The Shaw Festival Theatre Review: La Vie en Rose at the Spiegeltent
By Ross
In a twinkling whirl of rotating “La La La“-clapping and spinning (and cartwheeling!), a divine tribute to the magical city of Paris opens up before us in the Shaw Festival‘s Spiegeltent. It’s filled to overflowing with the effervescent spirit of that deliciously delirious city, and ushered through by a cast of pros giving us saucy winks and finger-snapping love and “l’amour.” La Vie en Rose delivers, in multi-part harmony, a feeling that can only be described as “Magnifique” and delightfully charmant.
Bathed in the magical beauty of legends and icons, such as Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker, and Maurice Chevalier, we share in the glorious unpacking of love affairs, both lost and found, and the heartbreaks that sometimes follow. Conjuring up the passion and danger of the streets of the “city of Love” and the “city of lights“, La Vie en Rose, created and directed with energetic care by one of its many spirited performers, Jay Turvey (Shaw’s The Secret Garden) alongside the luscious music direction by Paul Sportelli (Shaw’s Sweeney Todd), finds wild romance in their tight unwinding of all that reminds us of this dynamic city, from those crazy tripletes of Bellville, to the dizzy heights of Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, and the Folies Bergère. And finds seductive power in an upright bass centerstage for the naughty little Nora (Celeste Catena) to deliver an unstoppable moment for “my daddy“.
Paris is a hotbed of jazz, blues, and of course, dance, magnificently brought to life by choreographer and fellow performer Matt Alfano (Shaw’s One Man, Two Guvnors), who sings and swings for all the “Dukes” and the “whores“, as well as all their laughs and their crying. Alfano, alongside Alexander Batycki (Shaw’s Anything Goes), Celeste Catena (Stratford’s Rent), Patty Jamieson (Shaw’s My Fair Lady), Cheryl Mullings (Shaw’s The House That Will Not Stand.), Éamon Stocks (Grand’s The Sound of Music), Taurian Teelucksingh (Shaw’s Major Barbara), and Creator/director Jay Turvey, deliver this rendering of a city and its spirit with genuine style and talent, superbly sharing such glorious standards such as “I Love Paris”, “Hymne à L’Amour”, “April in Paris”, and of course the title song: “La Vie en Rose” for this enraptured audience.
Rolled out with high kicking energy and style superbe, bathed in clever Parisian light by designer Jeff Pybus (Shaw’s Dear Liar), La Vie en Rose takes us by the hand and pulls us through the twinkling streets of passionate Paris. It’s not the most subtle of presentations (sometimes a bit trop cuit), but the show is particularly well-sung throughout and delivered into our laps with joy and joie de vivre. It’s difficult to pick out my favorite singers or moments, as everyone excels within this très festif unveiling. Yet, I must point out that there is something completely authentic and extremely engaging about creator Turvey as well as Jamieson in the way they engage with the lyrics and the songs, that truly conjure up this electric and vibrant city in the most authentic manner possible. All without the need for a passport or a long trans-Atlantic flight. Allez et jouir bien.
