REVIEW: WHEN WE’RE 40
Nostalgia is a powerful thing. It takes you back to a simpler time (at least, in retrospect) when your responsibilities were few, your hormones were raging, and your time was spent hanging out in your parent’s basement just existing as carefree teenagers. You never thought anything would ruin your friendships, your first love hit you hard and figuring yourself out hit even harder. This is what writer/director Mason Micevski passionately helps his cast bring to the beautiful Spice Factory space in his newest musical cabaret, When We’re 40.
The acts are straightforward: The first features a teen cast, and a pact that 'If we're still single when we're 40 we'll get married.' The second features an adult cast and what happens when those who made the pact reunite. Since the plot is simplistic, it often skips over important moments between characters and there are plot gaps where development between individuals seems to come out of nowhere. Perhaps some workshopping here would smooth out those aspects of character development, especially given the themes of sexual identity/discovery and loss which would allow both song choices and these themes to have a greater impact on the audience.
The staging also reflects this as the performers converse briefly, then suddenly change into an obvious stance of “now we are going to sing” which breaks the illusion of being in a musical. Between the short dialogue scenes are a “best of the 90’s” playlist sung eagerly by both youth and adult cast members alike. Not every song transitions smoothly, but when it’s successful, you are taken right back to nights at Roller Gardens ensuring that you are “making room for Jesus” on the dance floor. Some of the stand-out moments include the show’s opener of “I’m Every Woman” which our young female trio excel at, “More than Words” (which teenage Wren Toal and Bryanna Rowe perform beautifully), “I Swear” (THE quintessential Roller Gardens moment), and “Wonderwall,” which is a bittersweet introduction to our adult ensemble.
The cast, as mentioned, is vibrant and everyone has their moment to showcase their budding or experienced talent. Both youth and adult casting is quite impressive in a very “Now and Then” way (a movie that shaped me as a youth in the 90’s). The counterparts are well-matched physically and vocally and the veteran cast members guide and encourage the newcomers so that their confidence shines through.
At times, due to the nature of the space, projection is inconsistent and when belting occurs in several songs, it is jarring. The vocals often lack a confident blending which is needed for many of these classic 90’s harmonies to be delivered successfully. The choreographed movement also leaves a lot to be desired but given the space, serves its purpose of getting the performers from point A to B.
The enthusiasm for the material in When We’re 40 is consistent throughout and it is obvious that this production has been a labour of love for everyone involved. Emerson Arts is finding their place within the Greater Hamilton Area’s ever-growing and diversifying theatre community and they are a welcome addition to it. This production demonstrates a wealth of potential and, after this initial run, should they choose to revisit, workshop and remount it, those efforts will only bring them further success in their theatrical endeavours. I look forward to seeing more from Emerson Arts and if you have an opportunity over the weekend to check this production out, these performers deserve your presence and applause.
The cast of When We’re 40 (L to R):
Lennox Maximus (Young Mark), Joseph Arevalo (Adult Mark), Simon Moon (Young Cody), Caleb Timmermans (Adult Cody), Wren Toal (Young Dawn), Livia Jones (Adult Dawn), Owen Martin (Young Andrew), Bryanna Rowe (Young Judy), Emily Bolyea (Adult Judy), Kiki Bisasor (Young Lisa) and Kim Martin (Adult Lisa)
Photos by: Kreations Photography and Mason Micevski
