ONE NIGHT ONLY: THE GREATEST MUSICAL NEVER WRITTEN created by Alan Kliffer (Golden Ages Productions). At the Factory Theatre (125 Bathurst). Runs to February 14. $30-$55. Onenightonlymusical.com. See Continuing. Rating: NNNN
Improvised shows tend to be hit-and-miss – we cut them a lot of slack because they’re being made up on the spot.
There’s very little that’s slack about One Night Only, a fully improvised two-act musical with orchestra, backup singers and impromptu choreography. Opening night’s performance was so funny, tuneful and memorable that it could almost have been written beforehand. Chalk that up to creator Alan Kliffer, director Melody Johnson and a brilliant six-person cast.
After some head mic problems and a rocky (prepared) opening number, the cast asked for audience suggestions, which were as follows: infidelity, the deep ocean and – for a setting in Toronto – Calgary. Um, yup, folks, that’s improv. The resulting title? Stampede: The Musical.
What they came up with was a scenario in which two Stampede talent organizers (Carly Heffernan and Jan Caruana), trying to boost attendance, hire a mime (Ron Pederson) who’s cheating on his partner (Ashley Botting) with his imaginary girlfriend. Meanwhile, two oil rig workers (Reid Janisse and Alex Tindal) from Fort McMurray, after philosophizing about whale bones and the ocean, steal a truckload of bitumen and hightail it to Cowtown.
What makes the show fly is how expertly the performers accept their choices and expand on them.
I initially thought Heffernan’s decision to have her tough-talking character be obsessed with prostitutes was a dead end, but it paid off in a Midnight Cowboy situation involving the two guys from Fort Mac. A geographical gaffe Botting made about the prairies soon became a clever running gag. And Pederson’s mime, complete with white gloves and deadpan earnestness about his “craft,” became the show’s soul as he mimicked sex and nailed the mannered screech/whisper singing style beloved of bad actors in rock musicals. (The music, conducted by Jordan Armstrong, was lively and varied.)
Amidst all the musical fun were clever bits about Stephen Harper, Mayor Nenshi and a surprising bad square dance interlude in which Caruana defended Winnipeg, with shoutouts to Burton Cummings, Louis Riel and the Forks.
It’s not every musical that teaches you about geography and history along with your dance number.
