If one was making a “bucket list” of live theatre experiences, prominent on the list would be taking in a Wingfield production.
As we have written before, there’s something for everyone to love in Walt Wingfield.
The beloved character, created by Dan Needles and featured in seven of the playwright’s Wingfield productions, returns to the stage at Theatre Orangeville until Feb. 19.
Wingfield’s Progress, the second chapter of the Wingfield series, follows Walt in his second season on the farm.
Shocked that he is the only one who’s upset about the prospect of a condominium development on the 7th Concession, Walt (played by Rod Beattie) mobilizes his Larkspur neighbours to save their rural sanctuary.
Walt’s hilarious efforts include a naive attempt to join township council and an elaborate plot to sabotage the condo owner’s sales pitch for prospective real estate agents.
Typical of the series, much of the comedic material in Wingfield’s Progress is derived from the clash of urban and rural lifestyles. Indeed, that’s exactly what draws people to the plays, which are regularly sold out, particularly in Wellington and Dufferin counties.
Needles should know what he’s talking about.
After all, the tales of Walt Wingfield are based on the playwright’s own experiences after moving from a large city to a family farm in Rosemont, located between Alliston and Shelburne.
Particularly entertaining in Progress are the juxtaposition of Walt’s utopian ideals of the countryside with the day-to-day realities of rural life and farming.
For example, when Walt passionately expresses his desire to save a century farm on his road, the owner says the century farm title simply means 100 years have gone by “without a single decent offer on [the] land.”
Equally as funny – perhaps because the scenario is not uncommon in real-life rural Ontario – are Walt’s interactions with the small township’s staff members and councillors, who seem preoccupied with the minutiae of municipal business at the expense of matters that could significantly impact the municipality’s future.
Councillors, for example, try to placate Walt’s fears about urban development in a rural area by vowing to find and replace his mailbox, which was knocked into the ditch by a municipal plow.
Beattie, as usual, is amazing as Walt.
As this reviewer has noted in the past, “The apparent ease with which he tackles the magnitude of lines, voices and characters in the Wingfield productions is astounding and worth the price of admission in and of itself.”
Beattie’s facial expressions and delivery are priceless, injecting new life into what can, at times, be somewhat tired material.
Aided by director Douglas Beattie and the rest of the company’s behind-the-scenes-team, Beattie is simply masterful in the role with which he has become synonymous.
Wingfield’s Progress plays five shows a week until Feb. 19. For tickets call 519-942-3423 or 1-800-424-1295 or visit theatreorangeville.ca.
