Last night, it was out to the Storefront Theatre for Severely Jazzed Productions’ Trout Stanley, written by Claudia Dey, directed by Daniel Pagett.
With the help of the Storyteller (Dan Jeannotte), we learn that Ducharme twins Grace (Tess Degenstein) and Sugar (Hannah Spear) were orphaned as young adults and live an isolated life on the outskirts of a mining town. Sugar has been unable to leave the house since their parents died and, having built a world of their own, the two have created an unusual dynamic, with Grace in the traditional husband role and working at the town dump and Sugar being the stay-at-home ‘wife.’ Their daily domestic routine is turned upside down and sideways when Trout Stanley (Colin Munch) arrives on their birthday, lost and in search of closure as he travels to see where his parents died. Everyone has a secret.
The language of the piece is party poetry, part soap opera, part bedtime story – all with an undercurrent of rock and roll. The world is both harsh and beautiful – and in some cases, it all depends on how you look at it.
Pagett has an excellent cast for this trip. Spear brings an adorable and poignant combination of wide-eyed and haunted, yet optimistic and day dreamy child to the fragile, introverted Sugar; shy and reserved, and so full of longing for she doesn’t even know what, but overshadowed by Grace’s reputation as ‘the pretty one.’ Degenstein’s Grace is a ballsy extroverted rockabilly pin-up girl – and knows it – but beneath the vain exterior is a good, strong heart willing to go to any lengths to protect her sister. Munch gives Trout an edgy lost boy quality, tempered with a sharp wit, poetic soul and an aura of mystery. Like the sisters, Trout has suffered family tragedy and, while he is very likeable and claims to be unable to lie, he is hiding something. As the Storyteller, Jeannotte is a wry-witted, charismatic narrator, ushering – even directing – the scenes and joining in at times on the dialogue. He tells us the story of Trout Stanley with a twinkle in his eye, but with a commitment to the action that goes beyond a generic storyteller.
There’s some highly entertaining and effective staging afoot. Highlights include the sisters’ and Trout’s dance break to Heart’s “Magic Man” near the top of the show is both impressive and funny, especially Trout’s perfect execution of the classic David Caruso CSI Miami sunglasses flourish. The playful, cartoon-like quality of Trout’s late night visit to the twins’ house, sneaking in under cover of darkness to steal food and drink. During intermission, the Storyteller remains seated at his desk, wearing a cone-shaped party hat and flanked by a red balloon while he has a snack and reads a paperback. And who wouldn’t want to have a rock guitar exclamation every time you entered a room, just like Grace.
With shouts to the design team: Hanna Puley (set/costumes), Melissa Joakim (lighting) and Daniel Maslany (sound). The white set and props – particularly the shelves of Sugar’s figurine creations – and the slender birch trees on either side, coupled with lighting effects, give the space an ethereal, almost weightless quality. The wooden desk and chair, which is the Storyteller’s space, is like a link from our world to the world of the twins – and the Storyteller is our guide. The poppy, soft techno pre-show soundtrack, followed by rock riffs and remixed Heart tracks during the course of the action serve as sonic echoes of this world’s beauty and brutality.
Trout Stanley is an otherworldly, funny, poetic and moving rock and roll fairytale featuring a stand-out cast. Get yourselves out to see this.
Trout Stanley continues at the Storefront Theatre until June 6; you can get advance tix online here.
You can follow Severely Jazzed on Facebook and Twitter. In the meantime, check out the show trailer:
life with more cowbell 