Review: THE PERFECT TIME at Almonte Old Town Hall

The Ottawa Valley has a new, homegrown musical to celebrate! The Perfect Time, co-written by Kelly and James Torck and presented by Humm Team Productions and The 20 Bureau, held its premiere last week at the Almonte Old Town Hall. The Perfect Time focuses on Kate (Kelly Torck): a successful professional Gen-Xer, with a husband, John (Will Richardson), that she loves but has little time or patience for and a rebellious teenage daughter named Ruby (Ro Sullivan). Kate also has various side projects to manage, like her upcoming high school reunion. If nothing changes, she is headed straight down a path towards burnout.

When John’s high school flame, Lucy (Lori Doré), returns to town after years living a sophisticated life in London and offers to help organize the reunion, Kate can’t say no. But she grows suspicious - not only of Lucy’s ulterior motives, but of John’s response.

Ro Sullivan and Camille Viau in The Perfect Time.
Photography by Sharon Austin.

Meanwhile, Ruby is an aspiring artist and her number one fan and Best Friend, Simone (Camille Viau) is trying to help Ruby achieve her dream of being accepted into art school. But at what personal cost? At the same time, Simone's mother, Melissa (Kristen Ritchie) realizes that she is no longer happy in her marriage to Matt (Tony Bove).

This musical has a lot of potential: performed live by a four-piece band, the original music is melodic, catchy, and drives the story forward with clever and funny lyrics. The plot is simple, yet effective, with relatable characters. The script feels like a well-written chick lit novel or a Hallmark film (perhaps fitting that it hails from Almonte, the “Hallmark movie capital of Canada”). Notwithstanding these strengths, overly long scene changes hold the show back. The sets (Sharon Austin) are well crafted given the budget, especially the café, but the crew struggle to shift scenes efficiently, possibly due to the venue’s layout or backstage area . Twice, Director Kris Riendeau makes good use of the house curtains to effectively change the set behind the scenes while a solo song captures the audience’s attention out front. However, too often, lengthy set changes leave the audience hanging and disrupt the show’s momentum.

Will Richardson and Tony Bove in The Perfect Time.
Photography by Sharon Austin.

Cast performances are also uneven. Doré, Sullivan, and Viau deliver the strongest vocal performances, but they are undermined by persistent mic issues. Other cast members are difficult to hear because of poor sound quality or unclear enunciation. This is particularly evident in “Nothing Less Than a 4-Star,” a rap number with lyrics that are nearly impossible to decipher.

Despite its flaws, The Perfect Time has a strong foundation. With a bigger budget, the creative team could build more versatile sets, reduce production inefficiencies, and improve the sound quality. Additions, such as a choreographed dance number, could make the high school reunion much more dynamic and provide a playful nod to movies of the nineties that had random dance sequences come out of nowhere, like She’s All That.

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