KAWARTHA LAKES-On July 5, the cast, crew and followers of the Grove Theatre in Fenelon Falls celebrated as Spamalot opened for the season. Behind the scenes, a lot of hard work goes into producing a show, and it is a special moment when it is finally on stage. On this much anticipated opening night, the shared sense of excitement was palpable, as the Grove Theatre launched its latest production. “From the work that went into building the venue, to building relations with the community, putting on this production is such a triumph for the whole community,” remarks Director of Finance and Administration Nicole Myers-Mitchell. The joy that this show brought to the cast and crew was unmistakable, as they celebrated their most recent success.
Set in 932 AD, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table set out on a journey to find the Holy Grail. Inspired by the Voice of God and Lady of the Lake, their journey takes many unusual twists as they make a mockery of European history. “It’s Monty Python, so it’s fun and it’s silly,” founder Tim Weisener explains. “If we are expecting people to come here instead of spending their evening on the dock, we had better make sure that they laugh and enjoy themselves.”
Artistic Director Sean Cox elaborates: “I was trying to think of the most fun musical that we could do. Monty Python has that iconic sense to it because everyone has seen the movie. In turning it into a musical, Eric Idle took the things that still worked from the movie and made it more fitting for a modern audience. We were interested in having a show that had real dance numbers.” On opening night, the talent of the dancers and the show’s choreography were impressive.
“I haven’t acted at the Grove Theatre before, but I had performed on stage before I came here,” Sean says. “This show is the first time that we have had a guest director. When we were talking about performing Spamalot, my wife said, ‘You could be Arthur.’ It is about as silly of a show as you can get. The part with the rabbit has to be the silliest part.” Sean seemed to really enjoy his role, while theatre Director David Prosser contributed the Voice of God.
“This is the best show I have ever seen,” Nicole exclaims. “There are consistent jokes throughout the production. I had a grin on my face from the start to the end. By the end of the night my face just hurt from smiling and laughing so much. Even if you are not a Monty Python fan, the silliness of the show makes it entertaining. Andrew Nasturzio’s costume ideas are really amazing.”
“I create a sketch for each costume, and each one is unique,” Andrew explains. “To make the costume, we decorate things, dye things and change the colour of things. Because it is outdoors, I have to think about the temperature and weather when designing the costumes, to make something that can be used outdoors, all summer. We started talking about the plans in early January. I made the sketches in March and April. Then in May and June we started putting it all together. We only have performers here for three weeks before the show opens.” When asked how he felt about seeing the costumes in use on opening night, Andrew replied: “I was proud of them, seeing my ideas come to life, to see how it came from sketch from reality. It’s a really fun show, and you can play off that with the costumes.”
“The costumes were made by a group of volunteers that have been working for months,” explains theatre founder Tim Wisener. “There were 106 costumes to make for 16 people, and there was one chorus member who has 21 costume changes over the course of the show.” Sean adds: “The volunteers made so many costumes for the show, and they are so beautiful.”
Backstage there is never a dull moment during the show. “It can be chaotic,” remarks Sarah Grindal. “This is the biggest show that the theatre has done and in one costume change we have 42 seconds to change two knights—one becomes a monk the other a nun.” Sarah and Sophie Kaloudas physically help performers change into their costumes. “For some of the changes we have the costume ready, so that when the actor gets backstage, they can just dive into the costume.”
On opening night, many of the theatre’s founders were in attendance, as were local dignitaries. After the show, they enjoyed a reception with the cast, crew and audience. Tammy Thurston and Tammy McLean of the Board and Nibble Company made a beautiful and delicious charcuterie masterpiece, that was much appreciated, as another successful opening was celebrated. Sean observes, “Some people love Monty Python, others not so much, but every who came had fun!”
The Grove Theatre is a professional performing arts company located in an idyllic outdoor amphitheatre nestled in the woods in Fenelon Falls.
Click here for a full look at The Grove Theatre line-up for this summer: https://www.grovetheatre.ca/
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
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