing strategies / tactics
• research into marketing opportunities and costs, assisting with budget finalization
• assisting with marketing plan implementation, evaluation and revision
• assisting with running public outreach booths at the following festivals:
  • Lilac Festival: Sunday, May, 26^th, 2013
  • East Village Street Festival: Monday, July 1^st, 2013
  • Sun and Salsa Festival: Sunday, July 21^st, 2013
  • Inglewood Sunfest: Saturday, August 3^rd, 2013
  • Marda Gras: Sunday, August 11^th, 2013

The Summer Marketing and Communications Assistant will report to the Marketing and Communications Manager.

Qualifications

The successful candidate should be a current student in the arts, marketing, communications, public relations or have equivalent course work or work experience, and have a love for the performing arts. Skills and qualities required include:

• An avid interest in the arts
• Strong communications skills
• Ability to self-start and learn quickly
• Very strong organization skills
• Ability to work independently and in close connection with a small team

The Summer Marketing and Communications Assistant will be supervised by the Marketing and Communications Manager. Opportunities for the successful candidate to direct their work and ensure they meet their own learning objectives will be accommodated as much as possible. Training on specific software systems will be provided.

Expected Start Date: May 20^th, 2013
Expected End Date: August 30^th, 2013
Submission Deadline: Monday, May 13^th 2012, 4:30 pm
Interviews: May 14^th to 17^th, 2013
Hourly Wage: $10.63
Hours per week: 40

To apply, please send a cover letter that addresses the skills, attributes and qualifications detailed above, as well as a resume, to:

Kathryn Blair
Marketing and Communications Manager
Lunchbox Theatre
kathryn.blair@lunchboxtheatre.com

Three professional references will be requested from candidates who are invited to an interview.

NOTE: This position is dependent on the employer receiving funding from the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) wage subsidy program. Eligible student participants must:

• Be between 16 and 30 years of age at the start of the employment;
• Have been registered as full-time students in the previous academic year and intend to return to school on a full-time basis in the next academic year;
• Be Canadian citizens, permanent residents or persons to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and,
• Be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations.

Lunchbox Theatre is an equal opportunity employer, and is interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who are representative of the Province’s diversity.

About Lunchbox Theatre

The world’s longest running lunchtime theatre, Lunchbox Theatre is a professional company that caters to downtown office workers over the noon-hour by producing at least seven plays per season, as well as the Suncor Energy Stage One Festival and the RBC Emerging Director Program. Lunchbox Theatre is located at the base of the Calgary Tower.

Download PDF of Job Posting

Hal Kerbes as Henry, Frank Zotter as Callum, Christopher Hunt as David and Joe Perry as Daniel in Almost a Love Story by Louis B. Hobson. Photo by Benjamin Laird.

‘Almost a love story’ looks at the diversity of love

by JENNA SHUMMOOGUM · 0 COMMENTS, May 1 2013

Lunchbox Theatre’s Almost A Love Story by Calgary Sun theatre critic Louis B Hobson, opens up the conversation about the nature of love. How it falls between the lines of trust and betrayal, how it nurtures the roots of relationships, and why we love some people and not others. The issue that rears its head in the narrative that is most striking, is the idea of legitimate love: love in secret and love goes into the realm of adultery. Is that still love?

The play tells the story Daniel (Joe Perry) who is trying to find out answer about who his father, David, (Christopher Hunt) really was. He seeks out David’s old colleague Callum (Frank Zotter), as he knows that they were old friends. Callum winds up working with Daniel on his mologues to apply for the National Theatre School and it is revealed that David and Callum had a romantic relationship. Daniel’s mom Ellie, (Lindsay Burns) starts to ask questions when Daniel starts to spent a lot of time working with Callum on his audition. It’s all a bit of a twisted web that entangles each character, except for Callum’s friend Henry, gleefully played by Hal Kerbes, who watches it all and provides broadway song-commentary.

The play is told in a flashback style sometimes and works and sometimes doesn’t under Pamela Halstead’s direction. Callum will be telling Henry about how he ran into Daniel on campus and the scene will flashback to their conversation. Or Callum will be telling Daniel about how he met David, and the scene will play out on stage. Characters don’t really freeze if they aren’t a part of the flashback, they kind of watch it as it unfolds. This proves to be a bit awkward as characters walk up to the scene, instead of the narrative changing to that scene. This style works really well when both scenes overlap, as when Ellie is talking to Daniel about how much time he is spending in Calgary working on his monologues, and it’s the same conversation she had with her diseased husband, and we see David talking about taking his classes in Calgary, when he’s really spending time with Callum.

