The Apollinaire Theatre Company has a midwinter hit on their
hands in David Grieg & Gordon MacIntyre’s saucy Scottish romp, MIDSUMMER (a
play with songs). Start the New Year off with peals of laughter at Apollinaire.
Director Danielle Fauteux Jacques knows a thing or two about comedy. Alas, it’s
only playing through January 11th.
MIDSUMMER is just naughty enough. The cheeky dialogue and
wacky humor make the “boy meets girl” set-up anything but conventional. For one
thing, she’s the wrong girl and he’s definitely the wrong guy: He’s not really
a criminal, he tells us. He just works for criminals. She knows he’s not her type
but what the heck: A fling might help her forget her latest disaster of a boyfriend.
Their songs (which are delivered sometimes as vaudeville
commentary and sometimes as romantic punctuation) may remind you of (the film
or the Broadway musical) ONCE but MIDSUMMER is grittier—It’s more like those black Irish comedies where robberies go
south and all hell breaks loose—like
that but without the violence. There’s plenty of mayhem but no blood and no guts.
I promise.
Fauteax Jacques has the perfect cast. Courtland Jones and
Brooks Reeves portray all the zany characters in this ninety minute romp: They
play the mismatched lovers, their hysterical relatives, a peeved mobster and an
upper class body part who sounds like John Cleese. (That’s all I’ll say about
that.)
Jones manages to be tough as nails and vulnerably soft at the
same time! And she’s a first rate comedienne. Reeves is one of the best actors
in town, hands down. His manic ten year old is a thing of beauty. I’d see the
play again just to see that spectacular meltdown. And his Big Tiny Tom, not to
mention all of his hilarious inner thoughts—I’m still in stitches. Enough said.
