Someone For Everyone
Directed by Patrick Gauthier
Arts Court Theatre
For those who have watched Woody Allen agonize over romantic relationships in films like Manhattan or Annie Hall, a play like Someone For Everyone may seem a little unoriginal. Boy meets girl, boy is passively rejected, boy spends life agonizing over girl/girls in general.
But before you start thinking you’d be better off getting your neurotic Jewish humour by renting a DVD, I urge you to read on. There were definitely things that made Someone For Everyone worth the trip downtown.
The play, written by the mysteriously-named GATD Caplan, premiered Sept. 15 at Ottawa’s Arts Court Theatre. It tells the tale of Steven Greenberg (Geoff McBride), a painfully nice, middle-aged Jewish man who can never seem to get out of the “friend zone” with the woman he loves.
The play is a fun look at the modern dating world and has enough inventive gags to keep the audience’s interest sustained all the way through.
Director Patrick Gauthier’s pacing is near impeccable, and even the play’s most awkward moments, such as the on-stage sex scene, were carried off with relative ease and an enjoyable comic tone.
Gauthier can also be credited for transforming a simple set — merely a table, four chairs, and a projector screen — into everything from a Carleton University residence room to the inside of a Catholic confession booth.
But it’s the performances that make Someone For Everyone memorable, especially the female characters.
Catriona Leger, in particular, is hilarious and versatile. She handles many characters throughout the play and is able to turn from an intriguing Freudian psychoanalyst into an intoxicated teenage man-eater at the drop of a hat.
Sarah Finn also takes on her share of characters, but has the main task of playing Steven’s life-long dream girl, Beth. Finn’s portrayal provides a welcome pause for thoughtfulness amongst the general craziness that is Someone For Everyone.
Although the play contains a few clichéd moments and its ending could use a little more imagination, the energy with which it is performed is refreshing.
Someone For Everyone is on now through Sept. 25 at the Arts Court Theatre on 2 Daly Avenue. Tickets are $15 for students plus a $5 discount if you bring a non-perishable food bank item.