The play features some great performances, namely Burns as Ellie and Zotter playing the tortured Callum. Hunt is solid as David, but there is a missing spark and chemistry between Zotter and Hunt. It seems a little hard to believe that they were involved romantically. Kerbes clearly is having a grand time playing Henry, costumed in a silk bathrobe the whole time and gesturing flamboyantly, but the character himself is grating.

Almost A Love Story deals with the diversity of love and this is most illustrated in a poignant scene in the play. Ellie comes to speak to Callum about his involvement with her son and in this explosion of emotion she accuses him of being an intruder and only thinking that he loved David, but not actually loving him. ‘I shared my husband with you didn’t I?’ she asks. It’s the kicker scene in the play, backed by an outstanding performance by Burns, and it presents all sides of the equation, except for David’s, who in this case, should really be the one answering questions. We see how sharing her husband has hurt Ellie, but we also see how not having any closure has tortured Callum. It’s almost a love story, but not quite.

Almost A Love Story runs at Lunchbox Theatre until May 18th. Tickets and more information is available online.

Photo Credit: Hal Kerbes as Henry, Frank Zotter as Callum, Christopher Hunt as David and Joe Perry as Daniel in Almost a Love Story by Louis B. Hobson. Photo by Benjamin Laird.

Read More: http://www.getdown.ca/2013/05/01/almost-a-love-story-looks-at-the-diversity-of-love/

Katherine Fadum as Pam, Joe Slabe as Steve and JP Thibodeau as Allan in If I Weren’t With You by Joe Slabe, photo by Benjamin Laird.

If I Weren’t With You – Review

If I Weren’t With You

April 1 – 20, 2013

Lunchbox Theatre

http://www.lunchboxtheatre.com/if-i-werent-with-you.html

Listen to my review from CBC Eyeopener athttp://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/theatre/2013/04/02/jessica-goldman—if-i-werent-with-you/

 Below you’ll find the song list for the Joe Slabe’s world premiere musical, If I Weren’t With You, about what happens when a once happy marriage starts falling apart:

I Do

Everything is Fine

In the Beginning

Someone’s Always There

In Your Shoes

Tell Yourself You’re Happy

The Man in the Middle/If I Weren’t With You

If I Weren’t With You (Reprise)

Someone’s Always There (Reprise)

I give you this list not simply because it wasn’t printed in the program. (Which is wasn’t, and anyway what’s up with that? Please, please, please theatre companies…put the songs on the program!!)  I’m giving you the songs because I’m betting you’ll want to go back and read the titles to remember just how much you enjoyed listening to them in this predominantly lighthearted yet grounded in reality musical look at relationship issues.

Directed with finesse by David Leyshon, If I Weren’t With You adds up to a show with 80% comedy, 10% tragedy and another 10% reality in the narrative/lyrical mix. The musical starts with the marriage of Pam (fantastically played by Katherine Fadum) and Allan (JP Thibodeau sweetly playing a man who’s lost himself) who are young and in love with their whole lives ahead of them. The show then quickly fast forwards to several years later when the couple are not so young, not so happy and possibly turning away from the love part. Pam is working all the time not really communicating and Allan is trying to communicate but he’s not really listening. They’re at that awful stage when a marriage is in trouble where they say everything is ‘fine’ to each other, but we all know better. Behind their spouse’s back the couple is secretly dreaming of what life would have been like without each other and all the things they’ve given up to be together. As their frustration grows they begin to fight, say some pretty hurtful things and end up not talking at all. Or at least not to each other. But they do end up talking, separately to Steven (a somewhat stiff yet charming Joe Slabe); a single gay friend of Pam’s who plays the middle-man trying to get the couple to work things out. There is a bit of an emotional twist that gets revealed later in the play that I won’t give away, but it helps explain the genesis of the couple’s problems and it’s the roadblock they need to get past.

But back to the music.  All the songs in the show are written and composed by Slabe who provides a live accompaniment courtesy of a baby grand piano on the stage. It’s an interesting double duty Slabe is taking on here with both playing all the music and also acting a supporting role in the show and Leyshon handles this tricky directional challenge well. At times Slabe works in the background, dimly lit; simply providing the music.  When called upon, Slabe easily transitions into actor/singer and piano player role without any pesky directorial contrivance.

