The heights and pitfalls of mid-life crises everywhere will take centre stage at the Oakville Centre tonight, Sept. 16, in what's become a runaway success story. But the popularity of Middle Raged is no laughing matter.
The show had its premiere production in March 2019 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts in the Studio Theatre. Now the show has toured dozens of cities across Canada, and the show is returning to Oakville - but this time to the main auditorium, where tonight's show has been sold out for weeks.
Just over four years ago, two of Canada's veteran comedians and actors got together to create a sketch comedy show about, as its billed, "exploring life between 30 and 65 - from raising kids to financial stresses to dealing with elderly parents to going to more funerals than weddings."
Those two comedians are Geri Hall (famous for her work at the Second City and on This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Gary Pearson (known for his work on MadTV and Corner Gas).
Better still, this is in many ways a homecoming for them both: Geri grew up here in Oakville and Gary still calls Oakville home.
"I had my first acting class in the Oakville Centre when I was 10 years old," says Hall. "I grew up in Oakville, went to high school here, and I love the idea of playing in front of friends and family."
They, together with their director Mark Melymick, have been with the show right from its humble beginnings and worked it into the hit it is today.
"Aside from being funny, people tell us the same thing everywhere," says Pearson. "The show is relatable to their middle aged lives. And the show is the most fun we can legally have anywhere."
Hall adds, "We've found that we're all the same - no matter if you're running a fishing boat in St. John's or on the floor at a Hamilton steel plant." She continues that common jokes in the show are cited in patron's positive reviews, like "dealing with bills, raising kids and trying to keep things interesting in the bedroom, even if we've been married 20 years!"
But what makes the show special enough to keep doing nearly four years since it's creation? For Pearson, he says it's "about doing material I believe in."
"It was a beacon of hope for me during the lockdowns that we would be able at some point to get back on stage. And as you can imagine, Geri Hall is the best person to work with, so funny and talented."
"The thing that gets me most excited every show are the improv portions," adds Hall, "where we get to know the audience a bit and make up stuff on the spot. Most of the show is scripted, and I enjoy playing it, but the improv sections are a high wire act where anything can happen and I love doing improv more than anything."
No matter what, tonight's sold out crowd here in Oakville is in for a special treat and enormous laughs.
More information about tonight's show is available online here.