The Wedding Party

Kristen Thomson, Tom Rooney and Jason Cadieux in The Wedding Party.

Crow's Theatre opened the doors to their new space Streetcar Crowsnest at 345 Carlaw Avenue earlier this month and the east end couldn't be more ready. Audiences have flooded there since to check out the new local arts hub and to catch the season opener—a highly entertaining play by Kristen Thomson.

Featuring a top-notch cast including Thomson, Tom Rooney, Moya O'Connell, Trish Lindström, Virgilia Griffith and Jason Cadieux, The Wedding Party is a wildly funny ride behind the scenes of an out-of-control wedding, bringing together two very different families. The audience is invited to join in the fun as a class competition, fuelled by too much wine and mistaken identities, breaks out between the bride's loudmouth mother Maddy (Thomson) and the groom's snobby father Jack Sr. (Rooney). It's a delicious recipe for disaster.

Each performer plays multiple parts, switching quickly between characters, in an impressive two-act piece that boasts an authentic set with flowers, a welcome sign, a chandelier and a fully-set dinner table. Throughout the play, we never actually meet the couple Sherry and Jack Jr., but we do get the feeling we've met them through foreshadowing and clever use of video.

The cast is outstanding all around: Thomson steals many scenes as the drunk but well-intentioned Maddy, and later as a pampered family dog; Rooney's egotistical Jack Sr. is brilliant, especially when paired with his estranged twin brother Tony (also Rooney); O'Connell is perfect as both Jack Sr.'s delicate trophy wife Margaret and as Jack Jr.'s besotted "Best Man" Alice; Lindström gets major laughs as Tony's teenage son Tiger; Cadieux is comical both as Maddy's elderly Mom and as Jack Sr.'s lawyer; and Griffith holds her own as the frustrated wedding planner Katrina.

The Wedding Party has so much heart you won't want the celebration to end. Catch it at Streetcar Crowsnest (345 Carlaw Avenue) until Feb 11, 2017. Visit crowstheatre.com for more information and to buy tickets.