Review: AUSTENTATIOUS Earns Big Laughs at Edmonton's Walterdale Theatre

Central Rivercity Amateur Players (a.k.a. C.R.A.P.) will present Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice like you’ve never seen it before! Complete with interpretive dance, run-ins with pirates, and a recorder-filled musical overture, this imaginative rendition of the beloved English classic will make the audience’s $5.00 ticket fees 100% worth it. But first, the frazzled cast must weather their show’s increasingly erratic rehearsals and overcome their own stewing interpersonal conflicts before taking to centre stage. 

Walterdale Theatre’s wacky production of the 2009 musical, AUSTENTATIOUS, features a hilarious cast of seven and an onstage band. The intimate venue is ideal for the production, evoking the sparse rehearsal hall and stage used by the show’s amateur theatre troupe. A semicircle of intricately painted set pieces serves as the background for AUSTENTATIOUS, each panel periodically unfolding to reveal the other backdrops underneath. The cast scurries, shuffles, and tap dances across the stage, often enmeshed in unconventional dance rehearsals and mad dashes to find wayward costumes. The monotone, beret-wearing director, Dominic (Brian Ault), is putty in the hands of the show’s leading lady/script writer, Emily (Leslie Caffaro), who asserts her own spontaneous creative visions much to the chagrin of her fellow castmates. The rest of the meager cast consists of Jane Austen fangirl, Jessica (Nicole English), argumentative couple Lauren and David (Erin Harvey and Aaron Schann, respectively), and pot-smoking Blake (Connor Foy), who treats the show as one big joke. And then there’s the stage manager/peacekeeper, Sam (Joyanne Rudiak), who is the true heart and soul of the haphazard production. 

Like the musical’s humorous plot, the cast is endlessly entertaining. Rudiak particularly stands out, showcasing impressive vocals and emotional resonance. English is also a highlight, particularly during the easily exasperated Jessica’s solo moments. All the cast members deliver spot-on comedic timing and navigate the often-complex score with gusto. They are especially amusing in the show’s final 20 minutes, in which the erratic troupe’s frenzied efforts culminate onstage at last. Except for the band occasionally overpowering the vocalists, AUSTENTATIOUS is a smooth sailing rendition of a musical packed to the brim with comedic mayhem.

Audiences have until July 22 to come along for this rollicking ride! 

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