Put four guys on a golf course, add a dash of awkward history and a bucket of humour and that is the formula for Norm Foster’s golfing comedy The Foursome, set to tee off at the Town Hall Theatre here on May 6.
Foster, a Canadian playwright has crafted a story that could play out on any set of links. Four college buddies get together for a round of golf while attending a class reunion. They haven’t kept in touch, but waste no time catching up, and are soon bickering, bantering, and betting back and forth throughout a chaotic contest anyone, golfer or not, will quickly relate to.
Under the direction of John Hogg, the Grey Wellington Theatre Guild production features Scott Cooper of Drayton, Trent Heipel of Walkerton, and Harriston residents Dan Bieman and Patrick Raftis. Cooper was on stage most recently when the guild staged the female version of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple; Heipel was last seen in the comedy Noises Off; Raftis has appeared in productions ranging from The Sound of Music to The Amorous Ambassador, and Bieman first appeared on stage, playing multiple roles, in the musical Annie.
“It’s a typical Norm Foster play,” based on real life situations,” said Hogg, adding, “It’s laugh-out-loud funny.”
The Grey Wellington Theatre Guild operates from the Harriston town hall theatre. The group attracts actors and audiences from the entire Grey-Wellington area and beyond, and has staged over 100 productions since its inception in 1973. It has a long history of producing well-known favourites and innovative modern shows.
In recent years, such popular musical productions as Oliver, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and The Sound of Music have played on the GWTG stage. The guild stages productions each spring and fall, but in recent years has often added a third, either around Christmas or in the spring.
“We’re becoming an increasingly active and diversified group and we’re always glad to welcome new members, whether they are interested in performing, or working behind the scenes,” said GWTG president Peggy Raftis.
In the past 18 months alone, the guild has staged The Female Odd Couple, the drama Marion Bridge, the musical Annie, a summer children’s production, and offered a series of acting classes.
Another children’s production is set for this summer, with casting set for May 3 at 7:30pm at the theatre,
Next fall, the group will host its second Grand Talent competition, which features performers from across mid-western Ontario competing for $1,000 in prize money.
The Foursome will be staged May 6, 7, 13, 14 at 7:30pm and May 15 at 2pm. For tickets ($15) or information call 519-338-2778. For information on the guild go to www.guelpharts.ca/gwtg.
