A harvest of entertainment
delights for August
Theatre, film, murals and street festivals close out the month
By Byron Toben
August 12, 2021
The harvest moon month of August is now closing out with two plays, one film festival and two open-air street events.
Theatre
George M. Cohan (c. 1918) – Image:Internet Archive Book Images via Wikimedia Commons
Tops on our list is New York’s Irish Repertory Theater’s production of George M. Cohan Tonight. It runs live and streamed from August 17 to 28.
The Golden age of Broadway musicals turned into film and vice versa (1939-1963) often overlooks the tremendous contribution of George M. Cohan in the 19 teens and 1920s. This one-man show was produced by Irish Rep in 2006 and recently adapted for screening.
Written by Chip Deffaa, it stars Jon Peterson. This dynamic one-man show can be a useful entree into the life of Cohan, who was deemed “the man who owned Broadway.” Born into a family of Irish-American vaudeville performers, he was on stage dancing as early as eight years old. He went on to be an actor, playwright, composer, lyricist, singer and producer. Credited with appearing in some 40 Broadway musicals, he wrote 50 shows and published 300 songs.
His life was depicted in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy starring James Cagney. Don’t miss this one!
George M. Cohan Tonight – Image: courtesy of the Irish Repertory Theater
Meanwhile, at Montreal’s exurb, Hudson, the Hudson Village Theatre continues with its fine production of Strawberries in January, a romantic comedy with a Quebec twist that opened on August 5 and continues to August 22.
It was written in French by Évelyne de la Chenelière and translated into English by Morwyn Brebner. It has previously been staged in Ottawa, Edinburgh, and Montreal a few years ago. I have been unable to visit it yet nor seen any reviews but the four actors and director have enviable pedigrees, so I am confident it will live up to expectations, especially since actor/director/producer Ellen David attended the opening and praised it on her Facebook page.
Films
The 25th anniversary of the Fantasia genre film festival, which began on August 5, continues until August 25, in hybrid form. Most of the 100 plus films are being streamed, some live, at Cinéma Impérial or Cinema du Musée.
The Great Yokai War – Guardians promotional material – Image: courtesy of The Great Yokai War Film Partners
I will make my two recommendations below, but first, a disclaimer. The Fantasia mix of horror, Japanese animation and monster films is not my cup of tea. I have viewed three or four films a year since its inception and remember being impressed by only three over the years – David Mamet’s Edmond (2005), Ken Russell’s The Devils (2010) and Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (2014).
This is not to disparage the success of the festival, the largest of its kind in the world, which has found a huge audience. It may just be generational as the three I cite above are by well-known authors or directors. So rather than making my own picks out of the 120 or so selections, I cross-checked the picks of five expert reviewers. They were:
- T’cha Dunlevy of the Montreal Gazette, based on interviews with Festival head Mitch Davis and co-director of Asia programming Nicholas Archambault.
- Norman Wilmer, of Toronto’s NOW weekly
- Arpita Roy, a star of Instagram from India
- Roger Ebert.com – Although Roger passed in 2013, his site continues, maintained by his widow, Chaz. Editor in Chief Matt Zoller Seitz oversees other Ebertists as “a kind of artists collective.”
- Cult MTL, Montreal’s digital daily/print monthly. Alex Rose is Film and TV Editor
These five sources cumulatively suggested 37 films. Only seven of those were listed more than once. Leading the pack was The Great Yokai Wars: Guardians, which is also the closing film of the festival, with 3 endorsements. The other six, with two endorsements each, were Agnes, Bull, Glass House, Prisoners of Ghostland, The Righteous and What Josiah Saw.
L’inconnu de Shandigor – Image: IMDb
And now, patient readers, my own two tips, albeit sight unseen:
L’inconnu de Shandigor, a rarely seen Cold war spy film that includes Serge Gainsbourg in the cast (suggested by Cult MTL).
Alien on Stage, some homage to Christopher Guest’s great mockumentary Waiting For Guffman as well as Ridley Scott‘s sci-fi classic. (suggested by Wilmer)
Street festivals
The 8th Annual Mural Festival, celebrating murals on buildings, augmented by 8 musicians, opened on August 12 until August 22. Most of the 14 decorated buildings are along the “spine” of Blvd. St-Laurent and its adjacent cross streets. Guided tours are available.
Fanfare Mystika at the FAR – Image: courtesy of Festival des arts de ruelle de Montréal (FAR)
The 5th annual Festival des arts de ruelle de Montréal (FAR), also called Montreal Alley Arts Festival, opens from August 12 until September 12. It features pop-ups, parades, balconies. Locations are secret until the day involved to prevent massing too many people.
Closing out August, here is a rare version of Shine On Harvest Moon by usually silent film stars Laurel and Hardy, to the amusement of what appears to be the French Foreign Legion.
Feature image: Instinct by FVCKRENDER – Jeremy Shantz, Mural Festival 2020
More articles from Byron Toben
Byron Toben, a past president of The Montreal Press Club, has been WestmountMag.ca’s theatre reviewer since July 2015. Previously, he wrote for since terminated web sites Rover Arts and Charlebois Post, print weekly The Downtowner and print monthly The Senior Times. He also is an expert consultant on U.S. work permits for Canadians.
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