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>> Big music, the infringement fest, open-air classics and the return of La Clique are
highlights of a slow summer season

ROARING ’20S: Those Were the Days

by Amy Barratt

So, Brad Pitt’s in town, they’re making fake snow to turn Old Montreal into Paris or Moscow in winter, and I’m already looking forward to the release of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button so that I can play “spot the Montreal actors in bit parts.” Anyway, I hope there’s plenty of work for locals in this and other Hollywood film projects because there sure ain’t much theatre work to go around this summer.

For audiences, there are a few highlights to look forward to, not all of them imported.

Tonight is opening night for Those Were the Days, one of those big musical revues that the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre does so well. Written by Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld, it revisits the early years of the 20th century, when wandering troubadours brought their songs and stories from Europe to America. Bryna Wasserman directs, with John Gilbert as musical director leading a live band. It runs until June 28 at the Segal.

The infringement festival gets underway June 14 with even less advance notice than usual. A press conference to announce this year’s line-up is scheduled for today (June 7), but we here at the Mirror have been privy to a leak or two. I like the sound of Love (of Christ) Letters, a staged reading of e-mails between a Christian fundamentalist and a New York Jewish liberal. Ah, America. No news yet on times or venues for the infringement, which runs to June 24.

A PLAY IN THE PARK

Repercussion Theatre will be back in the parks starting July 18, despite having recently lost Kevin Orr as artistic director after just over a year with the company. (Orr had retained his teaching position at the University of Ottawa and realized he couldn’t give the kind of attention he wanted to either job.) This summer’s production is a branching out for the 20-year-old company that has become synonymous with Shakespeare in the Park. Amanda Kellock, who was a lively Beatrice in last summer’s Much Ado About Nothing, is directing Molière’s Les Fourberies de Scapin, titled simply Scapin (The Schemer), for the company in both official languages. The tour begins in Ste-Anne de Bellevue on July 18. Go to repercussiontheatre.com to consult the calendar and find a performance near you.

Hudson Village Theatre offers a full summer season of light entertainment, including a little Neil Simon (Chapter Two), some Dan Needles (Wingfield’s Folly, starring Rod Beattie) and a folkie musical called 4 Strong Winds, directed by Corey Castle. But first up is a Norm Foster: Looking, beginning June 20, is directed by outgoing Centaur artistic director Gordon McCall. (Word is supposed to be coming out this month about who will be replacing McCall at the Centaur helm, but so far zippo. I guess not Kevin Orr, then? You know, Brad Pitt is in town…)

The Just for Laughs festival officially begins July 8, but unofficially, it is already underway. This is in fact closing weekend for Neuf, the French-language version of the Broadway hit Nine, an adaptation of Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2. La Clique, a burlesque-y, circus-y wonder that sold out last year, is back at the Just for Laughs Studio starting July 3. Do not miss it. That means you too, Mr. Pitt.