life with more cowbell

No, this is not some wacky new mash-up – though an Arthur Miller/zombie mash-up might be fun. Hmm…

Anyway, my weekend artsy adventures started on Friday night at Fairview Library Theatre for Amicus Productions’ All My Sons. As I mentioned in my last post, this was a special treat as my pal Victoria Shepherd’s daughter Vivien was making her debut (as Bert, the neighbour kid). Making the trek with me were Vicky’s husband Brent (Viv’s intrepid chauffeur that night, since Vicky was feeling under the weather) and pal Alexis (who watched the show with me).

Amicus has a lovely production here, directed by Harvey Levkoe, presenting this famous Miller family drama of loss, secrets and moral dilemma. James Lukie and Janice Hansen (who my friend Brenda knows from way back – at her wedding – small world!) were moving as the torn parents Joe and Kate Keller, holding onto a family secret even as Kate clings to the hope that their missing pilot son is still alive somewhere. Chris Coculuzzi (as their equally embattled son Chris) gave a powerful performance and was nicely matched by Janice Peters (Ann, formerly Chris’s brother’s girl and now his fiancée), who brought a nice balance of strength and vulnerability to her role. The Kellers’ neighbours Dr. Jim and Sue Bayliss (Michael Sherman and Anne McDougall), and Frank and Lydia Lubey (Mark Farmer and Susan Amos) – like the Kellers, more beneath the surface of the friendly couples – strong performances all around. The Dr. longs for something more from his life, Frank turns to astrology for meaning, while the wives focus on the day-to-day. It was especially fun to watch McDougall and Amos – playing polar opposites – relishing their respective roles as bitch and ditz. Steven Shreyberg was a passionate George (Ann’s brother), who arrives with information that blows the family secrets apart. And Viv was adorable as the precocious Bert – I loved how she doffed her cap during the curtain call, revealing her long hair tucked underneath.

Nice job from the design team: Wayne Cardinalli (set), Mary Jane Boon (lights), Lindsay Code (costumes), and Harvey Levkoe and David Glover (sound). From the ominous lightning storm at the opening (which fells the memorial tree to a missing son) to the crickets and period music throughout – we were transported to that time and place.

All My Sons runs until October 29 – and it’s worth the schlep to Don Mills and Sheppard.

Saturday, I hosted my folks for a day of food, catching up and museuming. We started off with a tasty brunch at The Lakeview (Dundas/Ossington), followed by a quick tour of my office and a visit to the ROM (all via TTC and on foot). It had been a while since I’d been to see the exhibits and we took advantage of a couple of great tours: the Highlights tour, which provides an overview and orientation to the museum’ exhibits, as well as some history on the building itself,  and the Egyptian exhibit tour, which was done with a feminist angle (and was awesome!).

We spent a good four hours at the ROM, and – museumed out – took a stroll down Philosopher’s Walk, then headed to Museum Station for the trek down to Queen Street. My dad hadn’t been on a streetcar, so I thought it would be fun to take the scenic route to the Gladstone Hotel for dinner. This turned out to be not such a great plan, since the closure of the Gardiner made the traffic insane. On the upside, it was Zombie Walk day, so in addition to taking in the view of Queen West, we got to see tons of zombies along the way. (I really have to do that walk sometime.)

It took us an hour and 15 minutes to get to Gladstone from University and, while we were in no hurry, we were glad to get to our destination and get some dinner – which was also fabulous.

Today was brunch with my pals Kerri and Cecilia – we’d intended on going to Ten Feet Tall, but it was closed. (Anyone know what’s up with that? There was no sign on the door.) We went to the Bus Terminal instead – and, yep, it’s a diner in an old bus terminal. Two brunches in one weekend feels so decadent!

After brunch, Kerri and I headed to Alumnae Theatre for their annual Write Now readings in the studio. We arrived a bit late, but managed to catch most of the first reading,  Of Mansfield Park and Persuasion, by Rosemary Doyle, who was there doing double-duty as part of the actor pool as well. The 48-hour writing challenge this year (cooked up by Diane Forrest and hosted by Molly Thom) was to write an adaptation of one of two Jane Austen novel excerpts: one from Mansfield Park and the other from Persuasion.

There were 10 readings presented all, also including: Persuasion (Ramona Baillie), Persuasion (Cate Frid), Handsome (Flora Danziger), Ladies and Gentlemen: Introducing Miss Fanny Price (Marianne Fedunkiuw), The Incident (Jennifer Oliver), Neverfields (Annie MacMillan), Worth (Susan Down), Tout Ca Change (Carol Libman) and Subtle Persuasion (Neale Kimmel).

A highly entertaining afternoon of readings, which featured a talented pool of actors that included Alumnae pals Tricia Brioux, Chantale Groulx, Anne Harper and Brenda Somers. A nice mix of drama and comedy, with some hilarious characterizations and lines/terms – “douchebaggery” was my favourite! (And I wish I could remember which script it was from.)

Coming up next for Alumnae Theatre: Sylvia, which runs November 11 – 26  in the studio. I’ll give a heads-up the week before – but that’s coming soon.

Great big fun all around. Time to put my feet up and watch Once Upon A Time, Lost Girl and The Good Wife.

Up next: On Tuesday night, I’ll be at Shannon Butcher’s concert/launch of her new CD How Sweet It Is and I’ll be dropping by the International Authors Festival later this week.