Members of the cast of The Last Mayor of Rusty River (and Captain Whiskers) at the Blyth Festival. Photo by Alex Franklin
By Galen Simmons
It’s not often the high-stakes drama of small-town politics is put under the bright lights at centre stage, but that’s exactly what The Last Mayor of Rusty River delivers at the Blyth Festival this season.
Having covered small-town politics and council meetings for 13 years, it was thrilling to see council chambers recreated for the Margaret Stephens Stage at the Blyth Memorial Hall. Anyone who has ever served on council, worked for a local newspaper or attended a council meeting will instantly recognize the drama that plays out on stage.
Of course, those who are familiar with council proceedings will know meetings are (almost) never as exciting and entertaining as the story portrayed in The Last Mayor of Rusty River. Written by David Scott and directed by Blyth Festival artistic director Gil Garratt, this play presents a classic conflict around the council table – a status quo that benefits those in power versus progress for the betterment of the community and its residents.
In this play, which is complemented perfectly by the onstage musical talents of each member of the cast, longtime Mayor Larry (Benedict Campbell) goes head-to-head with a relatively new councillor, Tina (Hallie Seline), over the homelessness issue and the need to pave the way for more affordable types of housing to address said issue. As a municipal election looms, Larry finds himself in a three-way race for mayor as Tina throws her hat in the ring and another councillor, Tim (Cameron Laurie), nominates his cat, Captain Whiskers, for the mayor’s seat as a protest candidate.
As Captain Whiskers garners support with Tim as his mouthpiece and Larry pulls out all his dirty campaign tricks to ensure he can remain mayor and continue his plan to make himself even more wealthy and powerful at the cost of the town’s water supply, Tina tries her hardest to connect with voters over the issues that truly matter to Rusty River.
The play comes to a head with an exciting all-candidates meeting (debate) moderated by small-town reporter, Harmony, who only seems interested in building her online audience, Rusty River Nation.
This play is chock-full of hilarious and believable performances, from Campbell’s portrayal of the corrupt and contemptible Mayor Larry to Robin Craig’s hilariously beleaguered performance as township clerk/CAO Judy and David Kirby’s Jerry, a slightly dim and entirely hilarious councillor who seems intent on supporting the incumbent mayor and keeping Rusty River as it has always been until he learns of Larry’s corruption.
In addition to the phenomenal music and hilarious political drama, The Last Mayor of Rusty River also offers two love (maybe lust?) stories as both Tina and Tim, and Judy and Jerry engage in separate but equally torrid affairs with one another in the council chambers when no one else is around.
While both absurd at times and hilarious throughout, this play is so similar to real council meetings I’ve covered, I found myself taking notes as if I was going to write an article about the goings on in Rusty River instead of reviewing the play I was watching.
Go see this play and you’ll understand exactly what I mean.
The Last Mayor of Rusty River plays on the Margaret Stephens Stage until Sept. 13.
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