Whoa, the stars were aligned at the Press opening of Hosanna. Not only was the the former artistic and executive director here, Roy Surette, who planned this production for Centaur, but the new artistic director, Eda Holmes, who was thrilled to be presenting it – but also – Maurice Podbrey (and wife Elsa), the founding artistic and executive director – AND – the author, Michel Tremblay. All were delighted with the show, as well they should be.
Writing this in 1971, Michel Tremblay was far ahead of the general population’s knowledge of the LGBTQ+ community. In the play he speaks to the gender roles imposed by society at that time, and hope for eventual self-acceptance. Holmes refers to this in her Director’s notes: “the narrow structures of gender and identity that were available at the time”. We have to applaud his bravery.
Eloi Archambeaudoin revisits his Table D’Hote Theatre role as Hosanna, hairdresser during the day to drag queen at night. The grander Centaur stage was a tabla rosa for lighting designer Audrey-Anne Bouchard to transform Claude Lemieux-rural boy into Hosanna-drag queen, using the uncomfortable giant flashing neon sign “BEAUBIEN” (tip of the hat to Montreal), to the David statue spotlight and the overall red light district red room.
The play reveals the painful sparring between the diva and her boyfriend, Cuirette playing hardass-leather- dude style by Davide Chiazzese. He fights back at her by putting the uncomfortable problems in her face, “You go to bed with makeup on because you don’t want to see who’s underneath”. He knows Hosanna is stuck “between a woman’s face and a man’s body”. She knows how to spit back, referring to his job as washer woman by day and cowboy by night.
Who in this world doesn’t sometimes wish they could dress up and be someone else? Hosanna hits on this when she proclaims, “I know everyone who is gay in Montreal – even when they don’t know it themselves”.
Tremblay shows us how we all work on our outsides but really need to be working on our insides. Director Mike Payette notes what a timeless story this really is, because all couples have to face “their notions of love, and how they can exist together”.
Location 453 St-Francois-Xavier
corner: Notre-Dame
Tel: 514-288-3161
Dates: til June 10
Prices: $38.50 – $51.75 (includes deals for students and seniors)
www.centaurtheatre.com
Metro: Place d’Armes
photos by Andrée Lanthier
