Review: DalTheatre season starts strong

DalTheatre’s first show of the season, Don Hannah’s While We’re Young (directed by Margot Dionne), finished its four-day run on October 15. Under the self-assured guidance of the “Stage Manager” (Ellen Denny), audiences climbed the limbs of a sprawling family tree rooted in the Scottish immigrants of Pictou County and blossoming in the Google age - discovering along the way both sad truths about love and glimpses of joy that make the climb worthwhile.

Playwright Don Hannah, an erstwhile Lee Playwright-in-Residence at the University of Alberta, created While We’re Young to showcase the talents of the acting class there – making the show an ideal ensemble piece for young actors. There has been a few changes in this addition, approved by the playwright for this production: adding Ellen Denny’s Stage Manager character (a figure with more organizational than dramatic weight, who still manages to earn the audience’s affection by immediately singing Bob Dylan’s Forever Young) and introducing a lesbian relationship in scenes set in the present day (an earlier episode between two soldiers at Passchendaele questions the boundary between same-sex love and friendship, but still, it’s nice to have another more lengthy – and cheerful – look at the subject).

While We’re Young, given its wildly varied array of characters, is a dramatic challenge for actors – a challenge this year’s acting class has met so fully as to set the bar dauntingly high for future productions. Standout performances include Ashley Alberg as Dylan (this is the modern character whose gender was Revised for DalTheatre's performance: Ms. Alberg takes what is essentially a new part in an established play for its trial run with confidence and conviction); Hanna Bebb as Joanne (an emotionally volcanic hippie chick who loves Janis Joplin and refers to herself as “Clap-Girl”); Erin Quigley and Sarah Vanasse as Helen and Dolly (Andrews Sisters-esque singers with harmonies as tight as their pincurls); and Robin Hebb, Michael Gaty and Kari Bell, who get to show off their pitch-perfect Scottish accents as they fight a miniature war over the conflict between love, duty and religion.

It’s also clear how much work went on behind-the-scenes on this production of While We’re Young: the program credits a “Gaelic coach” (Shay MacMullin) and a costume team of more than 25 people. John Dinning’s set design was also remarkable: the David MacK. Murray Studio was turned around and inside out to accommodate a sprawling stage that juts right into the audience (the actors were so close you could see a soldier’s chest rising and falling as he breathes).

DalTheatre’s 2011-12 season, “The Marriage of True Minds,” is intended to showcase both the sweet and bitter sides of love and romance, and they’ve hit the ground running with While We’re Young. The department’s next production, Lorca’s Blood Wedding, will run from November 22 to 26, finishing the autumn shows. After the holidays, Marriage of True Minds will return with Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde (February 8-11) and Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan (March 27-31st.) Tickets for all shows are available at the box office of the Dalhousie Arts Centre. Get ‘em while you’re young.