Edmonton’s Catalyst Theatre produces work that is highly theatrical, with precise choreography and a powerful story. Their production Nevermore - The Imaginary Life & Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe was performed Off-Broadway in New York. Their newest world premiere Fortune Falls by Jonathan Christenson and Beth Graham opened last Friday, produced by Alberta Theatre Projects. The musical is full of what you would expect from Catalyst Theatre, highly theatrical design, a gothic feel, powerful singing,a talented cast but unfortunately a weak plot.
The musical tells of Everett Liddelman (Daniel Fong) a young man who has a dream of working in the Mercey Chocolate Factory in his hometown of Fortune Falls. His mother (Jamie Tognazzini) tells him that he just needs to put one foot in front of the other. Everett spends his time writing letters to Mercey Chocolate, one every day for a year to try and get a job. Finally, the company offers him a job, head of security at the shut down plant in Fortune Falls. Everett performs his job without fail, even staying at the factory to make sure there is no breach in security.
The cast tells Everett’s story, each taking turns, playing different characters. Shannon Blanchet is Milton Mercey the II’s assistant as well as Millicent Mercey and along with Tognazzini provides some powerful singing. Braydon Dowler-Coltman plays Milton Mercey the II while Graham Mothersill plays Milton Mercey I. The cast moves in and out and creates a theatrical narrative that has a side of darkness. The Mercey characters are powerhouse businessmen with an eccentric twist.
Fortune Falls has some precise design elements, especially the choreography by Laura Krewski. Each character moves in a particular way as they move through the narrative. Kerem Cetinel set and lighting design is a critical element in creating the theatricality in the production. The set has an industrial feel and the set has windows built high on the stage that the characters pop in and out of. The lighting gives the play the foreboding atmosphere. Megan Koshka’s costume design is also a key element in the theatricality of the production, the makeup and costumes blend nicely with the other elements of the production. The music is catchy and has an underlying pop feel that vibrates within you.
The unfortunate part of the play is the plot. The audience spends the entire first half of the play waiting for something to happen. The second half is much of the same, with the big reveal, in the end, turning out to be not so big or dramatic. It’s a full 2 hours of trying to pull a narrative that is remotely compelling out of the production. Story elements are thrown in that mean nothing, there is no emotional pull, the audience has trouble caring about Everett. It’s a shame that the production doesn’t have anything truly meaningful to say. There is great set up of themes of abandonment and following your dreams, but they don’t amount to much.
It makes Fortune Falls a bit dull despite all its great music and theatricality. If the plot was dialed up, the production would be quite great in its gothic charm.
Alberta Theatre Projects’ Fortune Falls runs until November 5th. More information is available online.
Photo Credit: David Cooper
Related Posts
‘The Red Priest’ is all about love and music
The Red Priest (Eight ways to say goodbye), presented by Alberta Theatre Projects is an exploration of a the power of love and music that ties us together. It is a play that had its […]- Alberta Theatre Projects’ new political comedy 1979 is a hit Alberta Theatre Projects' 1979 could be viewed as a play for only the politically minded. Micheal Healy's new play takes an intimate look at Joe Clark, in the year 1979, just before […]
Alberta Theatre Projects’ The Circle is a story about troubled youth George Bernard Shaw said that youth is wasted on the young. It's often because they don't know how to handle it. This concept is at play in Alberta Theatre Projects' production of The […]
Review - Communion "We can hear you think." - Valerie Planche
ATP finishes off their season with the premiere of the new Daniel MacIvor job, Communion. Three of Calgary's strongest women tackle a dense […]
Legend Has It at Alberta Theatre Projects
Have you ever watched a fantasy film like Lord of the Rings and though, "Gosh, I wonder what it would be like to be Frodo?" Well, thanks to Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP), you just […]
| Tweet |
|
I saw the show tonight and found that this is the most accurate review. Thank you and I wish I read it sooner as I was disappointed in the plot which dragged on and amounted to nothing even though the effects lighting and music were great. The actors were pretty good too considering they never had much of a plot to work with but the different characters were a little corny at times and the comedy though little was sad. It started off good but after 30 minutes I wish I had a pillow. I’m no actor but also believe that when you’re dealing with small stages, stage make up shouldn’t be so pronounced.
Thanks for your comment George! I appreciate your feedback. Once Catalyst improves their plot, I think it will drastically change the production.