If you could hit the reset button on your marriage, would you?
The idea will be explored in a production of the new Norm Foster play Beside Myself, coming to Collingwood Aug. 20 to 24 at the Georgian Bay Hotel and hosted by Theatre Collingwood.
“When I wrote it, I just wanted to write a love story. That’s all it is. It’s very innocent. I wanted to go back to that kind of thing where there’s no gnashing of teeth or angst. It’s going to be a great show,” said Norm Foster, in an interview this week with CollingwoodToday.
The story follows married couple Paula (Gabrielle Jones and Breton Lalama) and Sam (Jonathan Whittaker and Griffin Hewitt) while they spend a weekend dividing and packing up their household goods, as they wonder what would have happened if they’d never met.
The discovery of a long-forgotten wedding gift sets off a chain of events that transports them back to their college days and the opportunity to rewrite their history together.
“The play, I think, will really tug on people’s heartstrings,” said Theatre Collingwood executive director Erica Angus. “When we first agreed to bring this in, it wasn’t even written yet, but I loved the concept so much.”
“With Norm (Foster)... you know he writes shows that people love and can relate to. I have that faith in what he does,” she added.
Angus said Theatre Collingwood tries to bring in one Foster play every season.
“I think his work is so relatable, and I know what our audience is all about. I think people like that they can come to a Norm-Foster play and have a pleasant experience,” said Angus. “They come out with a great feeling at the end of it.”
“I think Norm understands the human condition. People are OK with having a little window to their soul, as long as it’s not too exposing. He always injects humour, and that’s a big part of it too,” she said.
The musical reunites New Brunswick playwright Foster and composer Steve Thomas – co-creators of other musicals such as Jasper Station and Race Day. The show is directed by Patricia Vanstone.
“I’ve written about four musicals with Steve Thomas, and I thought my writing never measured up to his music. His music was better than the book,” said Foster, with a laugh. “I’ve just been trying to write something that’s worthy of his music.”
Over the past few years, Foster has pressed on to make the foray from writing plays to writing musicals.
“It’s about half the work for me,” laughs Foster. “I enjoy writing lyrics. I just hand them over to Steve and say, ‘Hey, make this into a song.’ What Steve does with them is pretty exciting. I really enjoy the musical genre. It’s not an easy thing to write. The songs can’t be there for no reason. They have to move the story along. I find that a challenge.”
Foster’s plays tend toward a theme of family relationships, and usually take place over a short time span, such as a weekend or an evening.
“They tend to take place almost in real time. I’m a linear thinker and a linear writer. I like it that way, because you can tell a story at a point in time and everything seems fresh with the characters and their expressions,” said Foster.
“In this particular play, the lyrics are what the characters are thinking, and not necessarily something they would say out loud. It develops the characters through the songs,” he added.
The show is premiering at The Foster Festival before making the trip up to Collingwood. The Foster Festival is a theatre company in St. Catharines that specializes in performing Foster’s original shows. The company puts on about three productions a year.
“It’s awfully flattering, it really is,” said Foster. “It’s kind of scary, too, when you know a theatre company is depending on your work and your work alone. So far, it’s worked out pretty well,” said Foster.
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
