Regardless of gender, background or occupation, 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 April 22.
Wingfield, a retired stockbroker turned farmer who relays his adventures in a series of letters to the editor, is full of wacky tales and one liners sure to please urbanites and country folks alike – and everyone in between.
Abiding by the adage that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the seventh installment of the Wingfield series again features Needles teaming up with director Douglas Beattie and actor Rod Beattie.
The trio has collaborated since the first Wingfield play, Letter From Wingfield Farm in 1985, and the result has been a series of productions that has become very popular – the plays are regularly sold out – particularly in Wellington and Dufferin counties.
After all, Needles based the tales of Walt Wingfield on his own experiences after moving from a large city to a family farm in Rosemont, located between Alliston and Shelburne.
Rod Beattie, despite an otherwise distinguished and lengthy acting career, has become so synonymous with the character of Walt Wingfield, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the role.
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.
In Lost & Found, which features Wingfield searching for a source of water after his well dries up during a major drought, Beattie tackles over a dozen characters, each with their own unique personalities.
Not once were audience members left wondering who was speaking, and Beattie manages to infuse each character with heart, humour and ingenuity. Quite simply, he is a joy to watch and audiences will be blown away by his performance.
If there is one weakness in Lost & Found, it’s the lack of continuity in the story and, at times, a complete absence of anything resembling denouement. That void is appeased somewhat in the final story, which does string together several loose ends, but at a few points audience members are left hanging for no particular reason at all (a companion joked over 30 minutes after the conclusion of the play’s first story that the cattle contained therein must still be on the loose). But overall, there is very little not to like about Lost & Found.
Audiences not familiar with the Wingfield series should be forewarned it is a one-player production, but Rod Beattie quickly erases any concern about the difficulties that can often plague such plays.
Wingfield Lost & Found runs until April 22. For tickets (if any are left) call 519-942-3423 or email tickets@theatreorangeville.ca.
