Toronto Review: "Ghost Quartet" Canadian Premiere
Joe Szekeres, Chief Toronto Critic
The other day, someone had asked me what I had thought of Dave Malloy’s chamber musical ‘Ghost Quartet’. I hadn’t seen it before so naturally I was interested to attend. After the curtain call, I sat there as words at that time couldn’t describe what I felt. and see what it was all about.
What would I now tell that person? ‘Ghost Quartet’ was eerie, surreal, ethereal, puzzling, captivating and beautiful.” It was an auditory and visual experience of the highest degree for me, indeed thanks to the intimate setting of the studio theatre setting.
In her Director’s Note in the programme, Marie Farsi writes “I am excited for you to experience this evening. I say experience because one can’t simply watch and listen to this show: you’ll be presented a Rubik’s Cube of stories to unlock-literally.” How right she is.
There are four stories of intrigue with characters and events that are intertwined through music. From the programme brochure, we’re told that four friends pour themselves a drink and then begin to sing and share stories that span seven centuries: a warped fairy tale about two sisters, a treehouse astronomer and a lazy evil bear; a retelling of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ by Edgar Allan Poe; a purgatorial intermezzo about Scheherazade, and a contemporary fable about a subway murder. These stories were not told in any chronological order and sometimes the plot jumped back and forth from one to the next.
Walking into the auditorium reminded me about the speakeasys during the prohibition era that I would have seen from history books. Set Designer Patrick Lavender deserves recognition for the re-creation of this wonderful effect. Whiskey was for sale on the stage to audience members. A smoky, unsettling haze wafted throughout the auditorium. The audience sat on opposite sides of the stage where a piano could be found stage left and percussion section stage right. Foliage was carefully placed around the lighting fixtures.
Dave Malloy’s lyrics are cleverly written in some of the musical numbers. The vocals and harmonies in the songs are pitch perfect according to my ear. There were moments where I just closed my eyes as I wanted to listen to the musical rhythms and sounds, and they were a delicious treat to my ears. I especially liked the humour and wit in the song ‘Any Kind of Dead Person’. The musical number to conclude the show ‘The Wind & Rain’ is effectively haunting.
Beau Dixon, Hailey Gillis, Kira Guloien and Andrew Penner are masterful storytellers and extraordinary musicians and singers. Their performances were accentuated even further for the fact the actors could play their own musical instruments which added intrigue, romance, and mystery to the production. Thanks to Patrick Lavender’s terrific costume design, Messrs. Dixon and Penner were dapper reminders of the style worn by men in the 1930s from the fedora hat and long coat to the suspenders. Ms. Gillis and Ms. Guloien appeared more modern looking which worked extremely well as a juxtaposition to the look of the gentlemen.
FINAL COMMENTS: What made this performance most enjoyable was the fact that the audience and I could draw conclusions in our minds as the story unfolded through the songs. ‘Ghost Quartet’ is another fine example of memorable ensemble work with performers who truly listened and responded to each other in song and movement.
Another must see if you can.
GHOST QUARTET
‘Ghost Quartet’ with Beau Dixon, Hailey Gillis, Kira Guloien and Andrew Penner runs to November 3 at the Scotiabank Community Studio at Crow’s Theatre/Streetcar Crowsnest., 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto. For further information, visit www.crowstheatre.com or telephone the Box Office at (647) 341-7390.
Performance running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.
Produced by Crow’s Theatre & Eclipse Theatre Company.
Director: Marie Farsi; Music Director: Andrew Penner;
Photo of Beau Dixon and Kira Guloien by Dahlia Katz.