Many audience members may see a little of themselves in the characters in Theatre Orangeville’s latest production, Henry and Alice: Into the Wild.
Sandy Crawley and Mary Long return to the stage as Henry and Alice after a successful run in Sexy Laundry in 2005.
This time the characters go on a camping trip, foregoing the cottage after it’s revealed Henry is in “early retirement” after recently losing his job as an engineer. Henry and Alice enjoy some lighthearted exchanges but much of the trip is spent worrying about their future – especially money.
The situation is exasperated with the arrival of Alice’s sister, Diana (played by Nora Sheehan), as all three characters are forced to re-examine themselves and their lives.
The real life husband and wife team of Crawley and Long obviously have great on-stage chemistry and both deliver their lines with near perfect timing and are a joy to watch.
Sheehan is also great in her role, providing some comedic relief at the right moments. She particularly excels in scenes highlighting the sibling rivalry between Alice and Diana.
Overall, the three players are great and they seem to have received solid direction from David Nairn. None of them can really be blamed for several weaknesses in the story.
Playwright Michele Riml’s script has such promise, as evidenced by several references to the sex life and anatomy of the characters, but it fails to capitalize on the potential hilarity of those scenes, instead opting for a few obscure one-liners, at least one of which unfortunately seemed to be lost on many older members in the audience.
That’s not to say the play isn’t funny; just that the laughs don’t come as often as one would have liked and several of the supposedly humourous lines come off a bit cheesy.
The production does have several outstanding moments, including Alice’s hilarious tongue-in-cheek diatribe about the financial sacrifices she will have to make now that Henry has lost his job.
Yet given the play’s title, as well as warnings of adult language posted at the entrance to the theatre, audiences are likely expecting an uproarious production filled with crude and gut-busting laughs – and that never materializes here, despite a few attempts to fit that bill.
In her playwright notes, Riml states “the real ‘wild’ [Henry and Alice] are venturing into is an emotional one” – and that is obvious.
But what could have been a funny and heartwarming tale about overcoming challenges and life changing experiences, has a tendency to evolve into a somewhat depressing and mundane story sprinkled with the odd superficial laugh.
There are numerous bright spots, not the least of which is the lighting and set design by Steve Lucas, whose work at Theatre Orangeville never seems to disappoint. Audiences soon forget they’re taking in a play, and with the help of some great audio effects, they are transformed to the campground woods on the lake.
Henry and Alice: Into The Wild plays at Theatre Orangeville until Oct. 28. For tickets call the box office at 519-942-3423 or 1-800-424-1295 or visit www.theatreorangeville.ca.
