The Good Game:

This is in yesterdays Morning Star Newspaper:

Put on your game face

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star Published: January 22, 2009 6:00 PM Updated:

Finally, a theatre production a hockey jock can sink his mouthguard into. The Good Game features a group of has-been hockey stars, 30 years removed from their glory days of junior hockey, reuniting for one last game against the current edition of the Vernon Vipers. Directed by Adele Kuyek, The Good Game finds four players – net detective Charlie Boyd (Brian Armstrong), all-star Zack Taylor (Lindsay Grout), goon-turned-English teacher C.J. MacDonald (Ray Norstrom), and smooth-skating Francophone Pinkie Lavac (Bill Reynolds) – picking right up where they left off three decades ago. It doesn’t take long for the hockey locker room profanity to fly – those of you who are easily offended might want to give this one a miss – as Zack and the boys reminisce about the good ol’ days, itch their nether regions, and compare beer guts. Situated in the team dressing room, the production is carried largely by simple dialogue with a heavy dose of quick, crude wit. To those of you who haven’t experienced locker room banter first-hand, it’s a fairly honest snapshot – if not a slightly overstated one – of locker room life as you’ll find (minus the pink T-shirts). To those who have, it’s a hysterical reminder of just how valuable those bonds are. The beauty of this production is that any of the stories recounted could have taken place in any dressing room across Canada, which gives The Good Game a wide appeal. Not surprisingly, it becomes apparent some of the boys haven’t quite come to grips with getting older. Boyd is working on his seventh ex-wife, and C.J., reputed as the team’s “mean little prick with a big stick,” has chosen to bury his old persona in academia, and enters the set flaunting a vocabulary only Alex Trebec would be proud of. He’s convinced himself that he’s “evolved” as a person, and that he can better serve his team with “elegance and finesse,” much to his teammate’s chagrin. Zack seems the most down-to earth of the group. He plays the sentimental, former star of the Vernon squad, whose character is countered brilliantly by the equally likeable, yet completely boorish, Charlie. Add in some great comedic moments from Pinkie and his over-the-top Quebecois accent, and the potential rekindling of an old flame as Zack and sassy journalist Sam Brown (Lori Hancock), who has returned to document the game, find they still have chemistry. More hilarity ensues when cocky, self-absorbed radio announcer Brian B. (Steve Braun) gives the oldtimers no end of short shrift in his pre-game interviews. Can the oldtimers find a way to outshine the bigger, faster, stronger, younger Vipers of today? Will C.J. quit playing like he’s in an “Olympic ice dance competition?” Will Zack and Sam take their relationship into overtime? Tonight’s show is sold out, but there were a few tickets left for Saturday night’s performance. Kuyek said the play will be held over for next week, with shows going Thursday to Saturday night at the Schubert Centre. Door opens at 6 p.m., dinner starts at 6:30, with the show at 7:30. Tables of eight can be reserved and all tickets are available at the Ticket Seller box office in the performing arts centre. Call 250-549-7469 or order online at http://www.ticketseller.ca/.