Review: ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID at Ottawa Little Theatre
If you love strong female characters and romantic comedies, the show will likely appeal to you, but Always a Bridesmaid is far from the best play in this genre.
Ottawa Little Theatre is continuing its trend of summer comedies with Always a Bridesmaid by Jessie Jones, Nicolas Hope, and James Wooten. Dateless at their high school prom, four best friends, Libby (Nancy Thompson), Monette (Jaqui Cadieux), Charlie (Lesley Hammil), and Deedra (Jeannine Richard), made a pact to be bridesmaids at their future weddings. Always a Bridesmaid begins in the present day at Libby’s daughter, Kari’s (Stefania Wheelhouse) wedding reception. The play then time travels back to seven years ago at Monette’s wedding, gradually working its way forward again to revisit subsequent nuptials.
The four friends have little in common, in both their personalities and love lives. Libby is a hopeless romantic, happily married to her one true love, living a simple yet satisfying life. Monette is a stiletto-loving serial dater, currently on husband number three - and she likes to keep her options open. Charlie is a nature-loving, down to earth type who is both sensible and cynical, but has yet to find someone she wants to settle down with. Deedra is a successful professional who has made a name for herself as a prominent judge, but her marriage isn’t all it seems to be.
Always a Bridesmaid is set at a wedding event venue run by the no nonsense Sedalia Ellicott (Janet Uren). The stage area is beautiful and lavishly detailed, as has become the norm for Ottawa Little Theatre. What is especially clever about this set design (by Lindsay Laviolette and Venetia Lawless) is that it incorporates walls and doors leading to what are meant to be additional rooms off each side of the stage. This gives the appearance of an extended stage area, while completely covering the stage wings to give a sense of heightened intimacy adn privacy within the walls. Extra touches throughout the theatre add to the overall atmosphere, such as a high pile of wedding gifts off to one side of the stage and wedding aisle flowers. There is even an extra surprise at the end of the play that adds to the sweetness of the story.
A story set in Virginia requires the actors to use a strong Southern accent throughout the show and this is done impressively well, with the entire cast showing a strong commitment to mastering the accent (accent and vocal coaching by Susanna Doherty). However, despite the story being about lasting friendship, the actors lack the chemistry needed to make the audience believe in their relationships. This, together with a high proportion of missed lines, implies that more rehearsal time was needed. While the entire cast would undoubtedly be capable after more rehearsals, the strongest performances of the night came from Thompson, Hammil, and Wheelhouse, although the latter character’s stand-up type schtick started to feel a little tired by the second act.
While this play does a good job showcasing strong female characters, Jones, Hope and Wooten’s script feels repetitive, dragging the story out unnecessarily. If you love strong female characters and romantic comedies, the show will likely appeal to you, but Always a Bridesmaid is far from the best play in this genre. On stage through August 2nd, click here for more information or click the link below to buy tickets.
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