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Cow Patti Theatre Company takes off with Here on the Flight Path

Production opens Valentine’s Day at the Lacombe Golf and Country Club
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FINISHING TOUCHES - Cow Patti Theatre Company’s new show, Here on the Flight Path , opens Feb. 14th at the Lacombe Golf and Country Club. Pictured here are actors Debra Hale and Brian Young during a recent rehearsal. Mark Weber/Lacombe Express

Cow Patti Theatre Company’s next production — set to hit the stage Feb. 14th — will be Norm Foster’s Here on the Flight Path.

Described as a poignant comedy, the play tells the story of novelist John Cummings who lives on the edge of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. Shows run through to March 11th at the Lacombe Golf and Country Club.

Over the course of about three years, three different women move in next door. There is the sophisticated consultant Fay. There’s the Alberta-born wannabe country singer Angel. And finally there is sad and single driving instructor Gwen who hails from Vancouver.

According to the synopsis, although the novel John set out to write never gets started, John learns plenty from the three ladies as the plot unfolds.

“Norm Foster’s trademark is to create characters that resonate with the audience,” notes a release from Cow Patti. “In Here on the Flight Path, people will recognize themselves or other people they know — that takes it beyond just funny to insightful.

“Foster’s one-liners pull out all the stops, his characters are both funny and genuinely human, the pace is rapier quick and the laughter never ceases.”

Also unique about this particular play is that Foster has John speak directly to the audience from time to time.

Directed by Cow Patti founder and artistic director AnnaMarie Lea, the show stars Brian Young (who also appeared in The Christmas Express last year) and Debra Hale (last seen in The Ladies Foursome).

“It’s a nice story in terms of John Cummings, who really has an arc to his story,” explained Young of his character. “He’s very much a bachelor.

“There are a lot of changes that happen for John during this three and one-half year period over which this play takes. What’s also fun is that he interacts with the audience - he’s telling the story. So he keeps going in and out, back and forth - and that’s a fun thing to be able to play with each night because each night will be different.”

For Hale, tackling three characters isn’t as tough as it might seem because they are all so starkly different from each other.

“You start with a strong script - they are all written so completely differently, so really it’s not an issue. They are completely different - their energies are different, their life experiences are different. Their goals, needs and even their reasons for being in this apartment are so different that really, that ‘s the easy part,” she explained with a laugh.

As for Foster, Hale said the acclaimed playwright is outstanding at writing roles for women.

“They are really fun to play because there are a lot of levels. There’s the funny lines, but there’s a lot of heart to his characters because they have real lives. They have real life experiences - they’ve lived through things that are sometimes hurtful, but they also have a kind of ‘brightness’ about them, too, that comes out in the comedy.”

Young agreed.

“It’s the dialogue that I really love about it. He drops in these funny lines, but they are always in a very real situation,” he noted, adding that even in the comparatively serious scenes, there’s often glints of humour woven in.

“Even when things are serious, we try to find the humour in our lives. And I think he really nails that.”

Lea said that Foster indeed allows the audience to feel things, but he ultimately only lets them go so far.

“It’s comedy with heart,” she said. “There has never been one of his shows that I’ve ever been in or directed, where the audience doesn’t walk out light-hearted; with a positive feeling. Nobody walks out of here feeling down.

“Norm Foster’s shows also work so well in rural Canada - even though this play takes place in Toronto. His plays, I find, always make people feel like they are a part of it, that they know someone who is like a certain character. I love that about his shows, that they are common folk that everybody can really relate to whether they see something in themselves or in others.

“Working with Brian and Deb is such a treat, too. Audiences are just going to love them.”

Both actors are quick to sing the praises of their director as well. They’ve each worked with Lea in the past.

“She’s very organic in the way she puts it together. A lot of directors have a book, and say, ‘Ok, you’ve got to do it like this, you’ve got to turn here, say the line this way’. AnnaMarie is organic - with her it’s a growing process; you have to figure out what’s going on, and that’s a great thing about her.”

Meanwhile, opening weekend includes a chance to win a trip to Fairmont Hot Springs Resort with the annual Stage Kiss Competition. There will also be six benefit performances.

For tickets, or more information, check out www.cowpatti.com.



Mark Weber

About the Author: Mark Weber

I've been a part of the Black Press Media family for about a dozen years now, with stints at the Red Deer Express, the Stettler Independent, and now the Lacombe Express.
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