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**** Recommended I really enjoyed Canterbury Summer Theatre’s second production of the season, Love is a Many Splintered Thing, a musical montage of memories. Instead of dialogue, it’s all snippets of songs from the last forty years. explain and illustrate the characters’ feelings. It was fun to hear the music and quickly ‘name that tune’! 3 ½ Spotlights
We meet the cast at their Senior Prom. Sean (J. Cole Becton) and Roberta (Angel Purl) are in love. The other friends, Bill (Landon Brewer), Desiree Sue (Elena Farley), Hope (Cherilyn Percy) and Yale (Noah Bryant), have realized they might just be with the wrong dates.
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(L-R Front Row) Noah Bryant, Cherilyn Percy (Back Row) Elena Farley, Landon Brewer, J. Cole Becton, and Angel Purl
Sean and Roberta end up going steady while the other two couples date, break up, switch and repeat. Eventually there are a couple of weddings while one of the gals and one of the guys stay single – but not together. Ten years later, they all meet up again and one couple has a baby and an unhappy marriage, another couple is dealing with a divorce. After the divorce, the ex-husband hooks up with the single businesswoman who crushed on him back in high school.
The story line isn’t easy to follow and it’s practically impossible to figure out who’s who, but it really doesn’t matter. You’ll love the music!
Speaking of ‘name that tune’, I heard everything from Burt Bacharach – The Look of Love to Aretha Franklin’s Chain of Fools. I heard Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell; Sweet Talkin’ Guy by the Chiffons; Just My Imagination by the Temptations; Walk Like a Man by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons; Johnny Angel by Shelley Fabares; Lipstick on Your Collar by Connie Francis; Wanderer by Del Shannon; Wedding Bell Blues by the 5th Dimension and many more.
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By the way, Canterbury Summer Theatre is a summer stock theater which means they produce several shows in a limited amount of time with a resident cast. While one show is on stage, the actors are rehearsing the next.
CST’s 56th season, Murder and More in 2024, continues with Starting Here, Starting Now, July 3rd through 13th (no show July 4th); and Country Is: The Music of Main Street in Concert, July 17th through 27th. The season will conclude with mystery/drama, Murder at the Howard Johnson’s, August 1st through 3rd (no Wednesday show, Saturday show is matinee only).
Artistic Director Ray Scott Crawford is in his 43rd season with CST, his 39th as AD. During the rest of the year, he is Program Director of Theatre at Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana. Associate Artistic Director David Graham, now based in Michigan City, is in his 35th summer at Canterbury. Music Director/Associate Director John Berst returns for his 5th season.
CST’s resident company includes: J. Cole Becton (Actor); Landon Brewer (Actor), student at Dobbins conservatory of Theatre and Dance; Noah Bryant (Actor), student at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Robin Eaken (Lighting Designer, Lighting Technician), recent graduate of Ohio State University; Elena Farley (Choreographer/Actor), student at Boston Conservatory; Kaylee Herr (Stage Manager/Choreographer/Technician), student at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana; Peyton Kistler (Scenic Designer/Technical Director), student at Ball State University; Julia Parr (Costumer), student at Bossier Parish Community College; Cherilyn Percy (Actor/Costume Assistant), student at Roosevelt University: Chicago College of Performing Arts; Tony Pethtel (Carpenter/Technician), student at Aurora University; Angel Purl (Actor), Associate Degree from College of the Mainland; Emily (Garnett) Vires, (Associate Director/Stage Manager), graduate of Ball State University.
Love is a Many Splintered Thing runs through June 29th at Canterbury Summer Theatre, 807 Franklin Street, Michigan City. Plenty of street parking is available.
Running time is just about two hours with an intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 2:00 pm, Thursday through Saturday at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20, $18 for seniors. FYI (219) 874-4269 or www.canterburytheatre.org.