Haunted Hillbilly is hilarious and delightful, a romp on the dark side of honky-tonks and revival tent culture with a finger-snapping, toe-tapping integrity that is eerily contagious. When Hyram Woodside, played with great gusto and subtlety by Patrick Costello, sets out to become the brightest star in Country music, he trades in the humble cowboy suit made by his spouse (the superb Gemma James-Smith), and makes a Faustian deal with a kinky couturier in a wheelchair (Greg Kramer).
There is no simple way to describe Kramer’s enthralling performance. He takes the play to a completely different level; and he makes his evil ways hilariously funny. Kramer is a maestro who can make your skin crawl while you laugh out loud. His magnificent portrayal of Nudie alone is worth the trip to the Segal.
The story, a musical adaptation of Derek McCormack’s novel, has all the epic twists and reversals of an epic tale. The directing was very clean and it was delightful to see the actors as they sat in front of a kind of giant patchwork quilt, the set for the opening scenes. Daniel Brochu gives an insanely manic performance as Erskine Mole, the erstwhile king of country. His performance skirts the frontiers of caricature, and stops short at the precipice. Jackie Torrens inhabits the persona of Lil’ Molly, the M.C. and life of the radio show where much of the drama is initiated. Alexis Taylor as Bobbi is the strangely devoted ingénue, and is hilarious as the naïve one-legged love interest of the hero.
Kyle Gatehouse was riveting as Dr. Wertham, the silent companion of the evil Nudie. He never spoke but communicated volumes with his careful and deliciously bizarre gestures. Trent Pardy played Pastor Ray, the disreputable snake oil salesman and honky tonk owner, with manic aplomb.
There was a three-piece band on stage and this presentational bit of staging worked brilliantly in the context of a musical about country and western shows. It also allowed the musicians to interact with the personae in a really clever manner.
It was delightful to see so many truly talented actors and musicians take the stage and deliver a fully realized piece of the theatre. While there was no one song that stayed in one’s mind, the music was professional and well played and delivered even if it did not leave me humming the hook lines as I left. This is a very minor point as so much of the evening was just fantastic.
The fact that the SideMart Theatrical Grocery company is also offering Montreal a Pay What You Can on Sunday, December 13th is fabulous. It is a great audience builder and more theatres in Montreal would do well to reprise this very Toronto tradition. Many theatres there have made just as much at the gate and the good will in the community has become a priceless asset. There is a potential audience of almost a million in this city and, now that English theatre is actually growing for the first time, it also needs to learn how to grow the audience it merits.
The Haunted Hillbilly plays at the Studio at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, 5170 cote Ste. Catherine, thru December 20th. Tickets : 514 739 7944. For more information, contact: info@sidemart.ca. Or visit the Segal Centre site.
