After directing starkly realistic plays about paranoia and exploding relationships, Matt Grue said his stint as director of Central Alberta Theatre’s frothy murder-mystery The Psychic has been as good as a vacation.
“It’s been pretty rejuvenating, actually,” said Grue, who agreed to helm CAT’s next comedy after another director stepped down from the production.
Grue started out in community theatre productions before graduating from Red Deer College and becoming artistic director of the professional company Ignition Theatre.
Taking a break from edgy dramas to work on a play without deep themes and with an enthusiastic cast of amateur actors is turning out to be very enjoyable, he said. “It’s nice to be back. . . . This kind of takes the pressure off.”
The Psychic, by Sam Bobrick, opens at City Centre Stage on Friday, March 16. It’s about a down-at-heel murder-mystery writer called Adam, who tries passing himself off as a psychic to earn extra cash.
Adam’s first customer is a beautiful woman named Laura, who’s harbouring secret suspicions about her husband. He’s taken out a large life insurance policy on her and is taking her to Paris, despite being broke.
Laura at first doubts Adam’s veracity as a forecaster of the future. But as his predictions begin coming true, a motley assortment of characters start showing up at his door, including Laura’s husband, Roy, his mistress, Rita, and a gangster named Johnny Bubbles.
Grue said most of the play’s characters are “horrible stereotypes” — most notably Bubbles, a mobster right out of Standard Casting, with grey flecked hair, a pin-stripe suit, and an ever-present cigarette clenched between his teeth.
But it all contributes to laughs in this broad comedy by the playwright best known for writing for the Smothers’ Brothers Comedy Hour and the often-produced play Norman, Is That You?
Grue describes The Psychic as “very light, frothy and entertaining. It’s good for a few laughs and clips along at a good pace. It should be a fun night at the theatre.”
The cast of six is made up of several CAT veterans, including Michael Sutherland, Derek Olinek and Tara Rorke.
Adam is played by Jeremy Robinson, who’s been in several Ignition productions and is a regular with Red Deer’s Bull Skit! comedy troupe.
“Everybody’s here for the right reasons — because they love it,” said Grue, whose biggest challenge has been assessing all the comic pratfalls to see what best tickles the audience’s funny bone.
“I try to see if something’s funny or ridiculous. If it’s just ridiculous, we get rid of it. . . .
“But there’s a lot of goofing off that goes on,” he said with a laugh. “There are lots of fun moments.”
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com