Category Archives: Theatre

The Ugly One – Dark Comedy’s Cutting Edge

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The Ugly One – rehearsal photos

By Lorraine Payette, written August 7, 2014

(Gananoque, ON) Lette has found success in the business world. As an engineer, he’s at the top of his field with a brilliant new invention bound to make all kinds of money. But as fate would have it, he’s also unspeakably ugly. Even his own wife finds it hard to look at him, so he decides to go under the knife and have the problem corrected once and for all. The surgery is an overwhelming success, and he emerges as an Adonis – irresistible to women, the envy of every man he knows. Fame, fortune, everything he wants is there for the taking. But his nightmare truly begins when the surgeon decides he will now sell this same magnificent face to anyone with the money to pay…

“This play is a play I directed in the past at my little theatre company, Theatre Smash,” said Ashlie Corcoran, artistic director of the Thousand Islands Playhouse. “It’s a company I founded in 2005 and still run in Toronto. When we did this play in 2011, it was a smash hit and we were nominated for six Dora Awards.” – to read more>

“Bird Brain” Triumphs in Town Park

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A Handful of Characters

by Lorraine Payette, written July 4, 2014

(Gananoque, ON) A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush… Keep it under your hat… A kind heart is worth more than any kingdom… Follow your heart and your dreams will come true…

Woodcutting is hard, tiring work, more than enough to break the spirit and kill the dreams of most men. But when Bird Brain finds a nest of freezing orphaned baby birds in the forest, he knows the only way he can save them is to put them under his warm, comfortable hat. – to read more>

Jake’s Gift – a Shining Tribute to the Power of Remembrance

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Julia Mackey in Jake’s Gift

by Lorraine Payette, written July 3, 2014

“We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when,
But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day…”

– We’ll Meet Again, sung be Vera Lynn

(Gananoque, ON) Bernière sur Mer lay tired and war weary as June 6, 1944, dawned in Normandy. Little did its residents know that this day of all days was to be remembered throughout time as D-Day, and that their tiny town would be identified as Juno Beach.

Jake’s Gift is a one-woman show that returns us to Juno Beach for the 60th anniversary celebrations of D-Day, for a look at remembrance and appreciation from a different perspective. For the Canadian forces, this was a place of great loss and tragedy, a place to rediscover old pains and sorrows and take the time to visit the final resting places of those who never returned, but for the residents – those who participated in D-Day because it was thrust upon them by fate and location – this is a time to rejoice. This is the anniversary of their great liberation from the Nazis, a glimpse of that future world made free. – to read more>

She Loves Me a Delightful Step Back into 1930’s Romance

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She Loves Me – Performance Photos

by Lorraine Payette, written June 26, 2014

The sweet aroma of love is in the air at Maraczek’s Parfumerie as Ilona Ritter (Kristen Galer) and Steven Kodaly (Kevin McGarry) continue their on-going affair. Not quite as obvious is the love developing between shy and stressed manager Georg Nowack (Ron Pederson) and his mysterious pen-pal, “Dear Friend”. But things get tense and tempers start to flare when a nervous young woman, Amalia Balash (Alison MacDonald) applies to work with them. She and Georg aren’t quite sure if they can tolerate each other or not. However, poor Amalia also finds that her best stress relief is through writing to her pen-pal, a “Dear Friend” …

What will happen when they discover who their pen-pals really are? – to read more>

“She Loves Me”: Largest Romantic Musical in Many Years Comes to Playhouse Stage

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Rehearsal Photos

by Lorraine Payette, written June 10, 2014

(Gananoque, ON) Opening on June 21, the Thousand Islands Playhouse will be dancing its way into your heart with the largest cast musical they’ve performed in years. “She Loves Me” promises to be a feast of sight and sound, with 13 gifted performers bringing you the story of a nervous young woman, Amalia Balash (Alison MacDonald) and Georg Nowack (Ron Pederson), the manager of Maraczek’s Parfumerie. The bane of each others existence in the workplace, each is so certain they’d be happier if they never had to see each other at all. As they both indulge in their favourite passion and stress reliever of writing and receiving letters from their secret pen pals, neither realizes that this is about to become the most wonderful summer in 1930’s Budapest that either of them could ever imagine. – to read more>

The Snow Queen Holding Auditions This Weekend

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The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen

by Lorraine Payette, written June 3, 2014

The enchantment of The Snow Queen will soon be here as What’s My Line? Productions begins auditions this weekend for Madeline Ferris-Baker Carnwright’s adaptation of the Disney blockbuster, Frozen.

“We are currently rescheduling a third date, so let us know if this weekend is a conflict for you,” says Lisa Flannigan of WML. “We are double casting older and younger roles so everyone has an opportunity. No experience is necessary.” – to read more>

Driving Miss Daisy: Film Takes Backseat to Playhouse’s Live Production

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by Lorraine Payette, written May 22, 2014

(Gananoque, ON) The results are in, and the Thousand Islands Playhouse production of Driving Miss Daisy is an all out winner. Playing to a sold-out house on opening night, the play received ecstatic and excited reviews from audience members.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Lois Creed of Dexter, NY. “It was so much better than the movie. Hollywood made it into a cute little comedy, but the play is so much more than that. The people were real, the experiences were real. I felt like I’d known them all my life.” – to read more>

TI Playhouse Takes a Road Trip through Time with “Driving Miss Daisy”

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by Lorraine Payette, written May 7, 2014

“I don’t want you. I don’t need you. And I don’t like you saying I’m rich…” (MD)

“You can’t drive, but you probably do a lot of things I can’t do. It’ll all work out…” (H)

“Wait, you’re speeding – I see it!” (MD)

“We ain’t doing but 19 miles an hour…” (H)

– Miss Daisy and Hoke from “Driving Miss Daisy”

(Gananoque, ON) Prepare to laugh, cry and be completely delighted as the Thousand Islands Playhouse opens the 2014 season with a heart-warming ride through time in their production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, “Driving Miss Daisy.” Starring Nicola Lipman as Miss Daisy Werthan, Walter Borden as her chauffeur Hoke Colburn, and Brian Linds as her long suffering son, Boolie, this is the perfect way to warm up after a long, tiring winter. While Borden and Linds are making their debut at the Playhouse, local theatre goers will remember Lipman from her amazing performance in “No Great Mischief” during the Playhouse’s 2013 season. – to read more>

“All Fall Down” Opening at Firehall Theatre This Weekend

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by Lorraine Payette, written February 10, 2014

Welcome to the year 2097. In this pristine time, the most disgusting of annoyances are being brought under control, cleaning up not only our environment but our social contacts as well. Oh, my, did I say contacts? No, no, there’ll be none of that here.

Thanks to the wonder of technology and the gracious McCloud Industries, it is no longer necessary to participate in the filthy habit of human contact or “touch” in order for our species to reproduce. Matches can be made at the most perfect level, and all breeding is taken care of selectively in our labs through the use of our wonderful machines. – to read more>

Dreams in Motion Presents 9th Annual Christmas Festival

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Christmas at Dreams in Motion

Christmas at Dreams in Motion

by Lorraine Payette, written November 29, 2013

(GANANOQUE, ONTARIO) Let the magic begin! It’s time once again for the Christmas Festival over at Dreams in Motion in Gananoque. As the theatre school’s largest fundraiser, there is plenty to do and see, and a chance for everyone to visit Santa as well.

The event runs from 4:00 pm on November 29 – 5:00 pm on December 1, and features two performances of “The Grinch” as well as an adults’ masquerade ball. New to the programme, the ball is hoped to add that extra level of fantasy and excitement to the weekend for those 19 and over. – to read more>