Everybody loves John. He's a bit of a back porch philosopher still suffering the effects of a divorce. He's the kind of guy who likes his dates to submit resumes so he doesn't have to do so much guess work. That doesn't stop him from being interested in the three very different women who live in the apartment next door.
The character of John, played by Ian Backs, is central to Here on the Flight Path, the new Peninsula Players production that will run at Pebbles Restaurant in Sechelt for six performances starting March 23.
"I wanted Canadian and I wanted modern," says director Marilyn Browning of her choice of dinner theatre presentation.
Browning has gained experience in many productions including a six-month professional appearance in Tony and Tina's Wedding in Vancouver. She is a past director of the original play Loot and Locket.
Flight Path, by Ontario author Norm Foster, is contemporary in style and perhaps racier than previous dinner theatres that have often bumbled through comical British-style farce.
Actor Llewelyn Keates who plays one of the women, a dedicated wife whose husband suddenly leaves her, says that the play is humorous, with a gentle, personal humour. (Keates co-directed the last dinner theatre production, Murder at the Howard Johnson.) The actors have taken to the play's warm style.
Backs says: "If this play was a pie, the women are the filling. I'm just the crust."
Backs is a poet in real life, but ironically, his character hates poets. The actor was last seen in I'll Be Back Before Midnight where he appeared opposite Melina Cassidy, who now joins him in Flight Path. Cassidy has a strong background in theatre after performing in Kuwait, where she grew up. Cassidy's character is "a total ditz," she says, but Cassidy loves the young woman's bubbly energy. This is a character-driven play that packs in a lot of comedy, she points out, and has a good story to tell.
Over the three and a half years that John lives on the flight path, three diverse women occupy the neighbouring apartment. None are so unusual as the lady of the night, a high-class working girl, played by Monica Davis. She's a wry, droll character, says Davis, who adds depth to the play.
"Each of the characters is coming from somewhere, going to somewhere," Davis says, "and each has a revelation." The three women make John grow, and are changed themselves through the effort.
Here On The Flight Path runs March 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31 and April 1. The five-course dinner served prior to the play includes a chicken appetizer, shrimp kebab, beef tenderloin and an apple tart for dessert. Tickets for $39 can be purchased at Pebbles Restaurant in Sechelt, or phone for a reservation at 604-885-5811.
