May 3, 2012
Play offers look into lasting love affairMay 3, 2012
STEVEN HOWELL Press-Republican
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MONTREAL — Mark the calendar. Then do it again. And again …The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts presents "Same Time, Next Year" by Bernard Slade, an endearing tale of an enduring love affair that follows George, a New Jersey accountant, and Doris, an Oakland housewife, who first meet in 1951 and have an affair at a California inn. Even though George and Doris are married to different people, the two agree to meet the same weekend every year for the next 24 years.
"The play really is a believable exploration of people," said director Diana Leblanc.
Leblanc said that telling the tale of a two-decade infidelity is no easy task.
"There is a fine line to tread," she said. "But it's told with deft comedic touch."
Leblanc said the key is offering a delicate balance.
'WONDERFUL ACTORS'
"You have to make the protagonists likeable, give a sense of understanding of why they are behaving as they do, and don't make it too pretty or cute."
The Broadway debut of "Same Time, Next Year" starred acclaimed actors Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin. The Segal enjoys their own stellar two-handed cast with Michelle Giroux and R.H. Thomson.
"I have two of the most wonderful actors you'd ever want to work with," Leblanc said.
Leblanc had worked with Giroux in last year's Segal production of "Tryst" and with Thomson in the Segal productions of "Harvey" and "A View from the Bridge" as well as numerous works for Soulpepper Theatre, of which Leblanc is a founding member, according to the bios.
Knowing Giroux and Thomson helped Leblanc cast the two in "Same Time, Next Year."
"I knew they could do these roles, as did (Segal Centre) artistic director Paul Flicker," Leblanc said.
In addition to a powerful stage presence between two actors, Leblanc said, you get a little history lesson with your play.
REVISITING HISTORY
"The brilliant thing about the piece is that it traverses 25 tumultuous years of American history."
The play begins in 1951 and ends in 1975. It runs through the presidential terms from Truman to Ford; shares in the grief of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King; endures the Vietnam War; and witnesses a man walk on the moon.
"Slade allows us to revisit that time and at the same time see the ways in which these two people, who are thousands of miles apart in different circumstances, react and interact with the changes that are going on around them," Leblanc said. "The history lessons are fascinating."
Leblanc said she and her cast and crew have "had a great time pouring over our timetables of history."
To portray the passing of time, a video montage of iconic photos is displayed between each major scene.
"We wanted, in part, a logistical something in between each scene that lasted under two minutes for the actors to change costume and add set dressing," Leblanc said.
Everything from seat cushions to hair styles gets updated in that two minutes.
"It's a bit frantic backstage," Leblanc said. "But we liked the video concept so much that we're making them a bit longer."
While this '50s to '70s set piece offers a glimpse of days past, Leblanc said, the play remains as timeless as ever.
LOVE STORY
"Because it's about people and heartbreak and loss and mainly love," Leblanc said. "It's about love and love's different ways of enduring or not."
Even if said love is not to the person you're married to.
"And we do find out an awful lot about the relationship with their spouses," Leblanc said. "And that is dealt with with great delicacy. I would say with respect in a way."