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FASS 2003: Libby Ral (Michelle Zakrison) chooses Dwight Winger (Anthony Dharmasurya) to be her prince by hitting him with a pie.

FASS 1998 - Imprint review

This review appeared in the February 13, 1998, issue of Imprint.

"Take a bow, the night is over...."

by Lisa Johnson, Imprint staff

FASS (Faculty, Alumni, Staff, and Students) had their opening night last Thursday after a long and arduous schedule of rehearsals. With a cast of at least seventy, the production must have been a huge undertaking for director Pauline Bonnici, who managed to pull it off successfully. The musical was well-received and the writers, director, and cast did a commendable job. However, it was not without its flaws, most of which can probably be attributed to opening night jitters. Highlights included the vocal prowess of principal singers Punam Ahuja and Paul Royston; along with the acting talents of Heather Grainger (Chrys), Mike Heimann (Brian), Laura Huddleston (Ellen), Liana Launay (Beth), Cara Thomas (Ambassador), and James Zante (Prince Pablo - who looks like Rene, the lead singer from Aqua. And what play would be complete without two bearded guys in gowns wearing lipstick, an ever-present sleeping guy in SLC, a juggler, a mime, and shameless Canadian references to maple syrup, poutine, and Tim Horton's?

However, the show could have done without the perpetuation of stereotypes, including the short-haired, horny, militant, raving feminist lesbian wearing a 'Down with Men' button, coupled with the 'all you need is a good man' man, the computer geek, the drunk jocks, and the Mexican. This aside, the production was very enjoyable. Most of its success comes down to the writing - it was extremely funny and flowed smoothly. The humour was intelligent and often anachronistic, employing mostly inside jokes among University of Waterloo staff and students, ie. "Why would you come to Waterloo in search of women, this is an Engineering school!" Upon the suggestion of a friend, it bears mentioning that this is not a Broadway musical, nor does it purport to be.

The musical numbers cleverly parodied (spoofed? satirized? honoured?) popular songs such as ABBA's "Waterloo" (of course!), "Wannabe," by the Spice Girls, and "Waltz for Eva and Che," from Evita. Taking "What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor" and turning it into "Why Must You Fight a Strong Libido" was pure genius, while "Waterloo" and "Birth Control Blues" were the standout songs of the performance.

A quick synopsis of the storyline: Prince Pablo de Sarasate of Padua arrives at UW in search of a wife and chaos ensues (much in the vein of a Three's Company episode). At the same time, world-famous anthropologist Professor Drippy, along with an uninspired romance novel writing group are searching for the answer to the question of why people fall in love - not an easy undertaking. The adventure lands them all in Padua, where all ends well with the production paying homage to Casablanca, in a spoof of the classic final scene from the movie. In short, the premise of the play can be summed up in a quote from one of the characters from the show: "Somebody needs to get laid!"

Unfortunately, the play's run ended Saturday night, so anyone interested in having a great night out and supporting FASS is out of luck. However, keep in mind that it is an annual event, so keep an eye out for the next show. Some advice for next year's FASS: maybe a stricter screening process, as some of the principal solos should have been performed by stronger vocalists, and some of the prominent acting roles should have been fulfilled by more competent actors. Secondly, how can any play be rewarded for shamelessly promoting Spice Girls propaganda?!?

On an altogether different note, two thumbs up to the producer for giving (well-deserved) writing credit to "one slightly stoned squirrel." Bravo!