Madcap adventure delivers laughs

If fall’s fading leaves are giving you the blues, step into a world of pure escapism at Teatro La Quindicina’s season closer.

The premiere production of The Hoof and Mouth Advantage, a Stewart Lemoine/Jocelyn Ahlf co-write, is a Marx-style madcap adventure running at the Varscona Theatre from October 6 to 22.

As a playwright, Lemoine (Mrs. Lindeman Proposes, The Scent of Compulsion) has developed a national reputation for populating his stories with colourful characters, witty lines and a minimum of moral agenda or political message. The plays are just plain fun.

Set in the 1933 Depression era, Hoof and Mouth leads off with a couple of touring actors whose show was shut down in Fernie.

“There are suggestions it was not to everyone’s taste – going highbrow,” Lemoine says.

The duo, Stell Magruder (Cathy Derkach) and Fitch Parquet (Andrew MacDonald-Smith) try to get home by riding the rails and find themselves stranded with no funds in the mythical village of New Kansas, Alberta.

“It’s out in the middle of nowhere. There’s barely a post office and general store.”

Holding the smattering of buildings together is Duchess O’Dell (Leona Brausen). She is a wealthy oddball matron with a youthful ward Oiseau (Rachel Bowron) adopted after she was discovered as a foundling.

The two actors turned grifters try to con the duchess by setting up an acting school for Oiseau and three other young students.

“As they try to scam their way into money, it forces them to remember what they liked about acting. They discover the truth of what they do and what they are.”

Stewart, who also directs, put together a cast before writing the play and specifically selected St. Albert Children’s Theatre musical director Rachel Bowron as Oiseau.

“I wrote the character for her. She’s precocious and she’s grownup in this big house and she’s petite, lively and plays the piano. And that’s Rachel.”

Emerging stars Vincent Forcier, Mathew Bitroff and Chelsea Preston supply their unique blend of energy into the other student roles.

“I’m hoping you’ll laugh your head off. It’s a broad, fun comedy and it wreaks havoc on the audience. No one is safe. So come and see the people you know and love and meet the newcomers and see what they can do.”