Heather Latter
Although they haven’t performed in three years, Fort Frances Little Theatre pulled off a successful production of the comedy “Office Hours,” which was part of a dinner theatre event at the Copper River Inn last Thursday through Saturday.
“It went really well,” enthused director Cathy Richards. “I’m glad we did it.
“We needed to do something,” she reasoned.
Richards said she wanted to “shake off some of the dust from our equipment, see what we have,” revitalize the group, and gather new actors to stage the production.
“And that’s what we did,” she remarked, noting the cast consisted of seasoned performers, actors who haven’t taken the stage in years, young but experienced actors, and absolute beginners.
They include Joyce McCormick, Brian Hagarty, Cynthia Donald, Rob Tovey, Charleen Mallory, Kathi Gagne, Jason Kabel, Johnathan Price, Brittany Hayes, Susie Tilley, Matt Soprovich, and Duane Hicks.
Richards said she was inspired to stage “Office Hours” after seeing it last year in Sioux Lookout with McCormick and Christine Denby, where FFLT alumus Laurie Walsh was performing in it.
“It was funny—we laughed out loud,” Richards recalled.
She thought “Office Hours” would be a perfect play to do as dinner theatre here, given its simple set design and compact story.
“Office Hours,” written by Canadian playwright Norm Foster, explores the everyday concerns of people working in small-time offices.
Richards said Walsh saw the FFLT performance this weekend and noted it was different than the one in Sioux Lookout.
“So it’s nice to see that different people bring different things to the table,” she remarked, adding it was a different type of production than she has directed before.
“Office Hours” features six separate scenes, with many of the cast members only working with those in their scene.
“Some didn’t even meet each other until the week before the show because each scene was rehearsing separately,” Richards explained.
“But everyone connected and worked together really well.”
Richards also said it was nice coupling the production with the dinner.
“Copper River Inn was very accommodating,” she stressed, noting the new owner there was very enthusiastic about trying out that type of event.
They offered up a spring mix salad and chicken saltimbocca, followed by wildberry charlotte for dessert.
“People told me they enjoyed the food and liked being served, and that it was a really good show,” Richards said, noting they had good crowds all three nights, with Saturday being sold-out.
“We wanted to get new people involved—and we did,” she added.
“You take a chance on them and it’s always a win-win situation.
“They were naturals,” she remarked. “We had lots to work with.
“It was nice to have some new energy coming in.”
Richards revealed some of the actors even battled illness during the production.
“But they knew the show must go on and they pulled through like professionals,” she lauded.
“I’m very proud.”
And Richards said she doesn’t expect that FFLT will wait another three years for its next performance.
“We have a lot of people interested to do something else,” she noted, though saying it might not be a dinner theatre.
“We’re looking for a balance,” she remarked. “We might write something.”
She also indicated it’s possible FFLT will do a fundraiser for Riverside Health Care sometime down the road.
