LAKEFRONT

Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills always brings us something interesting, and this time, it’s the U.S. premiere of prolific Canadian playwright Norm Foster’s three-character comedy, Lakefront.

For once, I’m going to tell you the premise of the play because, even though it’s totally funny, it may not be for everyone. The play takes place over one weekend, in a cabin in Canada where a couple of seniors who barely know each other are planning to have sex. So I’m either attracting you or warning you, depending on whether or not you’re a fan of hearing abut senior sex for a couple of hours.

The sixty-eight-year-old woman, (played by pretty Mouchette van Helsdingen,) and the seventy-year-old man, (played by Daniel Leslie,) had met recently, and decide to go away for a couple of days to have sex to remind themselves that they can still be attractive. Or something like that. However, unless the seniors are Pierce Brosnan and Sharon Stone, this is not my kind of topic. But I was already a fan of a few of Norm Foster’s other seventy-five plays, so I never even checked-out what it’s about before I went. All I knew was that it was sure to have a bunch of laughs, which it did.

As a matter of fact, I brought along my friend Marc, because I felt that he could really use a laugh right about now, (his precious dog had very recently passed away,) and he loved the show! He laughed the entire time; the evening at Theatre 40 was exactly what he needed.

I had seen Mouchette and Daniel in other plays before, and reviewed them favorably, and they’re equally good in this one. But the best parts of the play are when Michael Gabiano, as the nutty, naive cabin-keeper of sorts, Duane, shows-up! The action picks-up every time he enters! After his first scene, the audience knows what’s coming with each knock on the door.

The only issue I have with the acting is that Daniel keeps trying, with little success, to do a Canadian accent-–because the writer is from that country, and therefore the play takes place there—but it’s sooo distracting. The poor man tries so hard, but he’s not really very close to it. It would be better if he would use it for just a bit, like when he says the word “sorry,” which is quite often, but he’s trying to do something weird on words such as “have” and “cabin,” and that’s just confusing. Mr. X’s family is from Canada, so I’ve spent a lot of time there, including living in Mississauga, Calgary, and Edmonton, (love their humongous mall!,) for little bits, and Toronto for one whole summer while he was starring in the National Tour of They’re Playing Our Song, and I never heard anybody talk the way that this guy does. And, when only one character who lives in that same area has an accent that’s supposed to be native to that area, it works even less.

But I enjoyed the experience overall. Lakefront features yet another excellent set from Jeff G. Rack. Marc said to tell you that he got the setting of the play right away, just from seeing the set design!

I always appreciate special little touches, and in the case of Lakefront, it’s that there is mainly Canadian music in-between the scenes. One time it was Gordon Lightfoot singing If You Could Read My Mind, then there was Murray McLauchlan’s Revelation, and also a few instrumental chords of a Neil Young song.

The play did get a tad long, which is not the fault of this theatre—I believe that they have to do it as written. I feel that it should end with a little scene about tea; that would be a charming conclusion.

And, as much as I’m a fan of Foster’s writing, in general, I don’t get the title of this one. Yes, it takes place in a supposed “lakefront” cabin, but that’s about it. There is one tiny bit in the script about that location, but nothing more. And that brief mention is definitely not significant to the narrative. It’s absolutely no big deal—I’m just sayin’.

Here’s one little tip about your visit to Theatre 40 this summer: It’s freezing in the theater, which is good if you are in need of air-conditioning in this heat. It would be less expensive for you to buy a ticket and spend time in there than to go to a mall for their A/C and wind-up buying a bunch of unnecessary junk! But I strongly suggest that everyone definitely bring some heavy clothing when you go. One little woman in the front row was not only wearing heavy pants, a shirt, and a sweater, but she brought one of those wintery puffy jackets, and put it on within five minutes! This will explain the temperature in there: I was so cold that I was envious of the actress’ winter wardrobe! I kept wondering if I could be fast enough to run up on stage and grab her coat between scenes! So heed my warning to dress in layers.

Lakefront running through August 23, 2026
Theatre 40  241 S. Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills
310-364-0535 www.theatre40.org