Page 14 - 2018 Festival Edition

The online warning reads: “Certain language and situations have been changed to reflect the values of a 21st century audience.”
“The world has changed since 1960, so the changes should reflect that,” said Ouzounian. “The tired, old cockney Mortimer was dressed up as an American Indian in the original version, wearing a sad little feather and carrying a tom-tom.
“The last time these two horrible cliques were used was in a 2011 Soulpepper production. It drew criticism from playwright Tara Beagan, then Na- tive Earth Performing Arts artistic director. Un- derstandably, she wrote to the company’s artistic director and board of directors, complaining the portrayal was culturally insensitive and o ensive.”
Explaining the relationship in Canada with In- digenous people, Ouzounian and company secured permission from the author for changes to the script. The requests were met with neither com- plaint nor argument.
Another contentious issue surfaced with respect to the song It Depends On What You Pay, known more commonly as “the rape song” sung by El Gallo (McCormack). The bandit narrator hired by one father to abduct the daughter so his neighbour’s son can save her references various types of rapes to be simulated.
“Rape never had a sexual connotation in the song,” said the director. “It reflected the literary meaning, referring to kidnapping, but in 2006 the lyricist Jones edited the song, removing the o en- sive word. However grope and grab remained so we requested another change.
“He understood completely and made those edits. We wanted to totally desexualize the number and happily were successful in doing that.”
“Artistic director Antoni Cimolino had talked to Eric on several occasions about coming back to Stratford but his busy schedule was the stumbling block,” said Ouzounian, the Toronto Star theatre
critic from 2000 to 2016. “Directing him in 1989 was a great experience that I just loved.
“Working on Will and Grace for three weeks with only one week left didn’t leave him much time for other ventures. Antoni approached me for some ideas. I said over the years I’d mounted several con- cert versions of musicals – like Porgy and Bess for Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company. Though short engagements, some only one night, they are popular.”
A big fan of the format, he pointed to the success of two companies – the New York-based Encores and Reprise from Los Angeles – both of which stage concert versions regularly. They take just a week
or two for rehearsal, require a minimal amount of staging and often basic costuming, so a full show can be undertaken with relative ease.
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THE BEACON HERALD | 2018 FESTIVAL EDITION