Good musical theatre doesn’t always come from the Broadway stage — the best musicals can be homegrown in our own back yard. This is the case of More Than a Memory, which opens on April 28th at the Peterborough Theatre Guild.
Written by Paul Crough, More Than a Memory was a huge hit when it made its debut at the Ennismore Homestead Theatre in the summer of 2015. Now those who were unable to get tickets to see the original run have their chance with the Peterborough Theatre Guild revival, while audiences who laughed and cried at the original production can ride that emotional rollercoaster all over again.
Set in Donegal in Ireland during Christmas of 1918, More Than a Memory introduces audiences to the Quinn family who runs Quinn Public House. For family patriarch Fergal Quinn (Jerry Allen), the holiday is not only Christmas but also his birthday. As Fergal’s wife Moira (Mardi Kennedy) and daughter Fiona (Kate Suhr) ready the bar for the occasion, friends and family are arriving for the festive season.
Some, such as widowed daughter Maureen (Kate Brioux) and her son Ronan (Max Czmielewski), are expected. Others, such as Fergal’s drinking friends Kieran Rafferty (Dan Smith) and Lorcan Slattery (Mark Hiscox), are fixtures in the bar. But as for Moria’s sister Aoife (Lisa Devan) and estranged daughter Dipna (Bridget Foley), their presence comes as a complete surprise. As for local baker and Fiona’s ex-fiancé Finn Kennedy (Paul Crough), the verdict is still out on if he is wanted at the table or not.
But this Christmas, a stranger is joining the Quinn’s for Christmas dinner: a young soldier named Connor (Carl Christensen) who has nowhere to go — and is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Although the war is over, the scars and shadows left by the First World War are still felt by everyone around the dinner table. While there is joy and love within Quinn’s Public House, the family — like the community itself — is torn apart by politics, religion, secrets, loss, and pride.
However, for one night the conflict is put aside and they are joined together in celebration. But as quickly as the celebration begins, a sudden tragedy forces the characters to take a closer look at their lives, and jolts them into following their hearts into the New Year.
More Than a Memory is an emotional show about endings and beginnings, as one era ends and lives are changed forever.
Jerry Allen gives a dignified performance as Fergal, the audience’s guide through the often-complicated dynamics within the Quinn family.
Breaking the fourth wall to narrate the drama as it happens, Allen is warm and inviting in his delivery, and very quickly creates a character whose life and legacy is worth celebrating.
But while Fergal may be the head of the family, Mardi Kennedy makes Moira Quinn its heart. Despite having a sharp tongue and a wicked wit, Moira also has a heart filled with love and, as the other characters allow conflict to often motivate their words, Moira takes in and loves each member of her family without question.
As the show continues, Moira’s strength becomes an example to the rest of the characters that love is the most important thing of all. Mardi gives a tremendous performance that shoots right to the heart.
More Than a Memory also marks the return of Kate Suhr to the Peterborough stage. A last-minute replacement in the show, Kate had only weeks to learn the role but, being the true professional that she is, her inclusion is seamless.
Fiona is an interesting role for Kate, as the character is in many ways the harshest of the Quinn clan. She isn’t scared to speak her mind and publicly lashes out at her sister Dipna, as well as her ex-fiancé Finn, for good reason. While Fiona’s feelings and opinions are understood and even justified, that doesn’t make her right.
Kate makes Fiona a firebrand with heart and an instant audience favorite.
Kate Brioux gives a strong performance as oldest daughter Maureen, who often is the peacemaker of the family. However, her main concern is with her son Ronan who, having just come back from war, wants to continue the fight for Ireland’s independence.
Max Czmielewski’s portrayal of Ronan is spirited as he takes the role of a radical young man who is caught up in extreme patriotism, although at times it creates conflict among the other men who saw, or did not see, the war.
Meanwhile, Bridget Foley’s arrival as estranged daughter Dipna adds heated drama to the show in a unique subplot. Dipna hasn’t come back for forgiveness or redemption, and her anger about her conflict with her father is still as raw now as it was the day she left. Bridget plays anger, hurt, and rejection very realistically, and her scenes with Jerry Allen are very well done and emotional.
