Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Lisa Moore’s second novel February was described as “luminous” and “soaring” when it was published in 2009, and it was nominated for several prestigious literary awards, including the Man Booker Prize. The New Yorker raved that Moore’s book “evok[es] memory and grief in pitch-perfect detail.” The literary festival Winterset in Summer in Moore’s home province of Newfoundland commissioned her to write a stage adaptation, and a longtime member of Alumnae Theatre Company happened to see a staged reading there while on vacation in summer 2011. She brought it to the attention of Alumnae’s Programming Committee, and just over a year later, we proudly present the world premiere of Moore’s beautiful new play.
February is the time-shifting story of Helen, left a young widow with four children when her husband is killed in the sinking of the oil rig Ocean Ranger in February of 1982. Twenty-seven years later, Helen still struggles to escape the memories and move forward with her life, and past and present are interwoven as her now-adult son John deals with a dilemma of his own.
Director Michelle Alexander was impressed by the heart and humour in the script. “This is the essence of what drew me to the piece,” she says. “In rehearsal, we are constantly asking ourselves ‘where is the humour in this scene? Where is the light in this scene? What and where is the point of tension?’. Given the gravity of this type of tragedy, it would have been easy to have written and directed a play purely based on sadness and despair - but real people are more complex than that. Grief has as many colours as the people dealing with it. Lisa Moore's script is so compelling because it doesn't shy away from all of these colours with all their complexities. Rather, it asks the question: how do those complexities that come with losing a loved one, change and shape who we are and who we can become?”
The design team completes the vision: set designer Karen Elizabeth McMichael imagined the set with a tower or pile to represent “the edifice of memory. Something with straight lines, sharp angles, imposing and human.” Gabriel Cropley uses light to delineate the present vs. the past. Megan Benjafield’s sound design blends concrete and abstract sounds to mirror the sense of immediacy and memory in the script. Costume designer Peter DeFreitas took inspiration from Newfoundland’s wild seas, its landscapes, and fishermen in red & black plaid.
Alumnae Theatre Company’s world premiere of February features Lavetta Griffin as Helen; John Fray as Helen’s husband Cal; Justin Skye Conley as their son John; Kathleen Jackson Allamby as Helen’s sister Louise; Trevor Cartlidge playing multiple roles, including Cal’s bereaved father; Victoria Fuller as John’s former love interest; and Steve Switzman as a lovable carpenter renovating Helen’s house.
February
Running Time:Approximately 90 minutes. There is no intermission.
Opening Night & Gala:Friday September 21, 2012
Performance Dates:Friday September 21 - Saturday October 6, 2012
Schedule:Wednesday – Saturday 8:00pm; Sunday matinee at 2:00pm
Playwright Lisa Moore will attend a talkback with cast & director after the matinee on September 23.
Tickets:Wednesday 2-for-1; Thursday, Friday & Saturday $20;
Sunday PWYC.
May be purchased online for Thu/Fri (except opening night)/
Sat at www.totix.ca (service charge applies).
Location:Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley Street (SW corner with
Adelaide), Toronto.
Box Office:416-364-4170 (box 1) or e-mail reservations@alumnaetheatre.com.
For cash purchases, Box Office opens one hour prior to each performance.
Please note: Alumnae box office does not accept credit or debit cards.
2012-09-05
Toronto: Alumnae Theatre presents the world premiere of “February” by Lisa Moore September 21-October 6