Category Archives: Thousand Islands Playhouse

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>

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>

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>

The Importance of Being Earnest – Proper Victorian Humour Proves Timeless

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by Lorraine Payette, written July 29, 2014

“I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can’t go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left.”

– Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest

Be prepared for a Wilde time of it as the Thousand Islands Playhouse treats you to a proper Victorian look and laugh at ourselves and our inner fools in its delightful production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

“I think it’s pretty good,” said Chris, a student from Ajax who came to the show with family. “I’m not used to this kind of humour, but I find it witty and a lot of it is pretty relevant even now. I would definitely recommend this to friends. People my age might think they wouldn’t like it, but if they go, they’ll definitely end up enjoying it. I’ve never seen another play like this, and the jokes are still really funny. Everyone seems to be having a good time – my mum’s laughing, I’m laughing, it’s perfect.” – 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>