Category Archives: Theatre

Pirates of Penzance Stealing Hearts at TI Playhouse

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by Lorraine Payette, written June 30, 2015

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Show shots by Jay Kopinski

“Take any heart – take mine!”
– Mabel, “The Pirates of Penzance”

(Gananoque, ON) A gang of ruthless pirates/rum runners have landed in Gananoque and are out to steal your hearts at the Springer Theatre from June 19 until July 18. Well, not exactly Ruth-less, for without their dear, slightly addled Ruth (Shelley Simester) there would be no story.

As we enter the tale, we are about to celebrate Frederic’s (Adam Charles) 21st and it is she who tells us how it all began. A loyal, loving nurse, she only tried to follow her employer’s wishes and apprentice young Frederic as a pilot. But, being hard of hearing, she apprenticed him instead as a pirate, and so began his life of crime, running rum with the most tender-hearted pirates in the world as they go up against the American prohibition and the zaniest Coast Guard around. – to read more>

“Rose’s Clothes” Hanging Out in Town Park

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by Lorraine Payette, written June 7, 2015

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Performance in Town Park

(Gananoque, ON) There are certain unmistakable signs of summer in Gananoque – chip trucks, open air patios filling up at local restaurants, the fountains coming back on. One of the most welcome, however, has got to be the return of the Thousand Islands Playhouse Young Company and their free theatre in the park.

“The show, ‘Rose’s Clothes’, will be playing in Town Hall Park at 4:30 on Thursdays and Saturdays between now and July 11,” said Rob Kempson, director of the show and associate artistic director at the Playhouse. “There are a couple of exceptions with two performances on Canada Day instead of on the second, but mostly the Thursday and Saturday shows, weather permitting.” – to read more>

Pirates of Penzance – Swashbuckling in the Thousand Islands

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by Lorraine Payette, written June 20, 2015

“I know the kings of England, and I quote the facts historical…”
– Major General, “The Pirates of Penzance,”, Gilbert and Sullivan

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Rehearsal photos – The Very Model of a Modern Major General

(Gananoque, ON) Maybe that should be “facts hysterical” as the Thousand Islands Playhouse tackles that great piratical masterpiece, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance”.

Poor Frederic (Adam Charles) finds himself in a mess entirely thrust upon him by fate, something definitely not of his own doing but which may very well become his undoing. Fate first came upon him in the form of Ruth (Shelley Simester), a well intentioned but hard-of-hearing, ditsy nursemaid who only had his father’s best wishes and Frederic’s welfare at heart. Asked to apprentice him as a “pilot”, she mistakenly signed him up with pirates, to be indentured until his 21st birthday. But unbeknownst to Frederic, this doesn’t mean that when he becomes 21-years-old he will be free to pursue his own life – no, no, no! For Frederic was born on February 29, and that means his 21st birthday won’t come for decades… – to read more>

Summer “Closer Than Ever” at Thousand Islands Playhouse

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by Lorraine Payette, written May 25

(Gananoque, ON) “Well what do you know?
In front of me now is an open door…
One day the doors are locked and you’re sick of them.
Next day they’re yours and you have your pick of them.
Finding the proper key that’s the trick of them.
Every where another door…”
– “Doors”, Closer Than Ever, Richard Maltby, David Shire and Steven Scott Smith

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Show Shots by Jay Kopinski for TIP

The Thousand Islands Playhouse (TIP) started the 2015 season in high gear as “Closer Than Ever” exploded onto the stage on May 15.

“I’m thrilled to present this captivating musical to open our 2015 season,” said Ashlie Corcoran, artistic director for TIP. – to read more>

Teens Have a Wilde Time with “The Importance of Being Earnest”

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The Importance of Being Earnest

by Lorraine Payette, written November 20, 2014

In an age where the Smart Phone, texting and video games have taken the place of human contact and communication, students from the Not So Amateur Amateur Theatre Company stepped back in time to produce an evening of aristocratic fun as they performed Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”.

Using their teen actors to best advantage, the play ran for four delightful performances at the Mulberry School on Markland Street in Kingston from November 13-15. Double casting gave everyone an opportunity to shine and show the world just what they really can accomplish. – to read more>

Riverside Productions Seeking Actors and Readers

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Riverbank Productions

Riverbank Productions

by Lorraine Payette, written October 17, 2014

Have you ever wanted to be a star? Get up on the boards and speak those amazing words, then have everyone respond in thunderous applause?

Perhaps you’ve felt held back by a poor memory, or a fear that you simply couldn’t act. Could there ever be a place for you on stage? Continue reading →

Playhouse Presents Outstanding Production of “Educating Rita”

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by Lorraine Payette, written October 3, 2014.

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Rehearsal Photos

Rita is a challenge, not unlike Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady) or Maria (The Sound of Music). Bright, eager, dying to learn, she explodes into the life of Frank, a cynical booze-soaked professor filling and killing his hours at the local university while picking up extra money tutoring “open university” students. We strike pure gold as she who seeks a bright beautiful future made possible only by higher education runs smack up against he who has decided that it’s all a sham. – – to read more>

Waiting for the Parade a Triumph for Those Who Stayed Behind

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by Lorraine Payette, written September 10, 2014

“They also serve who only stand and wait.”
– John Milton

Whether rolling bandages, practicing for possible blackouts, or trying out leg make-up to substitute for impossible to come by silk stockings, the women who stayed behind while their men went to war always had a lot to do. And those whose men stayed home also felt a fierce duty to help in any way they could.

Waiting for the Parade chronicles the time spent by five women, each waiting in her own way for the war to end. One has sent two sons overseas, one a husband. Two have husbands who have stayed at home – one simply through no wish to enlist, the other to continue his job as a radio announcer reporting the daily news. The last is in perhaps the least enviable position of all – a German immigrant whose father has been placed in an internment camp on suspicion of being a Nazi sympathizer. – to read more>

Waiting for the Parade Keeps the Home Fires Burning

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Rehearsal Photos

written by Lorraine Payette, September 3, 2014

Time would come for roll call,
Time for us to part,
Darling I’d caress you
And press you to my heart…
– Lilli Marlene (translated by Tommie Connor, 1944)

(Gananoque, ON) World War II was a hard time for everyone involved, but it had a special significance for those who stayed behind, the women who kept the home fires burning. Always waiting, always hoping, always dreaming of the day when they would once again bring the family circle together they did everything they could for their men so far away and for all of those at home as well.

Waiting for the Parade focuses on five of these iconic women from Canadian history – each with her own loved one, each with her own reasons to stay strong, drawn together by fate to create a special friendship only people in such a situation could ever develop. One awaits her sons, another her husband. Two have husbands who have remained at home while the fifth carries the burden of being a German immigrant and daughter of a suspected Nazi sympathizer. Yet each has her own strengths, her own weaknesses, and contributes in her own way to make the interminable war time bearable for herself and the others. – to read more>

The Ugly One Cuts Deep at Firehall Theatre

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The Ugly One – production photos by Jay Kopinski

written by Lorraine Payette, August 18, 2014

“Start with the nose – it sticks out the farthest from the face…”
– Scheffler in The Ugly One

(Gananoque, ON) With a sickening crunch of breaking cartilage, metamorphosis begins and life will never be the same. In a twisted world where personal appearance is more important than talent or ability, where the real “you” doesn’t matter so long as the package is perfect, anything can and does happen, and it isn’t always pretty.

“It’s a wonderful play,” said Lois Creed of Dexter, NY. “It takes a good look at a very serious subject, and makes you think about just how shallow people really are. At the same time it’s very funny. I really enjoyed it, and think everyone should come out to see what they can learn.” – to read more>