Lakeshore Players hope to enchant

BY HOLLIE WATSON

The Chronicle

By turns comical and poignant, Lakeshore Players’ first offering of its 42nd season begins with the story of two frustrated British women who long to escape the dreariness of their mundane lives.

In Enchanted April, Claire Shamy plays Charlotte Wilton, who is “bored in a bleak marriage and is looking for something more from life,� said the Kirkland resident, who has performed in two other main-stage productions since signing on with the troupe three years ago.

The pair responds to an advertisement in the newspaper for a small castle for rent in Tuscany, and soon recruit two other women as unlikely travelling companions to help share the cost and experience.

Amid the wisteria and beneath the Mediterranean sun, the four undergo “a transformation,� said the Concordia University theatre graduate, adding Enchanted April is journey of rediscovery and a heart-warming tale of friendship.

“It’s a beautiful play. Everyone will leave the theatre with a smile on their face,� said Shamy, one of a talented eight-member cast.

It is a whimsical piece, “very well-written, with clever dialogue,� said Steve Gillam, who marks his fourth directorial stint with the production, which opens Oct. 25 in Pointe Claire.

“But there are some physical gags as well – one which will go down in Lakeshore Players history. But along with the comedy comes a lot of baggage; there are some very tender moments,� said Gillam, who has also acted in over a dozen LP shows, including last season’s Run for Your Wife and Beyond Therapy.

Written by American playwright Matthew Barber, Enchanted April is adapted from the 1922 English novel by Elizabeth von Arnim.

“His version is faithful to the original text, but lighter in tone. Nineteen twenty-two was a new era, a time of social change, especially in London. It was not long after World War Two, and it was an unsettling, uneasy time of transition, with major changes in morals, fashion,� Gillam pointed out.

There were two films based on the novel, made in 1935 and 1991. The play itself won the John Gassner Award for Outstanding New American Play in 2003, and was nominated for a Tony Award.

The play will open Oct. 25 and run through the 28th and from Nov. 1 to 4 at 8 p.m. at John Rennie High School Theatre, 501 St. John’s Blvd. For tickets and more information call 631-8718.