Kenny Shaw and Brian Temple, Medici’s undisputed best sell-out show of last summer are back for another kick at your youthful, musical memories. These guys are a high-powered comedy duo aiming directly at the funny bone of baby boomer audiences. Both of these music veterans have been performing for decades and are celebrated entertainers in their home region of the Pacific Northwest. These two are not only achingly funny, but they also deliver the goods with a calibre of musicality of befitting serious concert musicians.
Their hilarious floorshow has brought standing ovations from sold out shows, and there are plenty more halls, country clubs, festivals and fairs on the horizon.
The humour and parody of this musical comedy duo is outrageously funny, and wielded with great skill. Kenny and Brian deliver an act tailored for all occasions that will appeal to audiences from all walks of life. Although there are plenty of unexpected laughs waiting, one thing is sure. You’ll never remember the harmony duos of the Baby Boomer generation the same way again.
They play Medici’s on Friday August 2nd of the long week-end the night before tenor Michael Burgess croons at our band-shell in the park. Doors open at 6:30 and Brian and Kenny open at7:30. Tickets are $20 each and are literally flying out the door. Get one (or two) quick. You’ll remember the laughter and the joy long after the sombre memories of this summer have faded. Medici’s is at 522 Fairview Road in Oliver…250-498-2228
“It’s sure different with just the four guys on stage,” says actor Tom Szalay, commenting on the first South Okanagan Amateur Player’s production to feature an all-male cast. Szalay is referring to The Wild Guys, a Canadian comedy by Andrew Wreggitt and Rebecca Shaw. It opens the weekend of November 25 and 26 at OSS Minitheatre in Osoyoos, and continues on December 2 and 3 at the Oliver Seniors Centre.
“We guys definitely need more beer events after rehearsals to better develop our manly characters, ” he says, grinning, and with tongue firmly in cheek.
Above Photo: “Men’s sensitivity weekend” junkie Robin (Craig Bjornson, left) teaches Andy (Tom Szalay) how to get in touch with the natural world using meditation.
The four male co-stars are Craig Bjornson, David Badger, Patrick Turner, and Szalay. They play a new age hippie, a high powered lawyer, a grocer and a sales executive who all venture into the Alberta bush on a men’s sensitivity weekend. What begins as a simple hike to a cabin for some steaks, fishing, and heart-to heart talk becomes a hilarious survival weekend when the foursome lose their way and discover supplies have disappeared. Bjornson enjoys the home-grown feel of the script: “I like that it is a Canadian play with references and locations that an audience will recognize.”
Above Photo: Stewart (Patrick Turner, right) is more interested in relaxing with a beer.
Each character has his own mid-life crisis, facing issues of career advancement, romance and marriage, aging, and mortality. Szalay describes his character as “a geeky know-it-all who only thinks he has it all together!” Turner’s grocer is “stuck in a rut at the Lone Pine Co-op and would like some advancement. But he’s really just a small town boy.” Badger, playing an abrasive lawyer with all the perks of his lifestyle, eventually confides his insecurities. Bjornson says his tree-hugging character is “a soul of the earth kind of guy but he spends way too much time trying to change the world”, only to discover what needs to change is himself. Huddling around a campfire, the men eventually pour out their secrets, some poignant, some wry, some funny.
The revelations may bring a tear or two to the audience, but the laughs follow right behind. Physical comedy, sight gags, pop culture references, and poking fun at male stereotypes will all guarantee lots of chuckles.
Above Photo: Starving Andy scarfs down some saskatoon berries he’s collected in his hat while Randall (David Badger, left) watches greedily.
While the cast breaks manly stereotypes onstage in The Wild Guys, ladies working behind the scenes break stereotypes of their own in key jobs as producer, stage manager, lead hand (set), sound and lighting. Director Ted Osborne enjoys the challenge of balancing the testosterone onstage and the estrogen backstage. “Yep,” he laughs, “It’s that age old story where guys on stage just want to bluster ahead and “get the job done” and the female crew backstage want to organize and adjust. Now, keeping that working in harmony can be a challenge alright!”
Photo: Lawyer Randall loses patience with crystal gazing, tree-hugging Robin.
Tickets for The Wild Guys are $15 adults and $12 seniors / students and are available at Sundance Video (Oliver), Your Dollar Store with More (Osoyoos), and at the door.
Photo: Andy earnestly tries to explain the principles of the men’s sensitivity movement to Randall.
SOAP’s spring production may reverse gender worlds. The troupe plans to produce the all-female, hit Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Nora Ephron and her sister Delia. Females wishing to audition, and guys wishing to work backstage are invited contact SOAP at SOAP@telus.net or 250-498-3597.
Photo: Randall and Robin share some deep secrets at the campfire. Come find out what they are !
