Miss Caledonia: A light- hearted send-off for TIP,s 2021 Season
Miss Caledonia, the final show in Thousand Island Playhouse’s 2021 season, provides a cheerful story for the increasingly cold month of November. It indeed aims to warm hearts not merely in a literal sense, but also on an emotional level, with its tale of a young girl growing up in Caledonia, Ontario who dreams of stardom. The play, written by Melody Johnson and directed by Brett Christopher, also involves music, with the inclusion of violinist Quinn Dooley on stage alongside Janelle Hanna, who portrays all the characters in the play. The result is a harmonizing effect at times, which adds more flavour to the actions being enacted by Hanna. The element of music makes the play more engaging overall, particularly if one is watching it via livestream.
The plot of Miss Caledonia is a feel-good one: set in 1955, it follows the story of Peggy Douglas, who is determined to enter the local pageant despite the objections of her parents (who are hard-working Scottish farmers). In a reverie at the beginning of the play, she muses about how she can then make it to Miss Canada and eventually Hollywood, treading the paths of actresses such as Debbie Reynolds. With the spirit of Bing Crosby’s portrait accompanying her, Peggy pursues her aspiration amidst challenges from her parents and later on, a teacher. The result is a somewhat worn, though charming story about the importance of following one’s passion.
As a performer, Hanna is vivid and captivating to watch. She artfully conveys impressions of multiple characters, ranging from Peggy and her parents to her competitors at the pageant. Peggy’s mother and father are particularly memorable characters, as Hanna effectively creates a contrast between their down to earth attitudes and Peggy’s youthful naivete. While Dooley mainly provides musical accompaniment for the scenes that take place, she always takes care to match her presence to the mood at hand, often smiling or expressing another facial expression to go along with Peggy’s sentiments. A moment when Dooley’s violin provides a particularly apt touch is when she plays the sound of a bow and arrow as Peggy is performing that activity.
In terms of the show’s technical elements, the sound, lighting and set work well enough together for the most part. The set includes a mixture of both indoor and outdoor elements (such as hay), which adequately double for the different spaces that are portrayed throughout. The décor used onstage is also fitting for a 1950s farm home. Lighting is also effective, with the blue tone creating a mellow effect periodically. A neat moment for the livestream production occurred when the camera panned up from Dooley to a recreation of the night sky with bright stars.
Overall, Miss Caledonia is a well-meaning production that successfully recreates a dream of childhood for its audience (as alluded to by Brett Christopher in the play’s program).
Miss Caledonia, written by Melody A. Johnson. Musical arrangements and original score by Alison Porter
Cast:
Fiddler: Quinn Dooley
Peggy Ann Douglas: Janelle Hanna
Creative Team:
Director: Brett Christopher
Set Designer: Anna Treusch
Costume Designer: Jayne Christopher
Sound Designer: Richard Feren
Lighting Designer: Raha Javanfar
Stage Manager: Rebecca Eamon Campbell