Theatre in London

«
»

Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun

Reviewed by Donald D'Haene, May 2, 2009

Warning: This review may contain spoilers.
Written by Norm Foster
Directed by Bill Meaden
Played by Steve Favro, Joanne Lubansky Johns, Rod Lim, John Pacheco, Misty Ropp
A London Community Players Production
The Palace Theatre
May 1–9, 2009

Art mirroring life

Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun is an emotionally-charged play that explores the relationship between a disabled man, Robert (Steve Favro) and a young pregnant woman, Holly (Misty Ropp). The play, like real life, is a constant tug-of-war between humour and pathos, selfishness and selflessness, surviving and thriving.

This Norm Foster play is the perfect blend of comedy and drama. He is a master at it, after all, but this is one time I actually thought the playwright was invisible. That’s right — no Fosterisms in sight.

With a script this good, I suggest the stakes for a production of Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun are even higher — fit for a fall.

Fortunately, I had a smile on the entire show, guffawed in many parts and got teary eyed too.

An audience often determines the momentum of a show on any given night. But the performers are so in tune with their characters, I believe they would give the same performance whether the audience had 10 individuals or the full house of 350 that the Palace Theatre can hold.

Credit must go to director Bill Meaden for the way in which he has guided his actors. No mawkish moments in sight. The laughter and tears on the audience’s part are spontaneous and in response to the truth we see up on that stage. Not once did I feel a choice was made to earn a positive response, yet earn it this production did.

Meaden also designed the set which was minimalistic heaven on earth. Nothing got in the way of focusing on the story unfolding on stage. Stephen Mitchell’s lighting design was spot on and so was the use of music between scenes.

Favro is a revelation. I have been up close and personal with many “Roberts” in my life so I could spot a false note a mile away. His performance was astounding. I don’t know Favro, nor have I ever seen him act before. You could have told me Favro was a disabled actor and I would have believed it. There is no greater compliment I could give an actor.

Matching him every step of the way was Ms. Ropp. She is naturally beautiful, but willingly submerged her appearance for her character to ring true. Hence we focus on the woman who is struggling to survive on little means and not the actress and how she looks with her hair, makeup and wardrobe. She was so real you could not predict her gestures, facial expressions or vocal inflections. How refreshing.

Joanne Lubansky Johns, John Pacheco and Rod Lim balance out the fine cast. I am focusing on the two leads because without their firm anchor, it doesn’t matter how good the secondary characters are, this ship would sink. As it is, they provide wonderful support to two leads who both deserve to be nominated for an acting award.

People say to me all the time, “I’ve read your review. Now tell me what you really think!” Okay, just this once, the gloves are off.

The London Community Players’ production of Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun is one of the best shows I’ve seen at the Palace Theatre in years. Hell, easily in the top five of the shows I’ve seen in any theatre of late — and I’ve seen a lot folks.

Gee, that was easy. I could get used to this. Let me take this one step further.

I’m thinking Theatre in London.ca should have their own honorary awards. The Brickendens shouldn’t be the only gig in town. I’ll talk to the web master and get back to you. [see below --ed.] (Meanwhile, why not send in your own thoughts on this matter.)

Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun should definitely be in the running for any awards at any rate. Don’t miss it.

Donald D'Haene has been involved in local theatre for two decades. This fall, he will be a contributing writer for London's newest Arts Magazine, The Beat. He is PR Consultant for Pacheco Theatre’s Dec 2--5, McManus Studio production of P.S. Your Cat Is Dead and Producer for MTP's 2010 March musical, Nine.

4 Comments on “Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun”

  1. TiL Admin says:
    May 2, 2009 at 5:18 pm

    Funny you should mention Theatre in London awards, as the Brickendens originated here! The original awards were broken down between “Critic’s Choices” (i.e. Chris Doty’s picks) and “People’s Choices” (selected by public vote). The current Brickenden awards combine the two, allowing the public to vote alongside the adjudication panel to determine the winners.

  2. vincent says:
    May 4, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    I agree that we need more then one source of "best of" in this city. It is interesting to read the history of the brickendens. Despite the historical connection, I hope that theatre in london is independent at this date. I look forward to your year end best of column.

  3. TiL Admin says:
    May 4, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    I hate to further divert the comments from the production (which I haven’t seen yet) and Donald’s and Kenneth’s reviews, but I think it’s worth pointing out that yes, this site is a separate entity from any other organization, theatre company, venue, etc. It’s here to be an independent, unbiased resource for and about all aspects of theatre in London, past, present and future, from a big-budget touring production at the JLC to a reading in someone’s living room.

    Hmm, I should post that as a mission statement or something…. :)

    While the first Brickendens were announced on Theatre in London, it’s my understanding that Chris was just a contributor to the site (albeit a primary one) and that 2002’s awards were his project. You can read more about the history at the Brickenden.org website.

    Full disclosure: I personally have been a Brickenden panellist and member of the administrative committee for the last two years (predating my becoming the TiL webmaster), and Donald won an award last year, but to my knowledge that’s as far as the relationship with the awards goes. I do my best to ensure that no third party has undue influence on the editorial content of the site, which includes the reviews contributed by Donald, Kenneth and Mary.

    Last but not least, I’m happy to see more opinions, positive and negative, here and elsewhere—if nothing else it means that people are going to theatre!

    Peter Janes (aka TiL Admin)

  4. Shelley O'Donnell says:
    May 8, 2009 at 11:17 am

    Our family attended ‘Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun’ last Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was thrilled to read your accurate review noting it as having been an "astounding performance" and one deserving of an award. Like many in the audience, we found ourselves entertained throughout the show including laughter one minute and tears the next.

    Now, just to disclose some personal information as it relates to the storyline of the play. We have a daughter, Chanel, who has autism and is quite low-functioning. As a result, my husband and I often question what will become of Chanel when we are no longer. Of course, ‘Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun’ was very true-to-life for us, and subsequently, very touching. In addition to this and, of greater significance, was watching Steve Favro play the part of ‘Robert’. I am very proud to say that Steve is my nephew. Only being two years younger than I, we have lived more as brother and sister. He and his family have always been very accepting of our daughter and her challenges. Steve, himself, has always displayed a great deal of integrity, compassion, commitment, and a tremendous sense of humour. He played ‘Robert’ so well because he is understanding and empathetic to individuals facing challenges and/or limitations.

    Regardless of my obvious bias, I was overwhelmed by the outstanding performance of ‘Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun’. Every cast member was so true to their role and very entertaining. In speaking and overhearing others in the audience that day, we were not alone in our praises. Your review as well was being commented on – all hoping in the future we can see another such wonderful performance!!!

The opinions expressed by contributors to Theatre in London.ca are those of the authors only. They do not necessarily represent or reflect the position of the editor, webmaster or other contributors.