Powers and Gloria At The Blyth Festival
Powers and Gloria by Keith Roulston, which premiered at the Blyth Festival in 2005, is receiving a powerful revival under the deft direction of Peter Hinton-Davis.
The Powers of the title is Edward Powers (Randy Hughson), the 73-year-old head of a thriving furniture business in a small, unnamed Canadian town. The success of the business, apparently the sole survivor of many similar enterprises in the area, has enabled him to live in a stately home and collect paintings by Tom Thompson, whose work influenced the so-called Group of Seven.
He has also been able to provide his son James (James Dallas Smith) with a first-class education, including a stint at the Harvard School of Business, which instilled in him a lust for money and a disdain for employees.
When Powers and Gloria opens, Edward has suffered a stroke, is confined to a wheelchair, and is none too happy with his situation. During his hospitalization and rehabilitation the business is being run by James.
To take care of his father James has found the only home health aide available, the vivacious Gloria (Madeline Kennedy). Gloria, whose parents work in Powers’ factory, is a high school drop out and single mom who is living without benefit of clergy with the rather flaky Darryl (Richard Comeau).
Gloria, not to mince words, is also a bit of a bombshell with a head of wild red hair and a sense of style that tends toward bare midriffs and belly-button decoration.
And so Powers and Gloria sets the stage for a classic oil-meets-water battle of wits and personalities. The distinctly old-fashioned Powers thinks Gloria dresses like a “hooker.” (His word, not mine, I hasten to add in the interest of self-preservation.)
Gloria, who is a bit in awe of the opulent surroundings of Powers’ library in which the action of the play unfolds, is no pushover and she gives as good as she gets.
So will these seeming polar opposites come to terms? Will they ever become, dare I say it, friends, even comrades in arms? Roulston, who was one of he founders of the Blyth Festival, is too savvy a playwright to mess with a convention that has stood the test of time.
If the plot of Powers and Gloria may seem a trifle pro forma, Roulston makes good use of it to explore something of an open wound in local history. Before World War Two, Stratford and the surrounding area was home to a thriving furniture industry. The post-war fashion for the lighter and cheaper “Swedish modern” that came to epitomize “mid-century modern” style killed off those companies.
It is also worth noting that the eagerness of Powers’ son James to maximize profit by moving the company to <gasp, shudder> North Carolina touches a nerve that makes this twenty-year-old play eerily contemporary.
What makes this revival of Powers and Gloria worth the trip to Blyth is the handsome production delivered by director Hinton-Davis, who is more closely associated with the Shaw Festival (Sex, Major Barbara). The touch of “Shaw style,” for want to a better term, that he brings to the proceedings makes for a fascinating contrast with the “Blyth style” of shows like The Wind Coming Over the Sea and Quiet in the Land.
Blyth’s creative team has responded beautifully to Hinton-Davis’ vision. Set and lighting designer Steve Lucas has delivered a muted yet handsome set with fine architectural detailing. The three large windows on the upstage wall look out onto a series of projections that I gradually recognized as details from paintings by Thompson and other member of the Group of Seven.
The Thompson painting of which Powers is so proud and which enjoys pride of place in his study is represented by a black rectangle in a golden frame. Late in the play, in a wonderfully theatrical effect, it comes to life with an actual Thompson painting as Powers uses Thompson’s hardscrabble life story to inspire Gloria to reach her true potential.
Lucas’ liquid lighting plot is every bit the equal of his set. It ebbs and flows, constantly highlighting different characters in different locations. When Darryl proposes to Gloria, Lucas has bathed the couple in such a glow that the moment becomes ethereal.
Costume designer Amanda Wong has given Gloria outfits that display her ample charms, power suits that illustrate James’ ambitions, and scruffy garb that paints Darryl as the prototypical slacker.
Lyon Smith’s sound design, which is quite cinematic in its effect, is another stellar artistic contribution.
Of course, the key to bringing material like Powers and Gloria fully to life is the cast. Hinton-Davis had a great ensemble to draw from (all the performers appear in two other shows this season) and he makes the most of their talents.
In the supporting roles of James and Darryl, Dallas Smith and Comeau deliver solid performances.
In the central roles of Powers and Gloria, Hughson and Kennedy positively soar.
Hughson is one of Canada’s most powerful actors and his rendition of the irascible old coot that is Edward Powers can be frightening at times. His clinically accurate portrayal of a stroke victim also allows him to show us how the heart-rending toll of diminished capacity can reduce even the strongest to tears.
Kennedy, who plays minor characters in other plays this season, steps into the spotlight as a commanding leading lady in Powers and Gloria. She shows us all of Gloria’s working-class rough edges, the longing to give her daughter a father, her grit in dealing with her impossible employer, and her growing sense of self-worth and self-empowerment. It’s an impressive achievement.
The Blyth Festival has provided an extensive Study Guide for Powers and Gloria. It includes many links to articles and other material on elder care, family businesses, labour unions, and women’s issues, which are fascinating in themselves but somewhat tangential to understanding the play. That requires only an openness to human nature and a willingness to accept people as fellow travellers through this vale of tears.
Powers and Gloria continues at the Blyth Festival through August 30, 2025. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Blyth Festival website.
For a complete index of reviews CLICK HERE.
Don’t miss another review or blog post! SUBSCRIBE HERE
