All Hail the 'Queen'

By Gabriel Morales
For the Real Critics Blog

Special thanks to director Mel Chadwick and the cast of Riverside Community Players' "Queen Milli of Galt" for giving me some of the best theatre I have seen in... a while. And I see a lot.

Reader's theatre is a strange thing. With its dim lighting, minimal staging, and black-clad, script-schlepping actors, reader's theatre has a more voyeuristic quality than traditional productions. Rather than (hopefully) feeling as if you're watching people's lives pass before you, it's almost as if one has stolen into a private rehearsal where the company is testing out a new script before deciding whether to fully produce it. Such a setting makes the playwright and his words the focal point, since there isn't much else to grasp one's attention.

Not so with "Milli." The cast's subtle, realistic portrayals were a joy to watch. Exchanges between Alexis Rafter (Milli of Galt) and Adam Demerath (Edward) were especially poignant and enthralling, crackling with well-timed wit and believable desire.

In viewing this modest production, with its two-day run and $20 budget, a simple truth was illuminated: theatre is enjoyable -- indeed valuable -- when it reveals the truth of the human spirit and condition through genuinely talented actors. All else is garnish.

Next at Riverside Community Players is "The Mousetrap," opening March 19. Visit www.riversidecommunityplayers.com for details.