Stage Door News
Stage Door News
It's 1920s working-class Ottawa, and young wife and mother Sophie (Anna Sudac) is the host of the evening. We are immediately situated in her mysterious, somewhat supernatural world where Sophie speaks directly to the audience, desperate for answers about marriage and contraception: WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW. Moscovitch plants the play's ending at its beginning, but never gives away the specifics of the stunning conclusion as Sophie's story unfolds. We know her deceased sister (Alexandra Montagnese) will speak to her. We know her stable-boy husband Johnny (Jesse MacMillan) makes very little money. We know that Sophie does not want more children.
Theatre Kingston’s new Artistic Producer Rosemary Doyle directs real life couple Jesse MacMillan and Anna Sudac. Jesse and Anna met co-starring a Salon Theatre historical piece about Sir John A Macdonald. At the time, both were living in Toronto, and after falling fairly madly in love and coming to Anna’s hometown of Kingston for one summer, they decided to stay and continue pursuing their individual passions, as well as working together creatively as much as possible. WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW has them on stage together again, but in a very different way than you might expect from this charming couple.
“Theatre Kingston is a company created 26 years ago to celebrate and nurture Kingston’s talent, and when I read the play, I immediately thought of Anna and Jesse. Their chemistry is palpable, and the character of Sophie is vulnerable and personable, qualities which Anna possesses in spades. I know they have the acting chops to carry this delicate and difficult piece,” says director Rosemary Doyle.
A hit of the 2018 and 2016 Storefront Fringe, Alexandra Montagnese will play the role of the sister. Alexandra works in Toronto but she is a Kingston native, and coincidentally Jesse and Anna know her well. To complete the cast, Anna and Jesse’s baby will be at rehearsals, and if all goes well Rosemary hopes to have their baby appear in the show! It’s truly a theatrical family affair - but not a show for children!
WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW, Theatre Kingston,
Baby Grand Theatre (218 Princess St) from JAN 30 -FEB 17
Tuesdays-Saturday at 7:30PM and 2:30PM Matinees Thursday, Saturday and Sunday www.theatrekingston.com
613 530-2050
THE PLAY:WARNING: Depictions of sex, adult themes
Photo: Cover of the 1908 edition by Emma Frances Angell Drake.
2018-12-17
Kingston: Theatre Kingston presents "What a Young Wife Ought to Know" January 30-February 17