INNISFAIL – With the arrival of spring it’s time for another live theatre production to super charge the emotions to celebrate the season of renewal.
The crew from Innisfail Town Theatre (ITT) is hoping that will happen with their production of Drinking Alone; described as a heartwarming two-act, two-hour long play by Canadian playwright Norm Foster that has a full spectrum of emotions, including laughs, secrets and conflicts.
The 10-show run of ITT’s Drinking Alone, which opened April 19 at the Ol' Moose Hall, is co-directed by local theatre veterans Jim Stenhouse and Leah Adams.
“Norm Foster is a great writer, in my opinion. I have always looked favorably on anything by him,” said Stenhouse, whose was last in the director's chair in 2019 when he co-directed the ITT spring production of The Ladies Foursome with Mark Kemball.
“We have a committee that reads plays ahead of time. I was all for it, just for what it says,” said Stenhouse. “This play is somewhat of a romantic comedy, while family predicaments cause some heartfelt drama.”
In describing Foster’s play Stenhouse chooses the word “solitary”, adding it is something everyone deals with at one time or another.
“Whether you're married or not, whether you have somebody else or not, or you've had those times when you've had to deal with things when alone time is good for you, but maybe is not always good for you,” he said.
However, Stenhouse insists Drinking Alone is a production that will also entertain, noting there is a “fair amount” of comedy.
“And I think we've cast it very well. It's a good cast,” said Stenhouse.
The following is the cast of characters, and production team for Drinking Alone: Alex Rogers (Joe) - Red Deer; Kylie Specht (Renee) - Innisfail; Michael Sutherland (Ivan) - Red Deer; Janis Bell (Phyllis) - Innisfail; Christine Chalaturnyk (Carrie) - Innisfail; co-directors Jim Stenhouse and Leah Adams; and producers Sheila Mielke and Janis Bell.
The theatre production was scheduled to have full dinner shows on April 20, 21 and 22, and on April 27, 28 and 29, and then May 4, 5 and 6.
