Travel back in time to the jazz age, where the gin flowed all night in the speakeasies, music can be found around every corner, and women have just been given the right to vote in Canada (well, some women). The world premiere of The Bee’s Knees, written and directed by Judy Reynolds, is an interesting look at gender and politics in an ever-changing environment.

They certainly waste no time in establishing the ambiance of the play from the moment you walk into the Franco Boni theatre; there’s a jazz pianist and trumpet player serenading the audience from when the house opens until the beginning of the play. I saw Jesse Whiteley on the piano and Michael Pollard pulls double duty as the trumpet player as well as performing as Jerry Fields in the production. They play old jazz standards like “Blue Skies” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and during the performance I got to hear one of my personal favourites “St. James Infirmary.” Paul & Mathew Gyulay’s set design is very evocative of the time period and immediately allows us to understand the two main locations of the production from first glance.

The Bee’s Knees is a story about two sisters, Dolores and Bernie who are both suffragettes fighting to give women the right to vote. Their mother is unfortunately in an institution as she’s come down with a strange disease, so they’re being looked after by their Aunt Virginia. Suddenly Bernie gets the idea, with the help of her friends Kitty and Yvonne, that Dolores should run for office; women are legally allowed to now and she’s got just the right look for the job. They start an ambitious campaign to unseat the incumbent, and dirty politician, Jerry Fields. Dolores falls in love with her mother’s Doctor, Edwin Becker, who gets unwillingly swept up into the world of politics and has to protect her from angry townspeople. After several threats and exposed secrets, voting day finally comes and with a woman’s name on the ballot.

There’s part of me which felt like this play wasn’t fully finished: I felt like there was at least one scene, if not two, missing from the end to actually wrap things up. Considering Aunt Virginia starts off the show with her thoughts about women getting the vote, and we hear about her change of heart over the course of the play, it would have been lovely to get to have her close out the show by letting us know what happens. Does Fields send someone to attack Dolores’ mom? Does Dolores win against this random new candidate? Does Bernie take Fields’ job offer or does she tell him to shove it? A little speech at the end could have easily answered some of these questions. And while I enjoyed the one actor coming out and reading the names of famous female politicians, it feels like an odd way to end the play when there’s no closure about the female politician we’ve been watching for the past two hours.

In each program there was a ballot for audience members to fill out at intermission or after the show. I was delighted at the idea of getting to participate and help the character I wanted to win secure the election. However nothing came of this; the results were never announced. It’s such a fun and immersive part of the experience, and it’s a shame that it’s not fully realized within the scope of you time at the show.

The Bee’s Knees features some original jazz tunes created especially for the show. While they certainly help to cement the period of the production, I’m not sure there there needed to be quite so many. I particularly enjoyed the final song where Rita Blue sings about the future and asks if it’s any better than her life; that’s the kind of hope women have been running on for the past hundred years and unfortunately are required to still have in today’s society. However the music itself, composed by Mboya Micholson, did give me that same toe-tapping joy that I experience every trip to New Orleans, and it’s all beautifully sung by Jamillah Ross as Rita Blue.

The Bee’s Knees includes some stand-out performances within the cast. Shannon Pitre shines as the driven and compassionate Dolores. Matching her with feisty energy is Madeline Elliott Kennedy as Bernie; she’s a fierce campaign manager, yet Kennedy is able to show a softer side as well. While Kenzie Delo’s Dr. Becker initially upholds the patriarchal stereotypes of the day, Delo gives him a soft and kind side as well which allows the audience to become just as smitten with him as Delores. Delo and Pitre have great chemistry throughout the production as well. Françoise Balthazar gives an impressive performance in all of her roles, but particularly as Frances McKay; her physicality throughout those scenes is incredible. Brigitte Solem’s Aunt Virginia is inspiring: it’s amazing to get to watch a character go through such a profound change of opinion, and Solem embodies it so well. As previously mentioned, Jamillah Ross and Michael Pollard get to showcase their musical talents along with their acting chops, and both of them prove to be adept in both arenas. Unfortunately, I felt like i had a difficult time understanding Rachel Nkoto Belinga in both her roles as Kitty and Tillie the nurse; I’m not sure if she was trying to hide an accent or affect another one, but I found her hard to understand. Brandon Knox is particularly hilarious as Drew Chapman the radio host, but plays myriad roles throughout the production. Marlo Surkis and Jason De Angelis round out the cast as photographers and reporters, as well as helping a great deal with the scene transitions.

The Bee’s Knees has potential, that’s certain. I’d love to see more focus on Dolores and her campaign rather than such a large look at the whole world around her. Hopefully this can bring some more resolution while cutting down on scenes or songs that don’t fill out the story. Also, I found myself confused as to the timing of the first couple of scenes, and if I hadn’t checked my program at intermission, I don’t know if I would have understood. There’s some good bones here, and an intriguing plot, and hopefully with some tweaking this can have another life and another run that’ll just be the cat’s pyjamas!

The Bee’s Knees runs until November 24 at the Franco Boni Theatre at The Theatre Centre. For more information and tickets, visit: Home | The Bee’s Knees Play

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At the performance I attended, an audience member had a medical emergency during the show. I want to commend the other audience members around us, the cast, and the staff at The Theatre Centre for leaping into action to help the lady. We were told she was feeling fine, and that all is well. Theatre is always about community, and it’s impressive to see that community come together to instantaneously to help one another when it’s needed most.

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Cover Photo: Rachel Nkoto Belinga, Françoise Balthazar, Shannon Pitre, and Madeline Elliott Kennedy. Photo by Marlowe Andreyko

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