REVIEW: Homegrown musical comedy Grow captivates, charms
Canadian theatre is welcoming a fun, contemporary and inspiring new musical into the fold.
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Canadian theatre is welcoming a fun, contemporary and inspiring new musical into the fold.
Grow, its world premiere at London’s Grand Theatre Friday, is a celebration of sisterhood, family and community in a unique and inclusive way that will send audiences home with a song on their lips and bounce in their step.
You don’t need to smoke a joint to enjoy this story, which also celebrates the virtues of cannabis. It’s pure fun, supported by a wonderful musical score that moves the story and adds to the emotional punch.
There’s a lot to enjoy in this new musical comedy — with book by Sarnia’s Matt Murray, music by Colleen Dauncey and lyrics by Akiva Romer-Segal — if only because there are so few, if any, that tell such a uniquely Canadian story in a universally entertaining way.
Director Dennis Garnhum, who has been involved with this show’s development for several years and championed it through the Grand’s COMPASS new play development program, delivers a musical that never loses sight of the story, the clarity allowing the audience just to sit back and enjoy.
Grow tells the story of Amish twins Hannah (Arinea Hermans) and Ruth (Jenny Weisz), who have reached adulthood and must decide whether to be baptized or leave the community. Hannah chooses to follow the tradition of Rumspringa, where a young person is given time to experience the outside world for a year before deciding. Her decision shocks the Amish community, which expected her to stay and marry the anxious and determined Samuel (Izad Etemadi).
But Hannah’s father (Sweeney MacArthur) agrees to the Rumspringa, provided she takes the more conservative and reluctant Ruth with her.
The twins head to Toronto where they were to stay with an uncle but arrive to discover he’s moved away. Instead, they meet a down-on-his-luck drug dealer, Skor (Adam Sanders), whose illegal marijuana grow operation is struggling to compete with the new government-licensed dispensaries because of the low quality of his dope.
When Skor discovers Ruth’s genius for growing things, he gives the sisters a place to stay provided Ruth takes care of the plants and Hannah keeps house, advising both to stay clear of Alexis (Masini McDermott), who has just opened a legal dispensary nearby and who, Skor worries, might call police.
Ruth’s green thumb delivers, catapulting the storyline into the 21st century with all its good and evil and a smorgasbord of choices for the twins, both practical and personal.
There’s far more to love about this show than not.
It’s hard to believe Hermans and Weisz aren’t real-life sisters. From their physicality to their personalities to their performances, they are believable and their vocals lovely. They look and behave like sisters, exuding warmth and kindness, naivety and innocence, yet with an inner strength that grows throughout the show.
Their wonderful performances are matched by the support of an outstanding ensemble that includes Ann Paula Bautista (Emma/Brenda), Etemadi (Samuel/Owen), Sanders (Skor/Jacob), Christina Gordon (Sarah/Gloria), Taran Kim (Moses/Kevin), MacArthur (Father/Larry), Andrew McAllister (Ephraim/Alan), Clea McCaffrey (Martha/Janis), McDermott (Mary/Alexis) and Jan Alexandra Smith (Miriam/Susan/police officer).
Sanders and Etemadi each deliver memorable performances.
Etemadi is hilarious as Samuel, who is in love with Hannah and her considerable housekeeping skills, but also anxious to grow a beard, which he can do only once he marries.
Sanders’ Skor is a wonderfully nuanced character, not a really tough, street-wise drug dealer, but more of a bright but laid-back and lonely dude just trying to survive and searching for his true calling. His vocals are excellent.
There are a couple of romances in the story that are deliciously tender, sweet and believable.
There are also a couple of wonderful treats for the audience, starting with McDermott, who plays Alexis, a young but determined businesswoman trying to establish a cannabis store. Her vocals are simply sublime.
Another treat — in fact, a surprise and delight — is Smith, who has starred in several shows at the Grand, including her gender-busting role as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Johannah Donnelly in Vigilante and The Bird Lady in Mary Poppins.
Smith gets credit in the program for her bits as the stern Amish woman Miriam and the tattooed toughie Susan, but not for a police officer who arrives in a scene that the talented Smith steals and the audience appreciates with applause.
The songs help drive the story and deliver the emotional punch that makes this show memorable. From the opening number, Hand in Hand, to the closing Make It Home, there’s not a weak tune in the mix as the lyrics tug at your heartstrings or move you to laughter. Two songs I particularly enjoyed are The One I Choose, sung by Skor and Ruth, and Wherever You Go, I Will Go, led by Hannah and Ruth with support from the entire ensemble.
Dauncey’s vocal arrangements leave nothing to be desired. They are clean and clear, the music performed flawlessly by the orchestra directed by Andrew Petrasiunas with lovely arrangements and orchestrations by music supervisor Wayne Gwillim.
The set, designed by Bretta Gerecke, is brilliant, serving first as an Amish kitchen, then a Toronto streetscape, the scenery projected on panels above a raked or slightly elevated stage.
There were times in both acts when the show, which runs about two hours and 20 minutes, seemed to sag a little, suggesting it may need a little tightening, but certainly not in a big way.
Like a breath of fresh country spring air, Grow has finally arrived after its 2020 postponement due the pandemic and was well worth the wait.
IF YOU GO
What: world premiere of Grow, a musical comedy, presented by the Grand Theatre, directed by Dennis Garnhum
When: Until April 30
Where: Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond St.
Tickets: All seats $50, available online at grandtheatre.com, by calling 519-672-8800 or in person at the box office
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