MORRISBURG – “This is a wonderful script and a wonderful cast,” said Donnie Bowes, director of ‘Wally’s Cafe,’ coming to the Upper Canada Playhouse stage August 4-28. “It’s fast-paced, funny and outrageous, with some great one liners. This is a show full of laughs.”
Blessed with an outstanding cast – Sweeney MacArthur, Kate Egan Veinotte and Melissa Morris – ‘Wally’s Cafe’ follows the ‘adventures’ of Wally Murdock, a man determined to follow his passionate dream of buying and operating his very own café, whatever it takes. However, his wife Louise, whose feet are firmly planted on the ground, is considerably less enchanted by the idea of working in a diner – particularly when she discovers that Wally’s ‘dream location’ is on the edge of Death Valley! And then, hopeful ‘actress,’ Janet, hitch-hiking her way to sure stardom in Hollywood, accidentally strays into Wally’s Café and somehow finds herself in a uniform waiting tables.
The Sam Bobrick and Ron Clark script follows these mismatched but fascinating characters over nearly 40 years – joining them in 1940, then in 1958, and finally in 1981. The format for ‘Wally’s Café’ resembles a TV sitcom – not surprising when one realizes that Bobrick and Clark wrote for such wildly successful television comedies as Bewitched, Get Smart, The Smothers Brothers, the Andy Griffith Show and even for The Flintstones. “When they weren’t working on sitcoms, they wrote some plays along the way,” said Bowes. “Wally, Louise and Janet are real characters, people audiences will recognize and understand. They go through some good, bad and life-changing events in the play, because the truth is, Wally’s Café business has just not ‘taken off’, despite all his dreams.”
Part of the pleasure of this production is the authenticity of the set, designed and built by Playhouse technical director, Sean Free. “I wanted to ground the play in one set, but it had to be functional since the actors needed to cope with one compressed location,” Free said. “Donnie and I integrated our visions of what Wally’s would look like. We searched all over for authentic props. Among other things, we have an actual functioning juke box, vintage cafe stools, an old tv, all the things people expect in a cafe. And everything works too.”
The fun will be watching the three characters while they change over the years. The show “leaps right into a busy atmosphere,” Bowes said. “We have a strong technical team for this show, creating the little changes that signal a shift from one era to another.” “We are real people on the stage,” added Kate Egan Veinotte, “wiping tables, clearing dishes, shifting cutlery and trays, drinking coffee, all part of real life. I think audiences will relate to the story, as they see these people grow up together.”
Director Bowes has put together a very strong, talented cast for the new Playhouse production.
“Of course, I’m the star of the show,” announced actor Sweeney MacArthur, who plays “Wally” (to very loud but good-natured hisses, from fellow actors Kate and Melissa!). Sweeney is returning to the Playhouse after a run in the new musical GROW at London’s Grand Theatre. He was seen in such Playhouse hits as ‘Ethan Claymore’s Christmas’, ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘The Christmas Express.’ He has performed in productions in England, Germany and at home in the Charlottetown Festival and in ‘Mamma Mia!’ for Mirvish Productions.
Kate Egan Veinotte, “Louise,” is very well known to Playhouse audiences. She performed in the Prescott Shakespearean Festival and in very popular Playhouse shows like ‘Maggie’s Getting Married,’ ‘The Affections of May’ and ‘Lunenburg.’ Recently, she starred in ‘The Christmas Tree’, a special December production at Stone Crop Acres Winery, produced by her own company, acting like kids.
Coming to the Playhouse directly from a run in the 2022 Prescott Shakespearean Festival’s ‘Twelfth Night’ is Melissa Morris, as the would-be Hollywood star, “Janet.” Melissa is also a singer, writer and musical director. Her past credits at the Playhouse include ‘Barefoot in the Park’ and ‘Miracle on 34th Street.’ She has performed at the Watershed Music Theatre Festival, and at the Dan School of Drama and Music. She is also a faculty member of Queen’s University teaching acting and musical theatre.
‘Wally’s Café,’ opening at Upper Canada Playhouse on August 4 will delight audiences as Wally, Louise and Janet take us through the years with them. Be ready to enjoy big laughs at the hilarious antics of three very memorable characters.