Jesse Buck and Landon Nesbitt in The Miser. Photo: Odyssey Theatre.
Odyssey Theatre is back in Strathcona Park this summer! It’s been four long years since their last production in the park in 2019 (you can probably guess why they went on hiatus).
Odyssey has been doing commedia dell’arte style plays in the park for almost 40 years. If you’re unfamiliar with commedia, the form originated in Italy in the 16th century and was popular for a few hundred years. The plays usually feature a few stock characters—masters, servants, and lovers. The scripts are usually farces with simple plots, but are heavy on misunderstandings and slapstick action. Some, but not all, of the characters are masked.
This year’s offering is Molière’s classic comedy The Miser. The play was first performed in 1668 in Paris and has been translated and adapted to a 2023 Ottawa setting by Odyssey’s artistic director Laurie Steven and playwright Lib Spry.
Tracey Guptill and Jamar Adams-Thompson. Photo: Odyssey Theatre.
The storyline itself isn’t too complicated. The greedy miser Harpagon and his wanna-be film director son Clay are both vying for the affections of an attractive young bar singer, Mariane. Mariane, of course, is in love with Clay, but the miser is pulling all his available financial strings to get her for himself. Meanwhile, Harpagon’s daughter Lise is in love with his personal assistant Val. But the miser is planning to marry Lise off that very evening as part of a business deal that will help him achieve global food sales dominance! Lise is having none of that and plots with Val to avoid the arranged marriage. With its themes of power, money, and family conflict, the story is sort of a 17th-century Succession.
Overall, the show is a delight. The clever wordplay and non-stop action are wildly entertaining. The main cast of eight actors is very solid and there are no weak performances here. The standout, though, is Jesse Buck as the miser Harpagon. I wasn’t surprised to find out that he has an extensive circus background and that his previous gig was on a Cirque de Soleil tour. Every movement that he makes is perfect and precise. Despite wearing a grotesque mask, he can communicate a thought or emotion with just the tiniest of gestures.
The other star of the production is pretty much everything else. In no particular order, the costumes, masks, stage, lighting and sound were all brilliant and contributed greatly to the show’s impact.
Scott McCulloch and Jesse Buck. Photo: Odyssey Theatre.
The stage is very simple. A central tower has a large H on it that represents Harpagon Holdings. On the edges of the stage are versatile wedges that serve as lighting, seating and stairs. Rolling office furniture was used in a few cases to great effect to move the actors and the action around the stage.
The costumes and wigs are all bright and whimsical. They don’t suggest any particular period of time, so the show becomes timeless. And what else would a well-dressed miser wear but a shiny gold suit, to remind us of his avarice and wealth?
Odyssey’s Miser is a welcome return of theatre to Strathcona after the long forced absence. For a magical summer evening in the park, visit Harpagon and his dysfunctional family and friends as they squabble over money and love.
The Miser runs from July 27 to August 20 in Strathcona Park. There are shows from Tuesday to Sunday at 8pm and a pay-what-you-can show at 2pm on Sundays. There are wooden bleachers directly in front of the stage and you can rent a cushion, or bring a lawn chair and stake out a spot in the front couple of rows. More information is available here.
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