Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Selby’s Lennox Community Theatre’s production season will wrap up with a live-action staging of Daniel Fenton’s Belongings, a light-hearted comedy mixed with a bit of a drama.
Opening on May 31, the plot revolves around three generations of a family dealing with the passing of their mother/sister/grandmother. An estate sale is planned until granddaughters Jimmie (played by Elizabeth Mueller) and Katy (Laini Montpetit) protest by locking the door and taking their grandmother’s house hostage.
“It’s a light hearted look on losing a family member,” explains director Tami Montpetit. “You’ve got every character on stage. You’ve got somebody who is flat out grieving, not worried about the material things, you’ve got somebody who is avoiding the death. You have two kids who are trying to cope with it as well as trying to learn through the other female influences in the family how to deal with grandma’s loss. It has some light zippy comedy as well to break up the storyline.”
When the kids lock the house just as guests are about to arrive to the estate sale, it’s up to great-aunt Ella (Shirley Stewart), the girls’ mother Renny (Amy Mack) and her sister Gene (Hayley Scanlan) to try and get them to open the door. Meanwhile the adults come face-to-face with their own family issues, dealing with sibling rivalry and the loss of the family’s matriarch.
“It’s definitely a family show,” said Montpetit. “It is a subject that everybody deals with, unfortunately. It sends a really good message.”
Montpetit says part of what drew her to the play was the fact it had roles for kids, which allows Lennox Community Theatre to live up to its mandate of being a true community theatre. Including the younger generation allows the volunteer-run theatre to continue to grow. Offering roles for all ages has seen a spike in interest for the theatre.
“We had a lot of people come out for auditions, which is a great problem to have,” added Montpetit, noting that every single role in the play had auditions. There’s also been an increase in younger volunteers helping out behind the scenes.
Belongings will have a 10 show run with 8 p.m. shows on May 31, June 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15 with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees on June 2 and 9. Tickets are $18 regular admission, $15 for seniors on Sundays and $12 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased online at www.LennoxTheatre.ca/tickets or at the door, if available. Lennox Community Theatre is located at 2219 County Rd. 11 in Selby. Following Belonging’s run, the theatre will enter its summer hiatus season and will return in the autumn with a new season.