A show worth seeing – again

Byron Toben

In a fall season of many fine plays, three have been outstanding. Haunted, by local wunderkind Paul Van Dyck, closed October 31; Inherit The Wind closes November 8; and Till We Meet Again returns to Montreal from its successful tour of Ontario for three performances November 21 and 22.

Many of us are happily haunted by the golden age of ’40s songs, 30 of which are featured in Till We Meet Again.

This entertaining and lively play is based on a radio show of the fledgling CBC during World War II, broadcast from the Normandy room of the downtown Mount Royal hotel (now a shopping centre and apartment complex) from 1940 to 1946. Besides the songs of the day, the show, dubbed “Music of the Stars,” features the corny commercials of the time, heart-warming stories of men at war and letters from home.

During the play’s stopover in Mississauga, one Ray Lank showed up in the audience. Lank, it turns out, handled the live remote transmission of the prototype of the program from the Normandy room in 1945.

In Ottawa at the National War Museum, veterans of more recent military actions attended, as well as a few survivors from World War II.

In Montreal during the show’s October run, Edna Lee, 90, traipsed in from her Lachine home – at night, against the wishes of her children – to relive the days of tears, humour and hope she had heard on the radio back then.

A suprising number of younger viewers have shown up, revealing that the show is not only coasting on nostalgia, but also on good entertainment value honed by the talented and professional cast.

Conclusion? Don’t wait to see – or see again – Till We Meet Again. Till We Meet Again is on at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall at Concordia University’s Loyola Campus November 21 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and November 22 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available through Admission: 514-790-1245. Inherit the Wind continues until November 8 at the Segal Centre, 5170 Côte Ste. Catherine. Info: 514-739-7944 or segalcentre.org