After mounting the Anne, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins and others FootlooseJust for Laughs breaks with its tradition with Hate, a raw, daring and mind-blowing new musical. And the result, carried by performers of great talent, is like a breath of fresh air.
The premiere of the musical took an unexpected turn on Monday night when a power outage interrupted the second act. Was this technical problem going to cut off the show from its finale? This is what we first believed when the staff of the Théâtre St-Denis proceeded to evacuate the premises after several minutes of darkness.
But a few moments later, the electricity returned to the room, allowing the troupe to conclude the program of the evening, after a forced break of about twenty minutes.
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As potentially catastrophic as it is, this event fit perfectly with Hate, a musical that calls for a certain casualness and whose execution is intended to be experimental and, let’s face it, deliberately messy. The show is also an immersion in the daily life of young hippies at the end of the 1960s, their demands – including free love, peace and tolerance – serving as a common thread, much more than a coherent narrative framework. .
Drugs and nudity
At the start of the program, the performers of the show cross the hall to go on stage, strolling for a long time in the aisles, [faux] attached by hand, time to greet the public and set the mood. Already, the tone is set. We add more from the first issue with many gags under the belt and nudity, just to display the colors of the show perfectly. Because yes, Hate, it’s raw. It is libidinous, suggestive and provocative.
The show is also intended for an audience aged 13 and over, an indication that should not be taken lightly: because if nudity – sometimes frontal, what is more – comes to interfere in the plot a a handful of times, the characters on stage praise, among other things, free love, drugs, threesomes and sodomy.
In short, we are here miles away fromAnne and its innocent orphans, a musical presented last summer as part of this same festival. A certain level of maturity is therefore necessary to properly identify – and appreciate – Hate at its true value.
- Listen to Marianne Bessette’s column, research journalist via QUB-radio :
Talent to spare
Less accessible than some past Just for Laughs offerings, Hate however, is no less entertaining or successful. Because there is talent per square inch on the stage of the Théâtre St-Denis where more than thirty artists perform at each performance.
Among these, Kevin Houle shines particularly strong in the skin of a deliciously playful and perfectly invested George Berger. The actor – also an outstanding singer and dancer – firmly holds the reins of the show, once again showing immeasurable talent. Philippe Touzel meanwhile returns to our stages in an equally exemplary form, strengthened by the experience acquired on the stages of France over the past four years.
Alongside them, Éléonore Lagacé and Sarah-Maude Desgagnés amaze just as much with their vocal prowess that perfectly suits the Aquarius And Let the Sunshine In, centerpieces of the show. Special mentions, too, to the colorful and inventive staging by Serge Denoncourt and the breathtaking choreography by Wynn Holmes.
Hate So although it may be a denser show than what Just for Laughs has accustomed us to, it proves beyond any doubt that Quebecers are ready for more thorny, even controversial musical works that entertain as much as they make you think. So we come out of this show disheveled, entertained and, above all, filled with a thirst for life.
And we know we’ll be humming the tunes for several more days.
- Musical comedy Hate is presented at the Théâtre St-Denis until July 30. It will be shown at the Salle Albert-Rousseau in Quebec City starting December 12.