I bought my parents tickets to Baba and Gido's 50th Anniversary Party. This is an interactive play put on by the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre. The action happens around you, and the actors make believe you are really at an anniversary party for their family. Apparently, Dad, Mom, my friend Christina and I are playing the parts of the black sheep.
When we arrived for the show, "Baba", "Gido" and their "son" greeted us warmly at the door. Baba even shoved her son forward when she saw there were two "nice young ladies" in the receiving line, excitedly telling us he was a doctor.
However, when we tried to take our seats, there was a bit of a chekaty. We were listed as having a ticket for Tuesday, but not on the seating chart. We turned out to be on the seating chart for Wednesday instead. The director explained that there is a new girl in the box office who is still learning the ropes, and this is by far not the first mistake she has made. The performance was already oversold by 10 or 15 people, so the hall was crammed full.
Where were we going to sit? Ya ne znaty ...
They told us our only options were to come back on Wednesday instead. The change didn't work that well for any of us, since Mom and Dad had already driven in from out of town, I took the day off work and Christina usually works until 5:30 PM so might be late tomorrow, but what else could we do? Dad said we should have asked for our money back and refused to come, but the show is so popular, they could have resold our seats a hundred times over. They get 200 calls a day for it, and all of the shows are sold out. The last time the play ran, Christina and I couldn't even get tickets.
The director apologized profusely, but I still found myself grumbling, "Nai tebe kachka kopne!" all the way to Boston Pizza. A real Baba would have at least given me some holubtsi and pyrohy for the road ...
I have decided that this summer is not a lucky one for me and Ukrainian anniversary parties. My third cousin on my dad's side left a message on my answering machine at the end of June to ask for my cousin Christine's address in Saskatoon. Eleanor said she wanted to mail her an invitation to a 40th anniversary party she was having for her parents. I left a message with Christine and Daniel's address and the new address of Christine's parents in Regina. Christine was on holidays at the time, and in the course of picking up her mail, I saw her invitation arrive. I patiently waited to get mine, but it never came. I asked around, and my parents got one as did her parents. Finally, my mom took a closer look at her and Dad's, and noticed it said, "... and family", to include my brother and I.
Nice to know Eleanor still thinks I'm 12.
I hope I have better luck tonight. Maybe it's fate, and I'll meet a nice Ukrainian boy.
1. Ukrainian for "wait"
2. Ukrainian for "I don't know"
3. Ukrainian for "May a duck kick you!". (It doesn't sound like much in English, but ...)
BABA AND GIDO GET ENCORE RUN
Play featuring Ukrainian couple back by popular demand
Jeanette Stewart, of The StarPhoenix
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Baba and Gido proved to be such loveable characters at their first 50th wedding anniversary, the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre has decided to bring the Ukrainian couple back for another run.
When the production of Baba and Gido's 50th Wedding Anniversary first ran in 2004, the play sold out with a waiting list of more than 1,500 names. The theatre decided to repeat the interactive play because of this success.
"I was getting a lot of pressure from people who said, 'oh you should bring that back,' " said owner Peter Kooy. "I thought, why not."
Along with encouragement from the public was the knowledge the play could "put bums in the seats," which is essential during the tough summer tourism season, Kooy said.
The show is an interactive experience where the audience becomes part of the production. It's a Saskatchewan take on the popular Tony and Tina's Italian Wedding. When the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre couldn't get the rights to the production, local playwright Liz Reynolds stepped in and created the Ukrainian wedding anniversary.
The play took six months to create, in which Reynolds spent a lot of time researching with curators at a local Ukrainian museum to ensure the customs portrayed were authentic.
"We wanted to be respectful of Ukrainian traditions," Reynolds said. "Because we made it a Ukrainian family, and because we have so many Ukrainians in our community, we wanted to be respectful of their traditions and their families."
It paid off.
Since the theatre ran the production in 2004, several other theatres in Saskatchewan have picked up the production. A theatre in Prince Albert was about to shut their doors when they ran the show. It was wildly successful, and put them back in business. A group in Winnipeg also produced the show, and Kooy has had inquiries from a group in Michigan interested in the production.
While there's no doubt the Ukrainian connection has a particular appeal in the province, Kooy said the play "works on many different levels."
Along with the authentic celebration of Ukrainian traditions and the cultural inside jokes, there is also a family-based humour that crosses cultural lines.
"It's close to real life," Kooy said.
For the upcoming production, Reynolds introduced some new characters, including a pair of identical twins, took out the old ones who didn't work as well and tweaked the dialogue.
Despite the fix-ups, Reynolds said the kinks are never out in an interactive show. "That's part of the fun," she said. "You do the best you can, and when you get an audience you just go with whatever they throw at you."
When the audience arrives they meet Baba and Gido, and become part of the show. They are fed a hearty Ukrainian meal, which includes perogies, sausage and cabbage rolls.
Performers Mary Nordick, Fran Edwards and Juanita Vogelgesang will return to play their original roles. Robert Reynolds will again direct the play, this time also playing Father Bernard, the aging priest who first married Baba and Gido 50 years ago.
