A tale of two (jukebox) musicals — plus a Stratford ticket giveaway
In less than 24 hours, I went from the sublime new Tragically Hip musical to a monotonous Neil Diamond pseudo concert
I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fully appreciate It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken (Rating: ✭✭✭✭), the new musical featuring songs by The Tragically Hip and an original story about an Iraqi immigrant.
First of all, with the exception of a couple of songs, I’m not very familiar with the Hip’s catalogue. (I know, I know, I’m a bad Canadian.) Second, I was concerned about its story. Would the combination of rock songs and the narrative of a refugee settling in Kingston, Ont. be... well... in good taste?
I needn’t have worried. Terrific theatre is terrific theatre, and the glorious show I saw on the weekend at Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius is bursting with so much life, emotion and contemporary relevance that I can’t stop thinking about it. And Ahmed Moneka and Jesse LaVercombe’s book is one of the best things about the show — which won’t be surprising to anyone who saw their masterful play with music, Gilgamesh.
The musical centres on Waleed (Come From Away’s Ali Momen), a respected Baghdad journalist who in the opening moments is prodded by a foreign reporter to call his country’s leader “a psychopathic butcher” on international TV.
Fearful for his life, he’s quickly shunted out of the country by a network of dissidents — first to Jordan and then, eventually, Canada, where he applies for refugee status.
Settled temporarily in Kingston, he knows no one. He finds a roommate — a bro-ey Queen’s student named Lucas (Kevin McLachlan) — and drops off his resume at the Whig Standard. He gets a job at a cafe in the meantime, working for Didi (Tahirih Vejdani), another immigrant who, with a PhD, is also woefully underemployed.
As unrest continues in Iraq, Waleed remains glued to the news, making the occasional tense call back home, where he mostly talks with friend Fadi (Sameer Cash). Thousands of miles away, he feels helpless, alone and practically invisible.
Gradually, he finds friendship with a few locals, and bonds with Kate (Talia Schlanger), who’s returned to Kingston for family reasons and has ended up taking over a record store with her irresponsible brother Jonathan (Brandon McGibbon). He also begins writing again, thanks to Whig Standard editor Abigail (Rebecca Auerbach).