It had been a while since the hubs and I spent a night out without the Little Monkey and when I found out that Robin Hood The Legendary Musical Comedy was going to be in town, I knew that I had no choice but to accompany him for a night of theater. In my younger days I used to love acting (and once acted in a Robin Hood production!) and working backstage but those days are long gone and I find myself less inclined to spend an evening watching a play (I’d much rather be out yapping away and meeting new people). The hubs on the other hand is still very keen on theater and used to work at Shakespeare By The Sea before he headed to Toronto seven years ago in search of me an education (you can read about it here!).
So off we went to watch Robin Hood with some friends. While the three of us did not know what to expect, the hubs had promised a fun night with good acting and witty quips because he knew some of the cast and the director. It was the second night of the production and they were nearly sold out, luckily we bought our tickets online three days before. I settled into the seat and a good snooze (Hey! It started at 8 p.m and was going to be two and half hours long!), missing a nice glass of vino or a pint of beer (Hart house is not a licensed premise unfortunately).
Well let me tell you… I did not doze off even for a second!Right from the very start the stellar cast of 19 (I KNOW!! huge chorus!) and live chorus (yes you read that right.. LIVE CHORUS) had me captivated and completely tuned in, so as not to miss a single witty, laugh out loud remark. It’s one of those fantastic scripts that will have you wanting to watch it again and again, and each time, you will discover lines you had missed. The plot may be fairly standard (rob the rich to feed the poor, damsel in distress with a foolish tyrant in reign) but the script and score will have you mentally stimulated and humming along to catchy tunes such as E V I L and Undercover Lover. Kieren MacMillan and Jeremy Hutton have done a bang on job with the music and lyrics and be sure to expect pop culture references when you least expect it. Your funny bone will be tickled, just please don’t giggle like school girls (ahem! older ladies in front of us!) and be ready for a quick follow up. There’s no down time between the quips!
There was a talk back session at the end of the evening where we got a sneak peak into the lives behind the characters. The highlight for me was hearing Sven (a Scandinavian character in the play) speak…I really did expect him to sound like a guy with no balls but much to my pleasant surprise Simon Rainville has a deep voice. I think the hubs also enjoyed hearing some of the original cast talk about the birth of the play and how they’ve since evolved.
What surprised me most was the professional scale of the entire production, from the costumes and choreography to the best sword fighting scenes (hats off Jeremy Hutton!) I’ve ever seen, there was a sense of grandiose to the whole evening. A far cry from what I envisioned through the hub’s many tales of Robin Hood enactments at the Halifax Shakespeare by the Sea days. If you have a chance, secure a babysitter (now that I’m jobless I may even volunteer to watch the little one for you!) and check this musical comedy out! It’s on at the Hart House till the 26th, so skip.. don’t crawl. You’re in for an entertaining evening filled with wit, satire, strong acting and feel good times. My love for theater has been re-kindled..,perhaps the sparks will stay ignited and I’ll hit up another play very soon!
