“It’s the prospect [of gold] that brings the folks in.”
When playwright Jamie Williams wrote those words in the first act of Pinkerton Comes to Prospect, he might as well have been casting a spell, as the Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover was buzzing and standing-room-only on opening night of the play’s world premiere production. As the crowd took their seats, escorted by sheriff-badge-wearing ushers, eager patrons could be heard exclaiming “This is so exciting!” or “I love this already!” over a preshow country and western soundtrack.
Gold fever. It’s highly contagious.
Pinkerton Comes to Prospect is a wild and witty western-themed farce set in the fictional town of Prospect. Taking place over the course of a single day, the play tells the story of Doc (Matthew Olver), the owner of the town’s only saloon (and also the local sheriff, barber, hotelier, mayor, and dentist), who schemes to get out of personal debt and revitalize the town’s fortunes by instigating a gold rush. His spirited niece Lacey (Evelyn Wiebe), meanwhile, has lofty dreams of escaping her small-town life.
Her plans are interrupted when she learns that her uncle’s life is under threat and that a notorious gunslinger is headed for Prospect. Though Lacey insists she will be on that afternoon’s train, come what may, the arrival of cartographer Herschel Penkerton (Ryan Bommarito) throws a wrench into the works, in more ways than one. All manner of hijinks, accidents, mistaken identities, and miscommunications ensue, with town drunk and barkeep Amos (Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski) offering colourful commentary and comedic quips at every turn. When someone called “Widow Hazard’s friend” (Jessica Sherman) moseys into the saloon, her sudden appearance corrals the characters one by one before sending the story stampeding off in a new direction.
I hesitate to give much more of the plot away, as I don’t want to run the risk of ruining the surprise for anyone. Are there guns? You bet. Whisky? Of course. A horseshoe? Ask Chekhov. Suffice it to say that by sunset, every lovable character in this play has undergone a great change, and things will never be the same again in Prospect.
The play is a thoroughly entertaining and well-paced ride, and while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way, it greases the axles of its wagon mighty well. A great deal of the credit for that goes to director Steven Gallagher. With direction as precise as it is playful, Gallagher’s delight in building perfectly timed pratfalls and zany slapstick is evident throughout. That being said, tender moments are given their due, demonstrating that this director has many cards up his sleeve, including the ace of hearts.
Most impressive, perhaps, is Gallagher’s ability to create a cohesive sense of the cast as an ensemble, while also deliciously spotlighting each actor’s unique brand of physical comedy. Shepherd-Gawinski is given free rein to play an ersatz rodeo clown, relentlessly hamming it up to the ever-increasing delight of the audience, while Bommarito’s natural and sensitive musicality features in several tightly choreographed sequences, including a memorable pas de deux between him and his surveyor’s telescope.
Olver and Wiebe both excel at slinging high-speed one-liners and Gallagher harnesses their abilities to whip up the tension, while Sherman’s arrival provides a grounded confident presence that roots the second act in a new and deepened sense of truth.
The other standout element is the script. Williams has peppered the text with rich, flamboyant language that feels fancy without ever falling into fussy territory. The dialogue is razor-sharp, clever, corny, and plainspoken all at once, which is no small feat. The old-fashioned sayings and turns of phrase ground the audience in a particular time and place as effectively as does set designer Megan Cinel’s rustic, rundown saloon.
Though in a recent Intermission feature, Williams cited classic western films as his writerly inspiration, to me the whole production has more of an old-timey cowboy cartoon glint to it. There’s a wacky, hilarious, slightly unhinged Bugs-Bunny-and-Yosemite-Sam vibe that I suspect most folks would enjoy. I and the opening night Lighthouse audience certainly did — as evidenced by their generous laughter, and the ebullient hubbub in the lobby during the post-show reception.
Ultimately, this tale of love and luck offers up a gleaming nugget of time-tested wisdom — that in the end, family is what matters. Underneath Pinkerton Comes to Prospect‘s gunslinging and tomfoolery lies a heart of gold.
Pinkerton Comes to Prospect runs until August 16 at the Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover, and from August 20 to 31 at the Roselawn Theatre in Port Colborne. Tickets are available here.
Intermission reviews are independent and unrelated to Intermission’s partnered content. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
WRITTEN BY
Treasa Levasseur
Treasa (she/her) is a Juno-nominated songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer, as well as a graduate of the BFA Acting program at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson Theatre School). She is a passionate arts educator and community organizer. She is an associate artist at Theatre Direct, on the teaching staff at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Theatre Aquarius, and performs a variety of roles within the folk music ecology. She has been a regular book review columnist on CBC’s The Next Chapter since 2010.
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