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Jasper
Station, at the Dartmouth Players Playhouse for the next three
weeks, is the third production of a Norm Foster play to be staged
in Halifax so far this year.
What makes it different is the fact that it is a musical. The
show retains most of what makes Foster’s work unique (direct emotions,
prosaic situations, everyday characters and a basic fascination
with dramatic structure), while adding the novelty and formality
of song and dance.
And while it takes a few minutes to adjust - everyday people don’t
just sing and dance their way through two hours - Jasper Station
reveals itself as another delightful foray into Norm Foster’s
unique theatrical universe.
Deliberately under-directed by community theatre veteran Gisela
O’Brien, the show mercifully doesn’t sport any Broadway-style
outbursts. The nine person cast - only seven sing - are blessed
with sturdy, serviceable voices. But they and O’Brien make the
most of them, providing enough panache to put the story over confidently
without an excess of artificial emotion.
In fact, everything about the show is modest and accessible. The
set - a train station in Jasper, Alberta - is convincing without
being showy; the lighting is purely utilitarian, unobtrusive yet
effective, and the costumes firmly contemporary.
The story, like most of Foster’s work, is elegantly simple. Five
people show up at the train station in Jasper, each having different
reasons for travelling. A kindly VIA rail clerk acts as host and
shoulder to cry on, and a newspaper reporter attempts to gather
all the narratives together into a small-town paper's human interest
story.
The excellence in the show lies in its extraordinary execution.
Foster’s work really doesn’t require much flamboyance, which is
one of the reasons why it’s so perfect for community theatre.
But there’s usually just enough room for the players to turn it
on if they want or need to.
In the case of Jasper Station, there’s a superb comic performance
at its centre by Stuart Hiseler as Sterling Mimms, an indecisive
accountant who wants to go to Seattle (rather than Nashville)
to write country music songs. Hiseler stops just short of unbalancing
the ensemble cast, allowing fine turns from the over-the-hill
hockey player (an exuberant and very physical Geoff Herod) and
the VIA rail agent (Tony Marshall in a beautifully restrained,
melancholic performance).
Foster’s use of architypal characters allows for immediate audience
identification. Rather than muddle through with symbolism, the
characters’ situations and emotional makeup remain direct and
uncluttered. The result is a remarkably clear and effective story
arc that brings the narrative to a deeply satisfying and yet completely
plausible conclusion.
Jasper Station is a wonderful production. It’s another example
of the work of a former Atlantic Canadian. Norm Foster spent two
decades as a morning wake-up DJ for a Frederiction radio station.
He has become the most produced playwright in the history of Canadian
theatre.
Whenever the theatre establishment catches up to Foster’s work,
they’ll discover one of our greatest dramatic writers, the Canadian
equivalent of American Neil Simon or Brit Alan Ayckbourn. As it
stands, Foster is rarely taught in theatre schools or considered
by the drama establishment. It appears the only people who love
his work are audiences all around the English-speaking world.
If you haven’t experience Norm Foster’s work, this Dartmouth Players’
staging is an ideal place to start.
Jasper Station rates a 10 out of 10.
Jasper Station by Norm Foster with music by Steve Thomas. Directed
by Gisela O’Brien for the Dartmouth Players; musical direction
by Cheryl McCarthy. Playing at the Dartmouth Playeres Theatre
for the next three weeks. Tickets usually sell out very quickly.
For more info or bookings check out www.dartmouthplayers.ns.ca
or call 465-7529.
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