Rob and Chris (Bobby + Tina) - A New Musical
Venue 11 Varscona Theatre
5 Stars
Kate Ryan, director of Plain Jane Theatre, has developed a new work, Rob and Chris (Bobby + Tina) - A New Musical, adapted from Collin Doyle’s award-winning play, Let the Light of Day Through. The 80-minute musical is a peek into the life of a young couple who face what frightens every parent – the loss of a child.
Jenny McKillop and Garett Ross, two former St. Albert Children’s Theatre alumni, are superb in their roles. They draw us so completely into their world of intense joy and sorrow, grief and hope that we root for them every step of the way.
Chris (McKillop) and Rob (Ross) are in their mid-30s and appear to lead a charmed life. They’re very much in love and seem quite sexually attracted to each other. In fact, in the first scene, the Pizza Boy fantasy song, is an attempt at a sex game in a trashy hotel room where the timing is hilariously off.
In the song Montreal or Florida, the excited duo plan to sell their house and move away from their parents. And in Wife Guy, Rob sings a touching ballad about his profound love for Chris and how he’s her biggest booster.
And in The Ballad of Bobby and Tina, as the duo was known in high school, we see their sweetheart years that led to an unexpected pregnancy at 17. The song Ben, shines with the joy every young couple feels when watching their child go through each stage of their life.
But after Ben dies from a rare condition, the couple just go through the motions of living. In the hands of lesser actors, this production could have come across melodramatic. However, McKillop and Ross give it the weight it deserves even as it comes with an emotional wallop.
Collin Doyle’s fine story, Kate Ryan’s music and the actor’s sensitive portrayals blend to resurrect hope from a loss suffocated by grief.