Of the ten songs in this one-act, fifty-minute show, I’m happy to say that I liked every single one. Thematically they all had a kind of jazzy, somewhat funky show tune standard kind of feel to them. So yes, nothing terribly risky or original, but does that matter when each song is eminently hummable and enjoyable on its own merits? With Slabe’s great piano playing and arrangements that guaranteed to tickle your earworms, I don’t think so. But really, it was the lyrics that won me over. If I Weren’t With You is a fairly generic storyline, but what saves this light musical from being nothing but a cliché, are Slabe’s quite funny, smart, insightful, and occasionally melancholy songs that don’t rely too heavily on hackneyed phrasing to make a point.  The ideas they convey maybe old and at times even overly retread, but the words sound fresh and entertaining and even poignant in places. Everything is Fine is a wonderful duet by the couple which has them claiming status quo to each other while wondering why they are secretly upset yet afraid to stir the pot. Someone’s Always There allows Fadum’s voice to shine as she laments that she is never lonely, but painfully aware that she never gets a minute to herself. In one of the best numbers of the show, Allan and Steve drunkenly sing In Your Shoes, a duet about how they wish they could trade relationship statuses with each other. And of course, If I Weren’t With Youhas the couple hilariously listing off all the things they wouldn’t have (acne, a fat ass, a boring home in the suburbs) and would have (better sex, regular sex, a career they loved) if only they were single and or married to someone else.

Sure the audience pretty much knows how it’s going to all work out, this is a light musical after all. But thanks to peppy direction, fun songs/lyrics and engaging performances, If I Weren’t With You is a delightfully lovely romp through someone else’s marriage struggles.

RATING

For the guys – Tired of the guy always being played as a buffoon in comedies about marriage issues? Not the case here. Allan is a relatable character and there is thankfully no attempt to make you take sides. SEE IT

For the girls – This is not adults behaving badly or genders tossed around as stereotypes. While the show is a funny light musical, it does touch on real issues that everyone can appreciate. SEE IT

For the occasional theater goer – A perfect one-act light musical. You’ll like the story, the music, the lyrics and the performers. SEE IT

For the theatre junkie – Sometimes even serious theatre goers just want to be entertained by a fun light, short show. This would be a good one for that. SEE IT

FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, APRIL 02, 2013 11:21 PM MDT | UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 03, 2013 08:49 AM MDT

Back in 1954, George Axelrod penned a little relationship comedy called The Seven Year Itch which postulated that in their seventh year marriages would hit an awkward speed bump.

Both men and women would feel the urge to break free.

In the film version, Marilyn Monroe moved into the apartment upstairs making it dreadfully difficult for the man to stay committed.

In his musical If I Weren’t With You currently running at Lunchbox Theatre, the prolific and talented Joe Slabe has a bit more faith in marriage.

He gives his couple two extra years of marital bliss before Pam (Katherine Fadum) sings the blues with Someone’s Always There and Allan (JP Thibodeau) goes into full musical theatre mode with In Your Shoes when he wonders what it would be like to be single again.

Good news for the couple. Bad news for the audience.

Slabe doesn’t toss in a Marilyn to complicate matters.

Instead Slabe tosses himself into the mix as Pam and Allan’s gay friend Steve to whom they keep running for relationship advice and a variety of drinks.

Slabe’s lyrics run the gamut from witty and insightful to truthful and poignant and his genius at manipulating words seems so effortless.

I would love to see Slabe turn If I Weren’t With You into a sung-through musical because he’s not nearly as skillful with dialogue as he is with lyrics and music.

With Steve, it’s as if Slabe is channelling Snoopy from You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Both Thibodeau and Fadum can belt a song and then turn around and caress lyrics for more intimacy.

These are voices you want to listen to and Thibodeau in particular knows how to pour on some real razzle dazzle when the number begs for it.

Director David Leyshon makes certain a great set from Deitra Kalyn is properly showcased, as are Slabe’s songs and the fragile relationship issues Pam and Allan deal with.

If any of this sounds heavy and downbeat, forget it.

If I Weren’t With You is the kind of frothy fun that makes for an ideal noontime escape.

Three and a half stars.

louis.hobson@sunmedia.ca

Read More: http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/04/03/marriage-musical-if-i-werent-with-you-playing-at-lunchbox-theatre-is-full-of-frothy-fun

Vic Lavicka holds a sketch for which he paid $250, a sketch created by Ralph Klein to commemorate his favourite watering hole, the St. Louis Hotel, back in 1989. The felt pen drawing bears Klein’s signature.
Photograph by: Christina Ryan , Calgary Herald

Klein art inspired by favourite watering hole

Katherine Fadum, Joe Slabe and J.P. Thibodeau star in Slabe’s musical If I Weren’t With You, at Lunchbox.

Calgary composer Joe Slabe hard at work on relationships

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/Calgary+composer+Slabe+hard+work+relationships/8167094/story.html#ixzz2PK41lwez