The absurdly raunchy humour, musings, and stylings of marionette artist Ronnie Burkett have gloriously returned to Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Street Theatre for a near five-week run of the marvellous Little Willy.
I had the chance to see Burkett’s Little Dickens twice: once in Toronto and once in Montreal during the Christmas season a few years ago. I wasn’t a show virgin coming in to see Willy, as many audience members around me were. (You’ll understand that reference when you see the show.)
Canadian Stage describes this highly enjoyable but adult opening night as a sassy take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. While Willy is sassy and saucy (especially in the dick-pick jokes of the show’s title), our beloved Ronnie makes the show something so much more.
At the top of Little Willy, Ronnie comes out to speak to the audience. He’s personable, witty, and gregarious. There’s also a hint that the show will include audience participation. Spoiler alert: there is, and Burkett doesn’t pick from people sitting in the front row. Three men pulled from the audience are asked to remove something they are wearing. I’m not going to spoil that hilarious bit, dear reader; I’m sure you know what Ronnie asks of these guys.
Burlesque star Dolly Wiggler opens the evening’s shenanigans with a satirical peek-a-boo, bump-and-grind striptease in the beloved manner of famed artist Gypsy Rose Lee. A cavalcade of wonderful marionette re-creations of leading ladies and characters (Shakespeare himself and Jesus Christ are only two) unfolds throughout the evening as the attempt to perform Romeo & Juliet takes a backseat. The catfight between two of the fading theatre stars (Esme Masingill and Jolie Jolie) over who will play the 16-year-old ingenue is a riot, especially since the conversation centres on community theatre in the Durham Region, just east of the Greater Toronto Area, where I live.
Two beloved Dickens characters also appear in Willy: Masingill and Schnitzel. The former is a boozy, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed, bitter combination of Carol Burnett’s and Patti LuPone’s Norma Desmond. Schnitzel is a fairy who speaks with a childlike, gentle whisper, whose closing remarks at the end of the show made me appreciate and value just what and who I have in my life.
Burkett worked his ‘thing’ off in Dickens. He’s working his ‘thing’ off in Willy. He’s the curtain puller. He’s the set changer. He’s the emcee. He devises unique voices for the marionettes while dutifully maintaining the show’s at times frenetic pacing with amazing stamina. Sometimes he calls out to Stage Manager Crystal Salverda to remind him where he is in the story, and that’s highly understandable given the ad-lib improvisation throughout the show.
But we need artists like our beloved Ronnie Burkett right now more than ever.
He loves what he’s doing. He loves performing and improvising.
Given the state of our world today, he reminds us that it is alright to smile, think, reflect and ponder. Burkett’s cavalcade of archetypal marionettes, from nerdy librarian to drunken diva, helps us enjoy both a good belly laugh and a moment to appreciate what we do have in our lives.
I’ll take that any day.
And I’ll take seeing Little Willy once again up in Gananoque this summer at the Firehall Theatre of the Thousand Islands Playhouse.
Go see it at Berkeley Street and then make a getaway to Gan this summer.
Running time: approximately one hour and 45 minutes. Given the spontaneity and improvisation, the running time for each show may vary.
The production runs to April 5 at the Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street, Toronto. For tickets: canadianstage.com or call 1-416-368-3110.
A PRODUCTION OF RONNIE BURKETT THEATRE OF MARIONETTES
Presented by Canadian Stage
Little Willy Created and Performed by Ronnie Burkett
Marionettes, Costume and Set Design by Ronnie Burkett
Music and Lyrics and Music Production by John Alcorn
Dramaturge: Tanja Jacobs
Production Manager/Artistic Associate: Terri Gillis
Stage Manager/Technical Director: Crystal Salverda