Reynolds has felt the effect of her successful play first hand, with people stopping her in the street and telling her they are coming. "I think we'll get a lot of repeat business," she said. Seven shows are already sold out.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
When we arrived for the show, "Baba", "Gido" and their "son" greeted us warmly at the door. Baba even shoved her son forward when she saw there were two "nice young ladies" in the receiving line, excitedly telling us he was a doctor.
However, when we tried to take our seats, there was a bit of a chekaty. We were listed as having a ticket for Tuesday, but not on the seating chart. We turned out to be on the seating chart for Wednesday instead. The director explained that there is a new girl in the box office who is still learning the ropes, and this is by far not the first mistake she has made. The performance was already oversold by 10 or 15 people, so the hall was crammed full.
Where were we going to sit? Ya ne znaty ...
They told us our only options were to come back on Wednesday instead. The change didn't work that well for any of us, since Mom and Dad had already driven in from out of town, I took the day off work and Christina usually works until 5:30 PM so might be late tomorrow, but what else could we do? Dad said we should have asked for our money back and refused to come, but the show is so popular, they could have resold our seats a hundred times over. They get 200 calls a day for it, and all of the shows are sold out. The last time the play ran, Christina and I couldn't even get tickets.
The director apologized profusely, but I still found myself grumbling, "Nai tebe kachka kopne!" all the way to Boston Pizza. A real Baba would have at least given me some holubtsi and pyrohy for the road ...
I have decided that this summer is not a lucky one for me and Ukrainian anniversary parties. My third cousin on my dad's side left a message on my answering machine at the end of June to ask for my cousin Christine's address in Saskatoon. Eleanor said she wanted to mail her an invitation to a 40th anniversary party she was having for her parents. I left a message with Christine and Daniel's address and the new address of Christine's parents in Regina. Christine was on holidays at the time, and in the course of picking up her mail, I saw her invitation arrive. I patiently waited to get mine, but it never came. I asked around, and my parents got one as did her parents. Finally, my mom took a closer look at her and Dad's, and noticed it said, "... and family", to include my brother and I.
Nice to know Eleanor still thinks I'm 12.
I hope I have better luck tonight. Maybe it's fate, and I'll meet a nice Ukrainian boy.
1. Ukrainian for "wait"
2. Ukrainian for "I don't know"
3. Ukrainian for "May a duck kick you!". (It doesn't sound like much in English, but ...)
BABA AND GIDO GET ENCORE RUN
Play featuring Ukrainian couple back by popular demand
Jeanette Stewart, of The StarPhoenix
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Baba and Gido proved to be such loveable characters at their first 50th wedding anniversary, the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre has decided to bring the Ukrainian couple back for another run.
When the production of Baba and Gido's 50th Wedding Anniversary first ran in 2004, the play sold out with a waiting list of more than 1,500 names. The theatre decided to repeat the interactive play because of this success.
"I was getting a lot of pressure from people who said, 'oh you should bring that back,' " said owner Peter Kooy. "I thought, why not."
Along with encouragement from the public was the knowledge the play could "put bums in the seats," which is essential during the tough summer tourism season, Kooy said.
The show is an interactive experience where the audience becomes part of the production. It's a Saskatchewan take on the popular Tony and Tina's Italian Wedding. When the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre couldn't get the rights to the production, local playwright Liz Reynolds stepped in and created the Ukrainian wedding anniversary.
The play took six months to create, in which Reynolds spent a lot of time researching with curators at a local Ukrainian museum to ensure the customs portrayed were authentic.
"We wanted to be respectful of Ukrainian traditions," Reynolds said. "Because we made it a Ukrainian family, and because we have so many Ukrainians in our community, we wanted to be respectful of their traditions and their families."
It paid off.
Since the theatre ran the production in 2004, several other theatres in Saskatchewan have picked up the production. A theatre in Prince Albert was about to shut their doors when they ran the show. It was wildly successful, and put them back in business. A group in Winnipeg also produced the show, and Kooy has had inquiries from a group in Michigan interested in the production.
While there's no doubt the Ukrainian connection has a particular appeal in the province, Kooy said the play "works on many different levels."
Along with the authentic celebration of Ukrainian traditions and the cultural inside jokes, there is also a family-based humour that crosses cultural lines.
"It's close to real life," Kooy said.
For the upcoming production, Reynolds introduced some new characters, including a pair of identical twins, took out the old ones who didn't work as well and tweaked the dialogue.
Despite the fix-ups, Reynolds said the kinks are never out in an interactive show. "That's part of the fun," she said. "You do the best you can, and when you get an audience you just go with whatever they throw at you."
When the audience arrives they meet Baba and Gido, and become part of the show. They are fed a hearty Ukrainian meal, which includes perogies, sausage and cabbage rolls.
Performers Mary Nordick, Fran Edwards and Juanita Vogelgesang will return to play their original roles. Robert Reynolds will again direct the play, this time also playing Father Bernard, the aging priest who first married Baba and Gido 50 years ago.
Reynolds has felt the effect of her successful play first hand, with people stopping her in the street and telling her they are coming. "I think we'll get a lot of repeat business," she said. Seven shows are already sold out.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
posted by Karen | Wednesday, July 25, 2007
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