Deep theatre? Fuhgeddaboudit: Coming-of-age tale Made In Italy predictable, but offers feel-good laughs - Action News
Home WebMail Sunday, November 24, 2024, 02:29 AM | Calgary | -12.3°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
ManitobaReview

Deep theatre? Fuhgeddaboudit: Coming-of-age tale Made In Italy predictable, but offers feel-good laughs

To draw on the plays food motif, Made In Italy is not like a fine, full-bodied, well-aged Italian wine with deep, resonant notes. Its more like a Prosecco sweet, bubbly and not too complex, but enjoyable enough while it lasts.

Solo show about growing up in '70s Alberta tells a familiar story, lifted by an animated comedic performance

Farren Timoteo's solo show Made In Italy plays with coming-of-age themes that feel familiar and predictable, but his animated comedic performance offers plenty of laughs. (Dylan Hewlett/RMTC)

It may feel like there's an unfathomable distance between the mean streets of Philadelphia in Rockyor the sweaty Brooklyn discos of Saturday Night Feverand 1970s Jasper, Alta.

But Edmonton actor Farren Timoteo's one-man show Made In Italy manages to draw a connection between those worlds and while it doesn't amount to theatre that'll leave you feverish with joy, it still lands some fine comedic punches and jabs at the heart.

Loosely based on the life of Timoteo's father, the solo show (a production by Kamloops, B.C.'s Western Canada Theatre that's appearing at the Royal MTC Warehouse) tells the story of Franceso Mantini, a second-generation Italian-Canadian, and his coming-of-age in Alberta.

Francesco's father, Salvatore, has come to Canada from Italy to give his family a better life. As played by Timoteo in a charming turn, he's also our narrator and guide to Italian culture and to life's similarity to a multi-course meal.

Timoteo plays a range of characters, including Salvatore, who comes to Canada from Italy to offer his family a better life. (Dylan Hewlett/RMTC)

But life isn't so easy for Francesco, trying to fit in as the only Italian kid in rural Alberta until, that is, he discovers inspiration in '70s flicks with Italian heroes like Rocky and Saturday Night Fever, and the fact that he can turn his golden singing voice into a musical career.

But success, he decides, relies on adopting the persona of Frank Martinand giving up his Italian culture along with the Italian name.

If it sounds like a story you might've heard before, you're right.Made In Italy doesn't score big points for originality. The details may be different here, butthestruggles of second-generation kids to fit in are well documented, and Made In Italy feels like it's telling a familiar tale.

That means it's relatable, but also fairly predictableand it's not much of a spoiler to say a feel-good ending calculated to tug at the heartstrings imparts the value of staying true to who you are.

Timoteo gets to show off a range of skills, including a golden singing voice and some sharp '70s-themed dance moves. (Dylan Hewlett/RMTC)

What sells it, though, is Timoteo's animated performance he's a talented comedian and there's some marvellous clowning here.

When, for example, Rocky inspires young Francesco to dedicate himself to working out, the montage that follows is equal parts Sylvester Stallone and Mr. Bean.

The "getting ready for the disco" sequence that opens the second act is another beautifully timed bit of physical comedy.

Timoteo plays a range of characters whosometimes veer into caricature, but many are very funny especially an Italian cousin who draws laughs with every perfectly timed twitch of his hips as he gives a teenage Francesco a fashion makeover.

Made In Italy is more like a Prosecco than a deep red wine it's sweet, bubbly and not too complex, but enjoyable enough while it lasts. (Dylan Hewlett/RMTC)

On top of that, Timoteo is a talented dancer. Choreographer Laura Krewski gives him some sharp moves to show off, and yes, you will leave with Stayin' Alive stuck in your head.

He also gets to show off a beautiful singing voice in the musical numbers sprinkled throughout director Daryl Cloran's smartly paced 130-minute (with intermission) production.

To draw on the play's food motif, Made In Italy is not like a fine, full-bodied, well-aged Italian wine with deep, resonant notes. It's more like a Prosecco sweet, bubbly, and not too complex, but enjoyable enough while it lasts.

Made In Italy runs at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre's Tom Hendry Warehouse until March 16.

Royal MTC's Made In Itay

6 years ago
Duration 2:09
Preview of The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre's production of Made in Italy Feb. 28 to March 16, 2019.

Also on the Winnipeg stage this weekend

You have a couple more chances to take advantage of a rare opportunityto see Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's classic 1928 musical The Threepenny Opera and having seen the show last weekend, I'd recommend it.

Presented by a cast that integrates performers with and without physical disabilities, this production from Sick + Twisted Theatre and AA Battery Theatre gives a new layer to Brecht's story of London's seedy underclass.

Sick + Twisted Theatre and AA Battery Theatre present The Threepenny Opera at Winnipeg's West End Cultural Centre until March 2. (Sick + Twisted Theatre/Facebook)

It's not for the faint of heart Threepennyis surprisingly gritty and edgy for a90-year-old play but it's given a production that's dark, funny and disturbing in all the right ways.

Sick + Twisted and AA Battery's The Threepenny Opera runs at the West End Cultural Centre until March 2.