One of the best ways to beat the dreary, rainy days that dog us this time of year is to shelter yourself in live theatre - and laugh.
"We do surveys asking our audiences what they prefer to see and comedies are generally at the top of the list," said Stage 43's Jim Harrison, producer of the romantic-comedy Ethan Claymore, which hits Coquitlam's Evergreen Cultural Centre stage tomorrow night at 8 p.m, for the first of seven shows to kick off the troupe's 30th season.
Ethan is a widower of five years and living a solitary life as an egg farmer when Douglas, his friend and neighbour, grows determined to get his life back on track. Douglas awakes Ethan late one night and offers him a must-do list to break his slump and, before long, gets an unexpected ally to help: the ghost of Ethan's deceased brother.
Both try their best to show Ethan that life is not be taken for granted, with proof coming when an attractive, intelligent female school teacher comes calling. Scripted by seasoned playwright Norman Foster and set in small-town Ontario in 1978, Ethan Claymore is a true celebration of the importance of friends and family.
Foster himself says, "It's the stories that touch an audience's heart as well as its funnybone that are the most rewarding."
And offers Ric Wellwood of CFLP Radio, "[It's] a story which warms the heart, coaxes the occasional tear and paints the kind of world we think we deserve."
Ethan Claymore runs Thursday through Saturday at Evergreen (1205 Pinetree Way) at 8 p.m., along with a 2 p.m. Sunday performance. It returns Oct. 19 to 22 at the same venue and night time start.
For tickets and/or more information, visit www.stage43.org or call the Evergreen box office at 604-927-6555.
lpruner@tricitynews.com
