It’s a Wonderful Life Adapted by Philip Grecian Based on the Frank Capra movie. Kanata Theatre Directed by Tom Kobolak

The clanging of a large bell has long been Kanata Theatre’s traditional way of signaling that the show is about to begin. The tradition continues during the company’s 50^th anniversary season.

The tinkling of the small bells during the current show to announce that an angel has earned his/her wings is part of another tradition — the repeat of a version of It’s a Wonderful Life. The original 1946 movie by director Frank Capra, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, is available on television over the holiday season each year and one of the stage radio show adaptations — three different production are being presented in Ottawa before Christmas — is available for those who enjoy another dose of sentimentality. (For the record, the Capra movie was inspired by the Philip Van Doren Stern story The Greatest Gift.) …

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Don’t Dress for Dinner  By Robin Hawdon

Adapted from Marc Camoletti’s French farce Kanata Theatre

Directed by Peter Williams

The kindest comment about Don’t Dress for Dinner is that it makes Marc Camoletti’s better known sex farce Boeing-Boeing look good. Although playwright Robin Hawdon’s adaptation/translation of Camoletti’s 1991 formulaic repeat was a West End success in its early years, it is very much a poor sibling. It’s also a reminder that without superb performances and first-class timing the sexual fling fantasies of yesteryear belong in the past. They are just not particularly funny in 2018. …

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