by Stephen Witkin with music and lyrics by Joey Miller, directed by Virginia Reh
Theatre on the Grand, Fergus, Ontario
August 27 to September 13, 1997
A Stage Door Guest Review by Kelvin Lack

There's a certain similarity between 8 To The Bar, the final summer production of Fergus's Theatre on the Grand and the Marilyn Monroe classic Bus Stop of 30 years ago. The scene once again is a rural bus terminal, it is New Year's Eve, there is a blizzard raging outside and four disparate travellers are forced to share their lives for a brief moment.

Where the productions differ however is the fact that 8 To The Bar is a musical. Written by Stephen Witkin with music and lyrics by Joey Miller, it was first produced almost 20 years ago at the Charlottetown Festival and has since become something of a favourite with Canadian Theatres. It has aged well and the opening day audience responded with well merited enthusiasm.

Considerable credit must go to Virginia Reh who has had a hectic season in Fergus directing the opening production The Foreigner, acting in On Golden Pond, and now directing this fourth production, 8 To The Bar. She has succeeded in casting four actors, all of whom not only can sing, but who manage to play off each other's characters to considerable dramatic effect.

Susan Johnson and John Snowdon's set establishes the somewhat depressing mood of the nondescript bus station diner perfectly with its metallic tables and chairs and a few rather pathetic Christmas decorations. Into this sombre atmosphere arrive Honey MacNamara and her affair of the moment, wise-cracking and not particularly loveable travelling salesman Ben Henderson. They are confronted by the problems of Marshall Slack, intent it appears on ending it all on the stroke of midnight. Rounding out the quartet is Shelly Wise, a woman of the world with a solution for everybody's problems.

Strange fare for a musical you may think - but it works not least because of the singing talents of Karen Skidmore who plays Shelly Wise. A veteran of the Canadian Opera Company and numerous stage productions across Canada and on Broadway she can belt out a song with the best of them. And there are no fewer than 16 musical numbers in this tight one hour and 40-minute production.

As the not quite so dumb blonde about to be dumped by her indecisive paramour, Desiree Beausoleil, who plays Honey, immediately gains the audience's sympathy and plays the part for all its comedic worth. She too has a strong singing voice with a fine lyrical quality.

The object of her misguided affections Ben, is played by Brian Otto, who now adds singing credits to his versatile dramatic resume. His character calls for him to tell a number of terrible jokes - which he does with considerable aplomb.

It falls to these three unlikely candidates to persuade the sad, wimpish, Marshall, played by Steven Gallagher, who has honed his singing voice in a recently completed two year tour with Forever Plaid, from hanging/poisoning/slashing himself to mark the New Year.

They pull out all the stops to achieve their end culminating in a second act song and dance routine worthy of any Broadway musical. This is the work of choreographer Bonnie Monaghan, a 30-year veteran of musical theatre in Canada.

Not to be forgotten, thoughout the show musical director Christopher Dawes sits at the piano at stage left providing stylish musical accompaniment.

8 To The Bar runs until September 13 to be followed by Theatre on the Grand's final presentation of the season a return of last year's popular Ragtime piano concert featuring Bob Milne and Sue Keller.