Rating: NNNNN
Caught the closing-night performance of puppeteer Frank Meschkuleit’s The Left Hand Of Frank last Saturday. And why did it start 20 minutes late? Hmm. Seems about eight seats were marked off for someone named Burkett. But when the mysterious Burkett didn’t arrive with his entourage, and many of us were twiddling our thumbs, the show started anyway. Two minutes into the piece, the door opened and puppeteer extraordinaire Ronnie Burkett stepped inside with musician boyfriend John Alcorn, designer Cathy Nosaty and a gaggle of guests. Burkett had obviously just come from the Saturday performance of his completely sold-out hit Happy. At one point, Meschkuleit shouted to the audience, “What’d you expect? Ronnie Burkett?” We did. And he finally came.
That’ll teach us for procrastinating. Booked to see the second-last performance of Hillar Liitoja’s Paula And Karl last Saturday, only to discover that Veronika Hurnik had broken her collarbone during the previous night’s climactic fight scene. Talk about bad luck. According to stage manager J.P. Robichaud, Hurnik broke the same bone the day before she first auditioned for the show. And how’s this for bravery? Hurnik played out the final minutes of the show despite the break. She’ll be resting for at least the next six weeks, but now we’re wondering whether she’ll be OK to perform her pivotal role in Alex Poch-Goldin’s This Hotel when it opens in May at Theatre Passe Muraille. Let’s hope so.
jonkap@nowtoronto.com
glenns@nowtoronto.com
