Burnin’ Love performed at Prairie Theatre Exchange, Thursday, March 3, 2011
Reviewed by John Herbert Cunningham (originally published Mar. 6, 2011)
Two Elvises and Mary dance
For some reason – perhaps because there was not one but two Elvises (or three if you count the one strutting through the lobby before show time and during intermission) and I wasn’t particularly partial to the original (Long Live Buddy Holly!) – I didn’t think I’d enjoy this play. I was wrong – and not just because Sharon Bajer is so damned attractive. She is, in this her second play, challenging Miriam Toews for the title of Manitoba Queen of Comedy.
All of this is thanks to the Playwrights Unit that PTE (Prairie Theatre Exchange) created three years ago. What is the Playwrights Unit, you ask? Well, three years ago, PTE assembled seven Manitoba playwrights and said “OK, play nice together.” And apparently they did, if Bajer’s work is any indication. As Robert Metcalfe announced prior to the start of the play, Bajer’s is the first result of what is hoped to be many more plays resulting from the Unit’s mutual collaboration and support. It should be noted that these playwrights are not necessarily writing for PTE.
But back to the play – or, actually, back to Bajer who, in an email, informed me of how the play came to be: “I always knew I wanted to write about my mother growing up in a small town and falling in love with ‘the town Elvis.’ I also knew that she was forbidden to listen to Elvis records or dance and certainly she was strictly forbidden to date the town Elvis. I knew that she was something called a Mennonite, but I knew nothing about that other than it was something she ran away from. I knew that her family had been shunned, but I had no idea why.”
She also commented about the Elvis epidemic: ”I wasn’t sure at first how the men in the play would help tell the story, but I ended up creating two Elvises – the young, handsome, cool one and the older, cheesy Vegas one. I started to have a lot of fun with these guys and that’s where the play really found its tone.”
Now back to the play, which opens with a nurse tending to a patient in a dimly lit hospital room. The nurse, Tina, is played by Miriam Smith in her usual flawless fashion. Smith is a treasure and a delight to watch as she plays this subdued alcoholic pill-popping nurse. She is able to carry off this sotto voce breathless whisper of a voice while still being heard by the entire audience. The patient, played by relative newcomer Chelsea Rankin who, for the most part, did a splendid job with the role of Mary, is, we learn later, in a coma as a result of a car accident and is the daughter of Nurse Tina. The fact that she is in a coma creates a considerable surprise when we see her singing and dancing with the young Elvis who is apparently dead but playing a bodhisattva – one who assists others in achieving nirvana (heaven) while foregoing it themselves. The young Elvis is played by the extremely talented actor/musician Zachary Stevenson.
Old Elvis and Nurse Tina
The play moves from the hospital room to a Tiki bar run by an aging overweight Elvis imitator – Old Elvis, who is played by Richard Waugh. Sitting at the bar is Nurse Tina who is nursing back a Mai Tai and, on occasion, emptying a pill bottle into her hand. It is a Monday night and Tina is the only customer – which doesn’t stop Old Elvis from hitting on her and threatening to entertain her. Here we learn that Tina was with Mary the night of the car accident and is wracked with guilt, which is why she has turned to alcohol and drugs. We also learn that Tina is waiting for Mary’s father, who has never met Mary nor is aware of Mary’s existence. It is Tina’s plan to have that father be the one to pull the plug on Mary.
In an ironic twist (talk about having fun with the guys), Tina and Old Elvis venture out into a prairie blizzard so that Tina can get to the hospital and, on their way, get into a head-on collision which leaves Old Elvis in a coma and Tina with a broken arm. Old Elvis goes up to ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ where he joins Mary and New Elvis and where (are you ready for this) he learns that he is the long lost father of Mary.
There’s more to come but I don’t want to spoil all of the surprises for you.
By the way, Waugh is perfect for his role adding a great deal to the humour of the play.
The play consisted of two one-hour acts plus an intermission. It began to drag towards the end becoming riddled at times with cliché and hokeyness. It would greatly benefit by being a half hour shorter and dispensing with the intermission.
There are two individuals who spent their time in the background but added immensely to the enjoyment of the play. I refer to set and costume designer Brian Perchaluk and lighting designer Scott Henderson. Without their respective talents, the play would not have been nearly as good. You’ll see why when you go – which I heartily recommend you do.
