By Bradley Turcotte
Summer might be over, but that doesn’t mean the fun is over. Theater companies throughout Ottawa are preparing for a new season of local entertainment which promises to engage.
Toto Too’s production of The SpongeBob Musical at The Gladstone, and The Great Canadian Theatre Company’s Flop: An Improvised Musical Fiasco, guarantee there’s fun to be had indoors this fall, with both presentations offering audiences immersive experiences.
A jukebox musical featuring popular songs set against the backdrop of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob director Lisa Dunn says audiences are in for “a lot of colour.”
With ballads by John Legend, gospel, hip hop, and Bowie 80s pop, the music “doesn’t fit together,” Dunn said, “which makes it even more crazy. It has been fun to tailor this together.”
Growing up in the 2000s, actor Alex Davidson watched the classic and ongoing Nickelodeon animated series, and says there is an “attachment” to playing the title character.
“I have always pictured him as a 35-year-old man trapped in a kid’s mindset,” Davidson said of SpongeBob, adding his performance is not an impression.
“I want to embody that idea in my portrayal of the character. He is so unaware of the overall themes of the show to the point where he is almost ignorant to them. He wants the positivity to stay alive in Bikini Bottom,” he said.
The plot of the show, which originally debuted in 2016, explores discrimination and acceptance. A Toto Too board member, Dunn says the theme of the musical reflects the theatre company’s motto.
“All are welcome,” said Dunn. “We want audiences to tap into the messaging that differences exist. We are all people, we are all equals.”
Although the collective has produced avant garde material, the musical is a “family show,” Dunn says, adding that whether you are a fan of the music or have nostalgia for the series, “There is something for everybody.”
The SpongeBob Musical runs from Nov 28 to Dec 7.
Over at GCTC, everybody is encouraged to contribute to the plot of Flop! An Improvised Musical Fiasco.
Written by Ron Pederson and Alan Kliffer of Second City, the project is born from a previous improvised musical staged in Toronto, which netted a Dora audience award and a best actor nomination for Pederson.
Former incarnations of Flop! featured up to five actors. This production stars Pederson alongside Jan Caruana and Rob Baker. Pederson described his co-stars as “the funniest people” he knows.
“We think three might be the magic number,” stated Pederson. “It is a lot of responsibility for the improviser. You have to be able to sing, rhyme, and create narrative scenes. It is a tricky combination to get right.”
With audience participation key to the musical, Flop! ensures a truly original theatre-going experience. Cast members will engage with the audience, seeking suggestions ranging from locations to the emotional motivation of the characters. Actors also break the fourth wall to converse with attendees.
“We can’t do it without them,” said Pederson, a Mad TV alumni. “There is lots of play with the audience. We play with each other, and we play together. That accentuates the aliveness of the event of theatre.”
Despite saying this production — which is part of GCTC’s 50th season — will not be a debacle, Pederson recalled one role where “it was a bit of a horror show.”
While playing the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland on a thrust stage, a stage with many corners, the director instructed the actor to exit backwards.
“I fell off the stage,” Pederson recalled. “It was a student matinee and I went ass over tea kettle. There is nothing like hearing 800 students laughing at you and pointing. I had tea cups and they all went flying. It was a disaster.”
Flop! An Improvised Musical Fiasco crashes the stage Dec 10 to Dec 22.