The Tragically Hip musical sharpens its sleek choreography and emotional focus with resounding vocal work.
Sometimes a second viewing reveals how fully a theatrical work has settled into its story. At the Kingston opening of It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken, a musical built around songs by local band The Tragically Hip, the production appears more assured in its pacing, movement and emotional framing. The show’s central concerns remain cultural displacement, belonging and the cost of building a life in a new country. Its refrain – “For a good life we may have to weaken… and find somewhere to grow” – carries gravitas in Waleed’s struggle to reconcile two cultures.
Set in 2002, the musical follows Waleed (Ali Momen), an exiled Iraqi journalist who arrives in Canada and takes a job at a Kingston café. He begins a relationship with music-store owner Kate (Talia Schlanger), but family obligations draw him back toward Baghdad, forcing the couple to weigh affection against duty and uncertainty.
Mary Francis Moore’s direction, first seen in the Theatre Aquarius staging, remains confident and visually coherent. Scott Penner’s set places large concrete pillars covered with Tragically Hip lyrics in English and Arabic at the centre of the action, giving the production a strong image of intersecting cultures. Joyce Padua’s muted costumes keep the characters grounded in an everyday, working-class world. Jason Hand’s lighting focuses on the quieter dramatic moments.
Marc Kimelman’s choreography is a notable strength. The ensemble movement now looks cleaner and more purposeful, from the patterned opening of “Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)” through the finale, “Ahead by a Century.” The sharper physical vocabulary helps sustain momentum and gives the production a more unified frame.
Ranil Sonnadara’s sound design serves the intimate duets effectively. “Bobcaygeon,” performed by Momen and Schlanger, is among the evening’s most affecting musical moments. In some full-company numbers, however, the band occasionally overpowers the singers, obscuring lyrics that are central to the storytelling.
Across the company, the performances have gained depth. Anguish, uncertainty and compassion emerge more clearly, strengthening the musical’s argument that people cannot be reduced to first impressions or cultural labels.
Karim Butt brings an easy charm and growing authority to Sam, the mysterious narrator whose identity is revealed near the end. Tahirih Vejdani gives Didi, the café owner (where Waleed takes a job), a steady compassion, particularly in her support of Jonathan, Kate’s brother. Brandon McGibbon charts Jonathan’s shift from abrasive, uncouth irresponsibility to greater emotional openness, without smoothing over the character’s flaws.
Kevin McLachlan plays Lucas, Waleed’s roommate, with broad comic ease as what one used to call a ‘stoner’ years ago. McLachlan finds unexpected tenderness in Lucas’s response to a devastating event in Waleed’s life, revealing emotional depth beneath the character’s comic exterior. Rebecca Auerbach’s Abigail, a newspaper editor, is crisp and unsentimental; her sustained confidence in Waleed provides an important counterweight during his most difficult period.
Ali Momen gives Waleed a convincing combination of reserve and urgency. This time around, Momen’s honour and pride in who Waleed is and has become become a confident, motivating factor in developing his relationship with Talia Schlanger’s Kate. Schlanger’s assured vocal performance commands attention, combining technical control with an emotional directness that gives Kate’s musical passages considerable dramatic weight.
This Kingston engagement is a more polished and persuasive version of the production. Its strongest elements – the central performances, disciplined choreography and integration of The Tragically Hip’s music – keep the story rooted in character rather than nostalgia. The uneven balance in some ensemble numbers remains a distraction, but it does not diminish the production’s broader achievement.
It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken presents cultural survival not as a slogan but as an ongoing negotiation among memory, responsibility and belonging. In Kingston, where the music resonates especially strongly, that theme lands with added force.
Running time: Approximately two hours and 10 minutes, with no interval.
The production runs through November 8 at the Kingston Grand Theatre, 218 Princess Street. For tickets: 1000islandsplayhouse.com/the-tragically-hip/ or 613-530-2050.
THOUSAND ISLANDS PLAYHOUSE in partnership with THEATRE AQUARIUS, produced with permission of David and Hannah Mirvish and Michael Rubinoff, co-producers The National Arts Centre and its National Creation Fund present
It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken
A New Musical with Songs by The Tragically Hip
Book by Ahmed Moneka and Jesse LaVercombe
Orchestrations and Music Supervision by Bob Foster
Music Direction and Additional Orchestrations by Richard Evans
Directed by Mary Francis Moore
Choreographed by Marc Kimelman
Set Designer: Scott Penner
Costume Designer: Joyce Padua
Lighting Designer: Jason Hand
Sound Designer: Ranil Sonnadara
Stage Manager: Beatrice Campbell
Band: Adam Diderrich, Richard Evans, Steven Foster, David Gray, Jon Maharaj, Andrew Murray, Dobrochna Zubek
Cast: Rebecca Auerbach, Dharma Sizier, Michelle Bouey, Karim Butt, Sameer Cash, Alyssa Curto, Brandon McGibbon, Kevin McLachlan, Ali Momen, Kale Penny, Talia Schlanger and Tahirih Vejdani.
