Donald and Lenore: One drink is not enough
Felix Culpa has done an admirable job with a challenging script. Playwright Tom Cone's latest opus, Donald and Lenore, is a surreal journey with two characters going nowhere in a made-up paradise of sorts. Set in a Polynesian-inspired Tiki Room underneath an unnamed airport, ex-con Donald performs nightly in a tiki room act with his boss Lenore. Depending on her mood, she calls him either "Jailbait" or "Donald #7". They seem to have creative differences - Donald wants to share his highly inappropriate stand-up act about his former cellmate Hernando while Lenore insists on pretending it is their big 10th anniversary show for the third time this month.
Linda Quibell is a strong presence as the domineering Lenore. In keeping with the tropical motif, she shows a lot of skin as a fifty-something broad who is just trying to get by (with a little help from government subsidies for employing parolees such as Donald). In contrast, Billy Marchenski brings a curious tenderness to the role of Donald. He seems to be a lost child, sent to prison for robbing overpaid insurance companies who he thinks did not need the money anyway. They are trapped in an imaginary paradise where neither truly belongs.
The creative team has done an amazing job transforming the Wosk Auditorium at the Jewish Community Centre into a rundown Tiki Room - complete with leis and seashell-strewn sandy table centrepieces. You can grab a drink at the bar before the show (and you may need two or three because I found one was definitely not enough). This play reminded me of the experience I had at "Broiler" (a solo show directed by Craig Hall and performed by Jamie Long) where the protagonist was throwing a dinner party but he was a terribly unpleasant host telling me a story that seemed to go nowhere. Despite the fine performances by Quibell and Marchenski, Donald and Lenore is cut from the same cloth - I just didn't want to spend time with these people nor did I understand the point of their story. If you can figure it out, let me know and I'll buy you a beer.