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OPENING NIGHT

Norm Foster
Toronto, Playwrights Canada, 1991. 115pp, paper, $9.95
ISBN 0-88754461-4. CIP


Grades 10 and up/Ages 15 and up
Reviewed by Raymond Stoyko.

Volume 19 Number 4
1991 September


Foster has written other plays, including Sinners and The Melville Boys (which was granted the 1988 Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics Award for writ­ing). Opening Night is a two-act comedy for all to enjoy.

Jack and Ruth Tisdale celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary with an evening at the theatre, Jack, a varnish salesman, would rather be at home watching the World Series, but Ruth has V1P theatre tickets, which no one at the office wanted.

Act I, scene 1 occurs in the VIP lounge prior to the performance. Jack and Ruth encounter the members of the theatre company. Tom Delaney is a lounge waiter and an aspiring actor. Richard Hyde-Finch, the director, must deal with opening night problems, as well as his girl-friend, Cilia Fraser, who wants a commitment from him. Michael Craig, an aging director who now does hardware commercials for television, is also trying to garner Richard's attention for a potential audition. Clayton Fry is the younger actor who has Richard's attention and this causes tension on stage. Libby Husniak is the beautiful young woman who has Richard's attention, much to the dismay of Cilia.

The encounters alternate between the VIP lounge and the theatre boxes located on the stage. By the end of the second act, the audience has an idea of the various relationships and the comedic implications involved. At the end of the play, the characters have resolved their problems and have gained a variety of insights and oppor­tunities.

The text is clear and the stage directions are concise. The cover design is the standard Playwrights Press format, with a photo from the 1989 stage production. The play may be used by English/drama students as an auxiliary resource or by students/teachers who are interested in contemporary scripts.


Raymond Stoyko, Winnipeg, Man.
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