When the drama and the conflict gets to a heated point, playwright Paul Crough often brings in a humorous character to taper off the moment with an awkward laugh — or at least to interrupt the situation so that it can be used again later on in the show. In More Than a Memory, Paul has two characters who do this: Dan Smith as Kieran Rafferty and Lisa Devan as Aoife.
Lisa gets most of the funny moments as a woman who either is oblivious or just doesn’t care about the drama around her. Brash and larger than life, Aoife has the ability to defuse a tense situation with a single funny line, when she is not being the architect of the family tension. It’s a beautifully written part for an actress with lots of zeal.
As for Dan Smith, local audiences know that he is funny. I wish I could remember the toasts that he gives throughout the show. But Dan can also bring on the pathos, as seen during a key moment in the second act between Keiran and Moira. Dan is such a diverse actor and, although the role of Keiran has Dan flexing his comedic muscles, he is able to show his dramatic talents too.
As an ensemble, the cast of More Than a Memory is tight. They are so natural with one another that sometimes you forget they are actors on the stage and you are actually watching a moment lost in time, reenacted by ghosts of the past. They seem like true family and friends. Despite the amount of conflict within the show, the cast manages to create a huge sense of joy when they are all together on stage. The show is filled with some really huge highs, especially when the cast is together singing and dancing.
Musically, More Than a Memory is very good. With a five-piece band led by musical director Justin Hiscox situated somewhere in the left wing (I have no idea how they fit them in there), the show features some of Peterborough’s best musical performers.
Carl Christensen, Kate Suhr, Kate Brioux, and Bridget Foley are beloved musical theatre performers and they are all given their own spectacular musical moments. While the company’s ensemble performances are normally joyful, the solos are always passionate and dramatic, creating a lot of emotion on stage and throughout the audience. Highlights include Carl’s performance of “The Kite”, Kate Suhr with “Passing Flags”, and Kate Brioux’s heartbreaking performance of “Maureen’s Lament”.
But the musical highlight of the night is the song “More Than a Memory” where, at one point, Kate Brioux, Kate Suhr, and Bridget Foley bring their voices together in melancholy harmony.
It’s a beautiful moment that both brought me to tears and gave me goosebumps simultaneously.
I also want to give notice to the incredible set created for More Than a Memory.
Designed by Todd Willis, Michael Nott and Paul Crough, the set is a major accomplishment.
While the Guild’s musicals are normally performed on the larger stage at Showplace Performance Centre, More Than a Memory uses the smaller stage of the Guild perfectly, with a multi-level set that recreates the warmth of an old Irish pub.
Representing both the outside and the inside of the pub, the main stage is the bar area, with multiple living quarters represented on the second floor. Beautifully built and decorated, the set aids in the realism of the drama presented in front of the audience.
As a locally written musical, More Than a Memory does not have the name recognition of past musicals presented by the Peterborough Theatre Guild. It also has a smaller company and, being presented at the Guild rather than Showplace, it is smaller in scope as a spectacle. However, despite these factors, More Than a Memory is possibly the most moving and beautifully produced Guild musical I’ve ever seen since I’ve been covering the arts.
The show can make your heart dance, but also reaches deep inside and plays with your emotions. It’s a story that says that, no matter the battles fought within families, the love and joy spent with one another is important, because nobody is promised tomorrow.
More Than a Memory is a triumph and Paul Crough has given our community a true gift with this show. It is one of the best shows I’ve seen this year.
While watching this show and these performers, and knowing that it was produced in our own community from the bottom up, I was reminded just how rich the talent within the Kawarthas is and how lucky we are to have so many incredible performers, musicians, writers, and theatrical producers who can put on a show of such high calibre.
More Than a Memory is something special and hopefully it will find its way to larger cities someday so other audiences can experience this remarkable show. Thank you to the Peterborough Theatre Guild for bringing More Than a Memory back to the stage and giving this special production life once again.
More Than a Memory runs from April 28th to May 13th at the Peterborough Theatre Guild (364 Rogers St., Peterborough, 705-745-4211). Tickets are $28, $25 for seniors, and $17 for students. Visit www.theatreguild.org for more information.
