New Year’s Eve You oughta see I Oughta Be in Pictures

Posted By Miriam King

Posted 8 months ago

Stellar Productions was back at the Howard Johnson's Queen Elizabeth Dinner Theatre on December 19, with a heart-warming production of Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures.

No-one does bittersweet like Simon – combining wry humour and biting one-liners in scenarios that somehow manage to express the Human Comedy with an upbeat twist, without being saccharine.

I Ought to Be in Pictures is no exception. Set in California, the protagonists are displaced Brooklynite Herb Tucker (Chuck Therrien), an aging screenwriter whose best ideas may be in the past; his long-suffering girlfriend Steffy Blondell (Elaine Jarvis), whose patience, after two years of a relationship, is wearing thin. and Libby, the teenage daughter he abandoned 16 years earlier (played by Victoria Murdoch).

Murdoch is wonderful as the daughter, who arrives on Herb's doorstep with the announcement that she wants to be "in pictures" - but in reality, only hopes to connect with the father she has never known. Therrien is suitably crusty as the dad who finally faces his own fear of attachment and fear of failure, and Jarvis creates sparks as Steffy, the studio make-up artist who wonders where their relationship is going.

The show is funny, sweet, hopeful – vintage Simon, and well worth the trip to Aurora.

I Ought to Be in Pictures is on stage for Aurora Howard Johnson's New Year's Eve Celebration. On Dec. 31, enjoy Chef Basil's signature Roast Beef Buffet and fabulous desserts at 6 p.m., followed by the play at 7:30 p.m. and dancing to music provided by a DJ, with a countdown to midnight and Champagne. Tickets are $165 plus taxes per couple for the full evening; partial packages are also available.

A complete package with a room on New Year's Eve is $257, taxes included. For information and reservations, call 905-727-1312.