You might be familiar with the "January Blues", but Burloak Theatre Group (BOTG) is showing them off in a unique way this week: for their first play of 2024, they're 20th Century Blues is now on stage at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts.
In spite of its title, this modern play is far funnier and introspective than the depressing thought "blues" might imply. Showcasing four friends in modern New York, the women look back at nearly 40 years of friendship as one of them prepares to open a photography exhibit showing pictures of the women's intertwined lives together.
The 2016 play by Susan Miller is being performed for the first time anywhere in southern Ontario this week by BOTG in a show that's been directed, produced, managed and performed by an over 95% female team.
"It’s an honour to direct a show like this," says director Michelle Righetti. "It’s really funny, but more importantly it's authentic. That’s what’s most important."
Righetti performed in two shows last season with BOTG, including Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Cabaret. Now making his directorial debut in Oakville, she says, "What I love most about theatre is that it allows us to reveal truth that we might miss in everyday life."
"20th Century Blues is a rare gem of a play, dealing with themes that are universal, particularly to friendship, women, aging, and how we perceive ourselves. What’s really different about this is we’re getting an honest and raw look at four senior women. It’s an intimate peek into the unspoken truths and perceptions that exist in the dynamics of their friendship."
In an uncommon project to showcase more of Oakville's local talent, the show's weeklong run will have a rotating cast each performing, with nine different actors playing the show's six characters. Some performers are on select nights, others all, and some play different parts depending which performance the audience attends.
Co-producers Michelle Charles and Cheryl Cartwright (who's worked with BOTG over a decade) say the changing cast adds new insights to each character and adds value to those who come to see the show more than once.
"This is a relatable story with relatable characters," says Cartwright. "It’s a heartwarming story about events through not just each character's lives but most of the audience’s - you can relate to at least one event they ruminate on. I love watching the story play out, and how our cast plays these relationships on stage."
Righetti adds that working on the show has been a special experience because of "the power and significance of having a predominantly female cast, crew and creative team."
"This is a story about women that gets to be told by women. When stories are told from outside perspectives, there is inevitably something else that gets introduced. Women’s stories have frequently reframed to be palatable to mostly male audiences."
"In this case," finishes, "we get a chance to hear and see what these women really think. It’s unfiltered."
Most exciting is that playwright Miller, who lives in New York, has publicly endorsed the Oakville production and talks about how excited she is that the play has come to Halton.
"I'm always thrilled to share this play with my friends in many places, and now with you in Ontario," said Miller in a letter to the production this week. "I hope you laugh, and cry and take the words to heart."
That's exactly the takeaway Righetti hopes Oakville audiences will find at the show this week: "This show will leave the audience feeling closer to the people they love. It gives us an opportunity to examine these hilarious perspectives within our own experiences, with a possible couple of good cries."
20th Century Blues is the second show of BOTG's 2022/23 subscription season, following October's Murder on the Orient Express and ahead of this April's musical Spongebob Squarepants.
20th Century Blues
by Susan Miller
Now playing at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts until January 21, 2023.
Starring Esther Chung, Jan Durbin, Ilene Elkaim, Dia Gupta Frid, Maria Michelli, Linda Morawiec, Ryan Perera, Amelia Steinbring and Zakiya Toby-Erwig.
More information about the play and tickets are available online here.