Wanted

A new play by Sally Clark

February 26, 2004 – March 13, 2004
Previews:  February 24 and 25 at 8pm
Opens:  February 26 at 8pm
Evening Performances:  February 27, 28 March 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13 at 8pm
Matinee:  Saturday February 28 at 2pm
Pre-Show Lecture:  Friday February 27 at 7pm

Director:  K. Scott Malcolm (Faculty)
Set Design:  Brain Perchaluk
Costumer Designer:  Janis Ward (Graduate Student)
Lighting Designer:  William Mackwood (Graduate Student)
Musical Director:  Avery Brown (Guest Artist)
Stage Manager:  Sarah Wallin

Assistant Director:  Katherine Bethell
Assistant Costume Designers:  Nicole Lamb, Amy Loiselle
Projection Designer:  Brent Nicholson
Dramaturge:  James Douglas
Faculty Supervisor (Costume Design):  Mary Kerr
Guest Supervisor (Lighting Design):  Melinda Sutton

Starring:  Ashley Adamson, Sebastien Archibald, Douglas Scott Bates, Stacie Capt, John Ellingson, Mike Klemak, Colin Maishment, Emma Claire Miller, Peter Minter, Stephanie Morris, Karen Taylor, David Ward, and Avery Brown (Guest Artist)

Written by one of Canada’s most renowned playwrights, author of Moo and Saint Frances of Hollywood, Sally Clark puts a fascinating spin on our ideology of the north.  A story of challenge, survival, love and revenge during the Klondike gold rush.

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MEDIA REVIEWS

“Only the second time it’s been produced, it seems the real star in Wanted (as with many Phoenix productions) is the design work.  While Bates and Taylor do their level best to live up to the scripts hopefully intentional melodrama, only Ward succeeds in capturing the necessary combination of desperation and charm needed to believe these characters… although Mike Klemak and John Ellingson provide some fine comic support as a pair of starving miners.  Would that the cast in general had shown the versatility of Brian Perchaluk’s boardwalk-and-timber set, which doubled as everything from the doomed riverboat to the northern woods, a saloon, and a mine shaft.  Also well worth noting are Janis Ward’s costumes, William Mackwood’s evocative lighting design and Avery Brown’s haunting piano accompaniment.”

-John Threlfall (Monday Magazine Reviewer)

“Clark specifically notes that since so many of the men and women who made the trip to the Yukon were in their twenties, consequently she really enjoyed watching such a young cast.  I agree with her—for the most part.  There’s a couple of uncanny photographs in the lobby, comparing an actual group of miners with the young men of the cast.  It’s hard to look at the weather and care worn faces and haunted eyes of these desperate men (the prospectors, not the actors—though, give ‘em a few years of hitting the audition trail and they’ll look haunted too) and realize how young they all were—at least when they set out.”

-Robert Mitchell (CBC Reviewer)

“This is K. Scott Malcolm’s [Phoenix] directorial debut and he has a good, solid cast to work with.  Bates’ performance was particularly good in expanding Joe’s character from the hostile, gold-hungry prospector to the older brother that Jack loves and admires despite his deep flaws. 
            The performance of light-hearted Jack, by Ward, was an effective foil which never felt one dimensional.
            The character of Mary was thoughtfully portrayed by Taylor.  She gave a convincing depiction of a woman who discovers her sexuality as a way to achieve economic stability but sacrifices her own happiness.”

-Geraldine Bulosan (Martlet)

“Those of us raised in Canada may get ugly flashbacks of Grade 10 Social Studies when we hear the words “Klondike Gold Rush.”  Given the subject matter, “Wanted” had the potential to be dry.  Before it started I pictured myself furiously scribbling notes on the history of the Yukon while trying to keep up with names and dates—but this play wasn’t like that at all.  With colorful costumes, plenty of humor, and some great singing and dancing from the girls of Pete’s Place, “Wanted” entertains with the best of ‘em.”

-Clara Smith (Nexus)

“Wanted has the potential to embrace transcendent themes and truly achieve its primary goal; that is, to function as an investigation of the darkness that greed and desperation can foster.  To this end, I think the hangman’s show could be explored much more thoroughly.  This seems like a script that needs rethinking, or at least editing.  The production’s greatest asset is piano player Avery Brown, who with unerring grace and technical skill plays period and incidental music.”

-Adrian Chamberlain (Times Colonist Reviewer)