Best stress reliever ever: Rossland’s Gold Fever Follies offer remedy for many woes.

It’s a good feeling when something is a known quantity. Last year was my first foray into Rossland’s Gold Fever Follies and my first experience viewing a full show came after a series of pretty bad days.

I really didn’t want to go, but it wound up being just the pick-me-up I needed. This year, something similar occurred: I was having an even crappier week than that one last year, but this time I knew that I could expect something lighthearted and funny to give me some escape from my stress and lift me a tad bit out of my funk.

After the week I’d had, I was really looking forward to attending the Follies, and I was comforted by the prospect of the show on my agenda’s horizon.

The Race, the Voice, and the Gentlewomen, as the production in this the Follies’ silver anniversary year is entitled, tells the story of the railroad race to Rossland between Fritz Augustus Heinz and Daniel Corbin, and it delves into the gender politics of the time with a subplot about a group of women dressing as men in order to enjoy some of the things men could and women couldn’t - you know, like jobs and free entry to saloons, for instance.

Tying the two plots together is Jack Egan, lead reporter for the Rossland Miner, one of Rossland’s newspapers, who is on both scoops like sunscreen on an albino (an apt simile as it was a very hot day and I had to slather myself in sunscreen in order to trudge the 10 minutes it takes me to walk from home to the Miners’ Hall without getting burnt to a crisp).

The story this time around is less slapstick than last year’s, as scriptwriter, RSS grad, and Follies veteran Brian Turner opted for a more expository approach, using a piece of real history as the backdrop for the plot rather than a fictionalized incident.

The humour came more from the delivery of lines and the affectations of the actors.

Of particular note was Felix Leblanc’s portrayal of Fritz Heinz. He affected a thick Austrian accent and had a special way of saying his name that was quite funny. I couldn’t help but perceive there to bit a bit of Nazi-ish nuance in his interpretation of the character, and when the goose step was incorporated into a dance number at one point, that sealed the association for me. 

I also really enjoyed Harris Anderson as Irvin, who at the beginning of the show was unceremoniously divorced by Mrs. Allen, who is a bit of a serial marrier. His melodramatic crying and carrying on was very enjoyable, and when one of Mrs. Allan’s dance girls, Dot, played by Emily Nadeau, who has a crush on him, dresses up as a  man in order to spend time with him, the situation creates a lot of great comedy. 

The Follies are noted for their song and dance numbers, and once more, they didn’t disappoint.

There was a 50s pop influence in much of the music, with lots of “doo-wapping” and one song, sung by the very talented Matthew Johnson, who plays Jack Egan, and who is now in his second season with the Follies, featured a significant reference to and piano melody from the Rolling Stones’ 1960s hit, “Paint it Black.”

The first major dance scene involved the girls showing off their knickers, so I dubbed it the Knickers Dance. After that, Irvin’s solo involved him singing about his feelings of being dumped by Mrs. Allan, which he likened to being “gutted like a fish.”

This blubbering guy going on about being ripped up like a fisherman’s catch was really funny. And of course, what would the Follies be without the can-can? It was excellently executed. The choreography this year was all done by Rossland native Andrea Page. 

Again the costumes, designed by Shirley McLim, were stunning, especially Mrs. Allan’s wedding dress, which was gorgeous. Other local credits include the opening and closing chorus by Rita Szekely (all other music and lyrics were written by Boris Vdovine and Drew Chale) and the oleo - the huge painted backdrop that moves up and down for scene changes - which was painted by local artist Louise Drescher.

Since this is a big anniversary for the Follies, there will be a special anniversary show on Saturday, July 30, which will feature cast members from years past and possibly some other surprises.

Before that, however, the Follies has its grand opening this coming Thursday, July 14, at 7:30pm, where the public is invited to join the sponsors to not only see the show, but have some punch and dainties with the cast and crew afterward.  

The Gold Fever Follies runs twice a day, at 3pm and 7:30pm, from Tuesday to Saturday, and this year the show will be going on for an extra week, with the final performance taking place on Saturday August 27. Adult admission is $10.