Multiple Elvis Disorder
Articles
Burnin’ Love performed at Prairie Theatre Exchange, Thursday, March 3, 2011
Reviewed by John Herbert Cunningham (originally published Mar. 6, 2011)
Two Elvises and Mary dance
For some reason – perhaps because there was not one but two Elvises (or three if you count the one strutting through the lobby before show time and during intermission) and I wasn’t particularly partial to the original (Long Live Buddy Holly!) – I didn’t think I’d enjoy this play. I was wrong – and not just because Sharon Bajer is so damned attractive. She is, in this her second play, challenging Miriam Toews for the title of Manitoba Queen of Comedy.
All of this is thanks to the Playwrights Unit that PTE (Prairie Theatre Exchange) created three years ago. What is the Playwrights Unit, you ask? Well, three years ago, PTE assembled seven Manitoba playwrights and said “OK, play nice together.” And apparently they did, if Bajer’s work is any indication. As Robert Metcalfe announced prior to the start of the play, Bajer’s is the first result of what is hoped to be many more plays resulting from the Unit’s mutual collaboration and support. It should be noted that these playwrights are not necessarily writing for PTE.
But back to the play – or, actually, back to Bajer who, in an email, informed me of how the play came to be: “I always knew I wanted to write about my mother growing up in a small town and falling in love with ‘the town Elvis.’ I also knew that she was forbidden to listen to Elvis records or dance and certainly she was strictly forbidden to date the town Elvis. I knew that she was something called a Mennonite, but I knew nothing about that other than it was something she ran away from. I knew that her family had been shunned, but I had no idea why.”
She also commented about the Elvis epidemic: ”I wasn’t sure at first how the men in the play would help tell the story, but I ended up creating two Elvises – the young, handsome, cool one and the older, cheesy Vegas one. I started to have a lot of fun with these guys and that’s where the play really found its tone.”
Now back to the play, which opens with a nurse tending to a patient in a dimly lit hospital room. The nurse, Tina, is played by Miriam Smith in her usual flawless fashion. Smith is a treasure and a delight to watch as she plays this subdued alcoholic pill-popping nurse. She is able to carry off this sotto voce breathless whisper of a voice while still being heard by the entire audience. The patient, played by relative newcomer Chelsea Rankin who, for the most part, did a splendid job with the role of Mary, is, we learn later, in a coma as a result of a car accident and is the daughter of Nurse Tina. The fact that she is in a coma creates a considerable surprise when we see her singing and dancing with the young Elvis who is apparently dead but playing a bodhisattva – one who assists others in achieving nirvana (heaven) while foregoing it themselves. The young Elvis is played by the extremely talented actor/musician Zachary Stevenson.
Old Elvis and Nurse Tina
The play moves from the hospital room to a Tiki bar run by an aging overweight Elvis imitator – Old Elvis, who is played by Richard Waugh. Sitting at the bar is Nurse Tina who is nursing back a Mai Tai and, on occasion, emptying a pill bottle into her hand. It is a Monday night and Tina is the only customer – which doesn’t stop Old Elvis from hitting on her and threatening to entertain her. Here we learn that Tina was with Mary the night of the car accident and is wracked with guilt, which is why she has turned to alcohol and drugs. We also learn that Tina is waiting for Mary’s father, who has never met Mary nor is aware of Mary’s existence. It is Tina’s plan to have that father be the one to pull the plug on Mary.
In an ironic twist (talk about having fun with the guys), Tina and Old Elvis venture out into a prairie blizzard so that Tina can get to the hospital and, on their way, get into a head-on collision which leaves Old Elvis in a coma and Tina with a broken arm. Old Elvis goes up to ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ where he joins Mary and New Elvis and where (are you ready for this) he learns that he is the long lost father of Mary.
There’s more to come but I don’t want to spoil all of the surprises for you.
By the way, Waugh is perfect for his role adding a great deal to the humour of the play.
The play consisted of two one-hour acts plus an intermission. It began to drag towards the end becoming riddled at times with cliché and hokeyness. It would greatly benefit by being a half hour shorter and dispensing with the intermission.
There are two individuals who spent their time in the background but added immensely to the enjoyment of the play. I refer to set and costume designer Brian Perchaluk and lighting designer Scott Henderson. Without their respective talents, the play would not have been nearly as good. You’ll see why when you go – which I heartily recommend you do.