Hedwig & The Angry Inch

Being more of a punk rocker than a theatre-goer, when I caught wind of this production happening in Medicine Hat, I couldn’t resist getting on board. Here’s the scoop…

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band (The Angry Inch) front by an East German transgender singer. The musical premiered off-broadway in 1998 and the film adaptation was released in 2000, starring and produced by writer John Cameron Mitchell.

The local production features 11 full songs, with the band on stage throughout the entire show, a band featuring a handful of local punk rock veterans (One Shot Left, Rex Stiff, Iverdale). You can guarantee this will be the heaviest rock musical to ever run in Medicine Hat!

When: March 12-13, 18-20
Where: Community Theatre Arts Centre (1221 10th Avenue SW)
Tickets: Adults -- $24, Students -- $19 (with valid student ID)
Tickets available online at http://www.ctacmedhat.com or by phoning Della Jesse at 403-502-3477.

(Warning: The following move-clip has some coarse language)

Helen Poster

I attended the play Helen on Monday, March 30th and on the whole I enjoyed it.

The cast were well versed in their rolls and acted them out to perfection and the set was well put together. The videography was well done and the sound effects were good.

My only quarrels are these:

The play promotes something that seems like a mix of Hollywood and Spartan culture; however, the only time this became apparent really was near the end of the first act, near the end of the intermission, and the start of the second act. During these events, one of the actresses “up and quits” and is replaced by another. Other situations are the main actress being modeled after Marilyn Monroe, and some mannerisms that reflect and parallel the attitudes and actions of present day culture.

These things aside, it was a fun experience to partake in and a welcome change to that of a movie or watching television. It is a different experience entirely to watch something on screen and know how many times it must have taken someone to get the line just right or act their part just right, then sit down to a play, that takes hours, days, or weeks to get down and present that just right for the audience.

It was a great performance, you, the cast and crew of Helen.

Helen Cast - Photo from Facebook

See the original post for Helen here.
Facebook group (with pictures)

Lindsey Sine from the Loudly Whispered Theatre writes into us:

From the people who brought you Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol last December comes one of David French’s most beautiful stories about the Mercer family. Loudly Whispered Theatre is proud to present Soldier’s Heart by David French. Set in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland in 1924, the play focuses on the young son of a soldier who fought in World War I. The boy confronts his dad to relive the horrific memories of war on July 1, 1916 that still haunt and torment his father eight years later.

Soldier's Heart - Courtesy of Loudly Whispered Theatre

Soldier’s Heart runs in Medicine Hat, AB at the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre in the Studio Theatre with four nightly shows and four matinees. Showtimes are Friday April 24th at 8:00 PM, and a matinee on Saturday & Sunday April 25th – 26th at 2:00 PM. Then Thursday, Friday & Saturday April 30 – May 2nd at 8:00 PM, and a matinee on Saturday & Sunday, May 2nd – 3rd at 2:00 PM. Cost to see this play is $24.00 + S/C, GST. Seniors and Legion Members $20.00 + S/C, GST. from April 24-26 & April 30-May 3. Purchase tickets by calling 403-502-8777 or online at www.tixx.ca.

March 27th, 28th and on the 30th the College Players at the Medicine Hat College will be presenting “Helen: A Spartan Love Story”. The show will take place at 7:30PM each night but there will also be a matinee at 10AM on March 31st.

Helen - Email Handout

Written Description:

“What you might know about Helen of Troy, “the face that launched a thousand ships” is a ruse.  Helen was in Egypt the whole time the Trojan War was being fought. Helen’s image was used as bait by Aphrodite to lure a foreign prince while Helen biding her time awaiting news about the war being fought over “her”. Helen’s rightful husband, Menelaus, is shipwrecked in Egypt and discovers the reason for his entire expedition to Troy (and it’s destruction) was a false trail. The new Pharaoh doesn’t intend to honor his father’s agreement to keep her safe but plans to force her to marry him instead. Will they escape Egypt in time?”

This stage adaption of Helen: A Spartan Love Story is a look into what might of happened if 20th Century Fox asked Marilyn Monroe to film this project. Be sure to come check out this nostalgic mash-up of Sparta, Troy, Egypt and 1950’s actors and actresses. Thanks to Charleen Wilson for this submission.

Cast
Blair Lukacs, Deborah-lee Balmer, Ian Wearmouth, Bradford Thomson, Heather Midori Pautler, Dara Sutton, Hannah Rud, Mike Coughlan, Kayla McLeod, Whitney Kambeitz, Amber-Dawn Elizabeth Moore, Riley Schentag, Kristen Olson

College Players presents
Helen
A Spartan Love Story
March 27th, 28th and 30th at 7:30 p.m.
March 31st, matinee at 10 a.m.
College Theatre
Tickets $15 + s/c + GST

Facebook group (with pictures)
View Sean’s review of Helen here.