LIFE AFTER by Britta Johnson (Canadian Stage/Musical Stage Company/Yonge Street Theatricals). At the Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley). Runs to October 29. $35-$59. 416-368-3110. See listing. Rating: NNNN
After the tragic death of her father in a car accident, 16-year-old Alice (Ellen Denny), plagued with guilt about their heated final conversation, sifts through her memories and seeks answers about her mysterious dads life.
This would be suitable material for a straight drama, but Britta Johnson, one of the countrys most talented emerging composers and lyricists, has set it to music in the Canadian Stage/Musical Stage Company season opener. The result is a complex, moving look at grief, guilt and forgiveness.
Expanded from its successful Fringe 2016 production, the show features several new songs, an expanded chorus and added layers of narrative. At times especially at the beginning the interweaving of shimmering, busy melodic motifs and snatches of story is overwhelming. (Even I, who knew where the plot was heading, found it difficult to understand what was going on at first.)
Johnson, director Robert McQueen and musical director Reza Jacobs seem to be trying to evoke the swirl of emotions going through Alices mind as she deals with everything, including a series of posthumous tributes to her self-help guru father, Frank (Dan Chameroy), which are the least effective parts of the show.
Much stronger are the links between Alice and her older sister, Kate (Rielle Braid), a fiercely proud vegan, and her BFF, the scattered Hannah (Kelsey Verzotti), both of whom add moments of humour to lighten the tension.
And Alices mom, Beth (Tracy Michailidis) and supportive teacher, Ms. Hopkins (Trish Lindstrom), an admirer of Franks books, are mourning in their own way. One scene, in which Alice and her mother paint their house, an activity that takes on symbolic weight, is moving because its done so simply and quietly.
Denny, her expression pained and her body coiled up in anxiety for most of the show, is a believable and touching Alice, while Chameroy exudes charisma as Frank, his songs suggesting a crooner-ish swagger. Michailidis expresses a lot with a look and posture, while Braid brings a fresh approach to every line she sings.
McQueen makes good use of Brandon Kleimans set, dominated by a series of wooden platforms, although theres almost too much use of the Berkeley Street ladders and aisles.
The real star is Johnson, who, judging from this score and the maturity of her vision, has a long career ahead of her.
