‘Brazil Square’ pays tribute to capital city’s past
Berni Stapleton’s musical play “Brazil Square” has more twists and turns than a longrunning musical soap opera. The freshly renovated Majestic Theatre, located in downtown St. John’s, will be buzzing throughout July, as the show continues its two-week run.
Set in downtown St. John’s, not far from the Majestic, “Brazil Square” tells a based-in-truth but fictionalized portrayal of a neighbourhood by the same name. More specifically, the play details the zany goings-on at boarding houses that once populated the area.
Director Stapleton has a personal connection to these bygone abodes — when heading into town via taxi, driven by her Uncle Bern, Stapleton would check into Brazil Square. This show is an homage to her fond memories, and to those who shared in the experience.
The show opened with a musical number about Brazil Square, giving the audience information about the boarding house, its management and the rules, governed by the remarkable Mrs. Kent (Claire Hewlett). Charming, witty, but still commanding authority, Kent assigned rooms to the mish-mash of characters checking in for the night.
As we learn more about Brazil Square and its inhabitants through banter around the dinner table, the audience is treated to mini history lessons, location-specific anecdotes and humorous remarks about old Newfoundland, with the Newfie Bullet train and former premier Joey Smallwood bearing the brunt of the jokes.
Another musical number arose as the imaginary dishes were cleared from the nonexistent table. The tunes would continue throughout the show, acting as a segue, a sly reference to the changing time periods, and an opportunity for discrete, onstage costume changes, as the cast of five morphed into a number of characters throughout multiple decades, all checking in to Mrs. Kent’s on Brazil Square.
Our first batch of boarders includes a teenage girl bound for the convent, a journalist from the mainland, a witty woman bound for the hospital, and taxi driver Mr. Butler, who has a long and convoluted relationship with Kent.
Every new check-in brings a different element to the boarding house, and the conversation around the dinner table grows increasingly strange and hilarious. Our next guests include a Norwegian folklorist obsessed with St. John’s architecture, a Lebanese man aiming to open a restaurant, and a wannabe flower child from Port Saunders.
Though they are all so different, the oddly assembled groups fast become friends.
The audience tags along for this social experiment that sees recurring characters, intense character development, and even offspring from characters, which we then meet later in the show, as the timeline continues, leading us from the 1950s to the 1980s.
I’ll stop here to make an effort to obscure major plot points and conceal the play’s stellar ending. “Brazil Square’s” conclusion provided the perfect note of finality to a story that could have easily been continued, with decades of guests on which to draw inspiration.
It is obvious this show is a passion project from former Brazil Square boarder Berni Stapleton. She has used her passion to tell a touching, and humorous story about a longgone but legendary St. John’s neighbourhood, and those who temporarily called it home.
“Brazil Square” runs until July 22 at The Majestic Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online through www.etixnow.com.