Calgary Herald

SISTERS: A KITCHEN SINK DRAMA ABOUT FABULOUS LUCK AND ENVY

Theatre Calgary’s Belles Soeurs Musical an English version of French-Canadian classic

- LOUIS B. HOBSON

Life can be a series of little lotteries if only you’ll acknowledg­e them.

The latest lottery win for actor Gabrielle Jones is her role as Germaine Lauzon in the touring production of the smash Quebec musical, Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical playing at Theatre Calgary until Nov. 4.

This is an English version of the musical based on Michel Tremblay’s landmark 1965 play about a Montreal housewife who wins one million trading stamps in a department store contest.

Revelling in her great fortune, Germaine invites friends over to help paste the stamps into booklets so she can claim her prizes, but, in doing so, old tensions, rivalries and envies rise to the surface and boil over.

Jones quickly acknowledg­es she has a plum role in the electric new Canadian musical, but it’s hardly a walk in the park, even for a seasoned actor like herself.

“It’s a very demanding part in a very demanding show, but the material supports you emotionall­y. You get picked up and carried away by the writing, story and characters and that all goes back to the source material.

“Michel Tremblay’s play and characters are still as vibrant and relevant and truthful as they were 50 years ago,” Jones says.

When it opened in Quebec 52 years ago, Les Belles-soeurs caused quite a sensation. Detractors claimed the language was too racy and the female characters far too outspoken and, perhaps, even outlandish. Still, Les Belles Soeurs continues to be produced all over the world and remains Tremblay’s most beloved and popular work.

“There will be some audience members who will be shocked by some of the language and some of the subject matter in the play, but that’s part of its lasting appeal.

“This is a beautiful example of French-Canadian kitchen sink drama and it is so wonderfull­y female-centric,” says Jones, who won a Calgary Critics’ Award nomination for her starring role as Golde in Stage West’s production of Fiddler on the Roof.

Jones explains that for Germaine, winning the trading stamps “is the highest moment of her life ... she lives such a small, constraine­d existence. She literally thinks these stamps are her ticket to eternal happiness. In her working-class culture being able to buy things, have things and get things is what makes a person happy.”

When Germaine invites her friends over for a stamp-pasting party, it’s about more than just free labour.

“Germaine lives in a neighbour- hood where everyone knows everybody’s business, so she’s happy for the news of her landfall to get out. She revels in the envy and adoration this win is bringing her.”

Jones has an inkling of how Germaine feels. When she moved into her first apartment in Vancouver, a nearby supermarke­t gave out stamps and she collected them until she had enough for a set of Corelle Dinnerware.

“I was so excited. I thought I’d won the lottery and it spurred me on to keep getting more stamps until I could get the set of sheets they were offering. They turned out to be dreadful quality — but I was ecstatic because they were free, so I understand the envy of all the other women as well as Germaine’s excitement.

“It really is fun to gloat when you feel you have great fortune.”

Jones says the songs in Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical “range from funny little folk songs to the belt them out to the back of the theatre, grand, musical theatresty­le songs.

“They feel so intrinsic to the story because Michel wrote monologues for his characters and that’s what so many of these songs are.”

She is also adamant Sisters “doesn’t sound like any other type of musical. It is a musical all its own which makes it wonderful for audiences to discover.”

Jones scored a huge theatre lottery win of her own when she got the role of Rosie in the North American première of Mamma Mia! which eventually took up four years of her life.

“That was an amazing gig. It was such a fun show to do.

“When we took it on tour it was what we call a Cadillac tour. We’d stay in cities for months, not weeks, so I got to explore so many cities in America.”

 ?? TRUDIE LEE ?? Gabrielle Jones, centre, considers herself lucky to be part of the cast of the Theatre Calgary production of Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical, playing until Nov. 4.
TRUDIE LEE Gabrielle Jones, centre, considers herself lucky to be part of the cast of the Theatre Calgary production of Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical, playing until Nov. 4.

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