For the past nine years, Opening Nite Theatre Society has brought its own special brand of pantomime to Mission.
This year it’s going to be a western.
The Good, The Bad and the Showdown at the Panto Corral – written by Camille Atebe and directed by Trevor Crosby – is a wild, silly, musical romp that the entire family can enjoy.
With over-the-top characters, live music, cross-dressing and a talking horse, the show is a local take on the old British Pantomime tradition, which takes an old story and brings it to the stage, adding familiar songs, a dame (always played by a man) and the principal boy and principal girl (both played by women).
The audience is invited to cheer and boo the supernatural meddlers of the tale (Fairy Nice and Fairy Naughty, played by Jennie Bice and Camille Atebe) and to voice their encouragement for the rest of the cast.
In this year’s tale, the Sheriff has been run out of Sanoosha Gulch by Big Bad Barry the Brutish (played with dastardly dignity by Karen Mortensen) and the rest of the town is living in fear. Only sweet Annabelle (Katie Thompson) isn’t scared of Barry, and she manages to convince the handsome young stranger in town, Young McCoy (Mina Thomas), to take on the job of Sheriff.
The show runs Dec. 11-20, and Jan 1-10. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under, $30 for a family of four and are available at openingnitetheatre.com, ontstickets@hotmail.com, at 604-826-ONTS or at the door.
The theatre is at 33223 Railway Ave.
