M*A*S*H, a comedy in two acts by Tim Kelly and performed by the PSO Theatre Troupe from Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School, is heading into its final week of performances, and if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour and buy a ticket.
It’s playing at Martin Exeter Hall with two separate casts which perform on alternating nights.
The students have embraced their off-beat roles with intelligence and creativity to keep them interesting, believable and capable of keeping the laughs rolling.
I was privileged to see the A-block cast perform on Jan. 13, opening night, and they were outstanding. Judging by names on the B-block cast list, they have the potential to be just as brilliant.
John Newstead, as the beloved Hawkeye Pierce in the A-block performance interprets his role to the letter and he is hilarious as the main character at the isolated 4077th MASH unit on the Korean War front line. He keeps the audience in stitches and wiping tears of laughter from their eyes throughout the show.
He and his sidekick, Duke Forrest, portrayed with equal skill by Jacob Remanente, play off each other naturally throughout the entire performance and never miss a beat.
There are no weak links in this production and even the set is fabulous, with such attention paid to detail that it makes the audience feel they are in the middle of the 4077th. Magnificent Martin Exeter Hall, as the venue, just adds more quality to an already superior show.
Kudos go to producer/director Monique Corno who has done an incredibly fine job of nurturing essentially two separate productions to such a high level.
Her accomplishments with M*A*S*H and productions of previous years ensures PSO Theatre Troupe has an A-plus standing in the future on the South Cariboo entertainment roster.