An unexpected meeting with blue invitations, lovers scorned and seeking closure, murders most foul…what better material for a musical?!? Love You To Death: A New Canadian Musical, directed by Caitlin Turner, certainly thinks so and they’ve created a twisty tale of love, deceit, heartbreak, and sabotage. With memorable characters, catchy songs, and a well-built story, Love You To Death is certainly ready for a bigger stage.
Love You To Death: A New Canadian Musical recounts the lives of Dylan, her husband Kitt, and the many relationships Dylan’s formed over the years. When all of her lovers and mistresses have been brought together for a night, they all assume that Dylan has orchestrated the whole thing…until she ends up dead! Accusations fly and truths are revealed until we finally find out who the murder is. At intermission, I thought I had the story figured out; I had a suspect, I had motive, I even gave myself a little pat on the back going into the second half and I am DELIGHTED to say that I was completely wrong. Melly Magrath has written a gripping story full of plot twists and double agents, and the sweetest deus ex machina moment I’ve ever seen.
The play is set in 1996 (long before most of these actors were born, I’d wager) and yet the story is full of queer relationships and stories. It filled my heart to see queer love on display in so many forms, and to have it not be set in the modern day. It puts into practice the idea that queer people have always been here, it’s just that throughout most of history they’ve had to hide who they were. Love You To Death shows both sides of the coin: the joy and beauty of loving who you love, and the ways that others will tear you down for that love.
Magrath and Quinton Naughton’s music fully supports the story; each song gives us a little more detail about the suspects and what Dylan’s life was really like. The only issue that I had was that at times I was unable to hear the actors over the music; the music was not live (which I totally didn’t mind at all) but then the actors didn’t have microphones, so it was often hard to hear them over the music. Especially when the lyrics for what we could hear were funny and witty, I wish I had been able to hear the whole thing. While Alisha-Jo Penny’s choreography was very good, it was used intermittently during the show; some numbers had full dance pieces to go with them, while others just had the odd movement here or there. I would have loved to see a little more consistency with the choreography, either lots for every song or just a bit for each one. I understand that with the venue space might have been an issue for more extensive choreography, but I’m hoping that when this is next produced they can have the space to give a fully choreographed piece a go!
Love You To Death has a fantastic cast for this production – their overall chemistry was electric – however, to me, there were some stand-out performances amongst this cast. Jameson Mosher plays the not-so-tough cop Larry and is the comic relief of the story. Mosher knows his role and gives it is all; his energy was fabulous and made him a joy to watch. Mallory Davenport gives a heartfelt and passionate performance as Dylan. She portrays Dylan’s struggles and joys with grace, and she has a marvellous voice. Another personal fave was Bebe Brunjes as Stephen; they were so vivacious it was hard to take my eyes off of them. The whole cast works so well together to bring this story to life; their passion and dedication to the piece is evident in every moment.
I truly hope that Love You To Death: A New Canadian Musical will get another life on stage, I think everyone should get to take part in the delightful fun that this show brings! This was another perfect addition to my spooky season and I hope you were able to check it out too! To find out more about Small But Mighty Productions and what they have coming up next, visit: https://smallbutmightyproductions.ca
Photo by Melly Magrath
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